OfficeSuite UC Voicemail Transcription improvements coming April 2023 – Action Required

Rob_Marschall

This project completed in April 2023. The following is informational.

OfficeSuite UC is changing the underlying provider of its voicemail transcription (VMT) service to improve performance and provide future additional VMT capabilities.

The change of vendor will commence on April 1, 2023 and will occur over the next 30 calendar days on a server by server basis. OfficeSuite customers with VMT service will continue to receive transcribed voicemail messages as normal during the change of provider.

The primary benefits to OfficeSuite customers are higher quality transcription of the audio message and a cleaner, easier-to-read email template for the transcribed content. This change also positions Windstream to integrate the transcription content into other OfficeSuite applications such as the portal and mobile apps in the future.

There is no change to the availability or price of the service. VMT is still included in OfficeSuite Standard and Advanced seat types. For users with Basic seats, it can be purchased a la carte at the Voicemail Settings page in the portal for $1 per user per month.

Required Action:

In preparation for this change alert end-users to expect better audio transcriptions and a new voicemail transcription template. IT departments may also need to add the new “From” email address ([email protected]) to the spam filters of the company’s email service. IT teams are advised to add the domain with a wild card, *.windstream.com

New customer required action 8/29/23 on Community here: https://communities.windstreamenterprise.com/OfficeSuite-UC/discussion/7724845/officesuite-uc-voicemail-transcription-action-required-in-september-2023/p1?new=1

Frequently asked questions

What is changing? Windstream is changing the underlying provider of the OfficeSuite Voicemail Transcription service.

When is this change occurring? The change began April 1, 2023 with the intention to complete within 30 days. As of April 4, 2023 servers 1 through 18 were upgraded. Servers 19 through 26 were completed on April 5. Servers 27 through 30 completed April 13. OfficeSuite administrators are notified via email of the completion of the project on April 18, 2023.

Will there be a service disruption during the change? No. Customer’s transcribed VM messages will continue to arrive normally during the switch to the new provider. Once the change is made by Windstream, the new email template will arrive in the user’s In Box with the next voicemail deposited.

What are the advantages to the customer? There are three: 1. Better transcription of the audio message. 2. New, cleaner, and easier-to-read email template containing the transcribed message. 3. Potential for future improvements to the voicemail service to include the transcribed message in other OfficeSuite applications.

Are there any disadvantages to the customer? Customers may have to add the new “From” email address to spam filters on their email system. Messages will now come from [email protected] anytime April 1, 2023, or later. IT teams are advised to add the domain with a wild card, *.windstream.com

What do customers need to do? Two things: 1. Inform their users to expect a better transcription of the voicemail audio within a cleaner and easier-to-read email template. 2. Their IT team may need to add the [email protected] address to their email service to ensure it doesn’t get blocked by spam filters. IT teams are advised to add the domain with a wild card, *.windstream.com

What happens if customers do not take the desired action? Customers may find the new voicemail transcription emails get blocked by their email server’s spam filter.

Is there any change to the price of the service? No. OfficeSuite voicemail transcription is still included in the OfficeSuite Standard and Advanced seat types and can still be purchased in the OfficeSuite portal at $1 per month per user for users with Basic seats.

Do users still manage their voicemail notifications in the same place in the OfficeSuite portal? Yes. Users manage their voicemail notifications at the Voicemail Settings page in the portal. If they want voicemail transcription, they turn Notifications On, enter their email address, and select “Audio File with Transcript” from the drop list. Save when done.