Aastra Unified Communications

You may find that there are numerous – often confusing definitions of Unified Communications. Depending on the organisation, Unified Communication implementation will often include concepts such as Presence Awareness, Instant Messaging, Email, Unified Messaging, Event Synchronisation, Audio and Video Conferencing, DECT or Cellular Mobile Convergence or Web Collaboration.

It is generally agreed that the aim of Unified Communications is to enable efficient and convenient real-time, ad-hoc communications and collaboration using an intuitive, ubiquitous user interface.

Aastra Unified Communications categorize the benefits in two areas: Individual Productivity and Organizational Productivity.

Individual Productivity benefits are realised from enabling individual users to better manage their communications. This may include:

  • Improved Conferencing – bringing an increase in utilisation; and to decrease commute, travel and setup time
  • Using Instant Messaging, Email and Presence Indication, to reduce wasted time by avoiding unnecessary calls
  • Encouraging Instant Messaging & Presence to reduce delays caused by email and voicemail
  • Savings in Toll Costs – especially for mobile/cellular and international calls
  • Reduced Administration Costs – by having one directory; fewer servers and optional self-service customer interfaces


    • Organizational Productivity benefits are seen by integrating business processes with communications such as:

  • Accelerated time-to-market via collaboration
  • Lower process cost via communication-enabled job portals
  • Improved transactions – faster and/or richer value by finding the “right people” to provide knowledge and make decisions
  • Increased sales via Unified Communications contact management
  • Aastra Adaptive Messaging

    • Aastra Adaptive Messaging lets you manage E-Mail, Fax, Voicemails and SMS messages in the same way that you handle ordinary telephone calls.

  • Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS

    • Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS can lower costs and increase productivity for your business or organisation. SMS messages are quick to send and convenient to receive. People normally read them as soon as they arrive. SMS can be used in all sorts of ways, like keeping in touch with your customers or staff, and confirming appointments. It is also much cheaper to send an SMS than to make a call to a mobile phone.

  • Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler

    • The Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler increases the productivity of people who make a lot of outbound telephone calls. It also provides management and detailed reporting which allows you to determine where you may improve or where the market is changing. By automating the process of dialling calls, users spend less time managing their “call lists” and more time talking to customers. With automation also comes reporting and improved management control.

  • Predictive Dialler

    • The Aastra Adaptive Predictive Dialler improves the productivity of staff who make outbound telephone calls to consumers.
    Consumers are often out when you call them – The Adaptive Predictive Dialler finds people who are actually there and able to answer the phone, so your agents spend more time talking and less time listening to a ring tone, answer machine or engaged tone.

  • Aastra Adaptive Web Assist

    • The Aastra Adaptive Web Assist is designed to help your company do more business over the web. Many companies have a web presence that attracts lots of visitors. Aastra Adaptive Web Assist helps you to turn visitors into customers.

  • Adaptive Contact Centre

    • The Aastra Adaptive Contact Centre solution delivers all of the Adaptive products as an integrated, total solution at a lower price. If you commit to purchasing the Adaptive Contact Centre, you receive a substantial discount compared to the cost of buying the Adaptive system module by module.



    Aastra Adaptive Messaging

    Aastra Adaptive Messaging lets you manage email, fax and SMS messages in the same way that you handle telephone calls.

    Aastra Adaptive Messaging enables you to handle customers’ messages quickly and effectively, saving you money and increasing your levels of customer satisfaction.


    How Astra Adaptive Messaging works

    Contact Centres have changed. Traditionally, they only usually dealt with telephone call, but the modern call centre has to deal with contacts from a wide variety of sources – E-Mails, Faxes and SMS messages are common ways for a customer to contact with a modern business or organisation.

    Aastra’s Adaptive Messaging is a message management solution designed to make contact centre users more productive when dealing with messages work, messages can be received, put into queues and automatically sent to the next available agent.


    Adaptive Messaging includes a powerful Rules Manager for messages which determines what happens to messages as they arrive inbound to your organisation or company.

    Options for inbound messages include:

  • To automatically send a reply, acknowledging receipt of the customer’s message.


  • To prepare a context-sensitive reply, which is then presented to the agent or staff member. To reply to the customer’s message, the user simply reads, edits (if necessary) and approves the reply, then sends it back to the customer, hugely improving time, legislative conformity and proving your organisation with a solid response policy.


  • To prepare a fully automated, context-sensitive reply to a message and automatically send it to the customer. One example of this is an automated email or SMS-based service enabling your customers to enquire about the status of their order via an automatic response engine, cross referencing their enquiry with an external database or data centre. The Adaptive Message Rules can be configured to recognise the request, look up the status in your orders database and automatically send a reply containing the relevant information.

    • Adaptive Messaging includes a central message database, within which all sent and received messages are stored. Unlike traditional email clients, which store sent items on each user’s local computer, making it very difficult to trace all messages from or to a specific customer.

    The Aastra Message Database Browser enables users and managers to search easily for any type of message – including messages related to a specific customer, order or agent. From a manager’s perspective, Aastra’s Adaptive Messaging keeps records of all user and message activity. The Aastra Message Database includes a powerful reporting system, providing real-time and historical management reports to management staff, supervisors or agents.

    You can keep a display on screen showing how many messages are waiting in each queue and how old the oldest message is. This helps with service level management. You can also keep a real-time user report on screen, showing exactly what each user is doing and how long they have been doing it.

    Aastra Adaptive Messaging works with Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino and Linux-based email servers.



    Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS

    Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS reduces the cost and improves productivity to your business or organisation. SMS messages are quick to send and convenient to receive. People normally read them as soon as they arrive. SMS can be used in all sorts of ways, like keeping in touch with your customers or staff, and confirming appointments. It is also much cheaper to send an SMS than to make a mobile phone call.

    Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS includes a comprehensive message database containing a history of every message sent or received. You can search the database to find all messages sent to a specific customer, or you can list every message sent by a particular user.


    How Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS works

    Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS is computer software that lets you type a text message on your computer and send it to multiple mobiles by typing in multiple mobile phone numbers or importing a list of numbers from your customer database. This is a great way of keeping in touch with field based staff or your customers. by typing in multiple mobile phone numbers or importing a list of numbers from your customer databaseou can also schedule when to send messages.

    Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS includes a comprehensive message database containing a history of every message sent or received. You can search the database to find all messages sent to a specific customer, or you can list every message sent by a particular user.

    With Aastra Adaptive Desktop SMS you can:

  • Write an SMS message using your computer keyboard which is quicker and easier than texting from a mobile phone
  • Easily send the same message to many people at once.
  • Get a permanent record of all messages that you have sent or received.
  • Pay per message (in advance via a website)
  • Send messages via a GSM Modem
  • Inbound and Outbound
  • 1200 messages per hour, per modem (up to 8 supported)
  • Standard Mobile Phone SIM card



    • Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler

    The Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler increases the productivity of people who make outbound telephone calls. It also provides management reporting.By automating the process of dialling calls, users spend less time managing their “call lists” and more time talking to customers. With automation also comes reporting and with reporting comes management control.

    With the Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler, campaigns can be set up in minutes using a very easy-to-use campaign editor. The Campaign Editor allows you to import call lists and set call outcome codes with dialling parameters. If combined with Aastra Adaptive CTI, you can also screen-pop the information of the customer being dialled


    How the Adaptive Progressive Dialler works

    When an agent becomes available, the Adaptive Progressive Dialler retrieves the next call in the campaign and dials it for them, using the Aastra handset on their desk. The computer shows the user a campaign call dialogue, giving information about the call and the recipient. At any time during the call, the user can select a “call outcome code”. The agent can also choose to reschedule the call for another time and date. When the call has finished, the Adaptive Progressive Dialler gives the user time to do any post-call work, known as wrap up time before making the next call.

    From a manager’s perspective…

    The Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler provides realtime and historical management reports. A supervisor can see how much work has been done, how much is waiting to be done, how many calls each agent has completed and how successful their calls were. You can generate historical reports on call outcomes , campaign activity, ,user productivity, etc. You can even export report data for use in other applications.

    If the user wants to take a break, they can log out, then the Adaptive Progressive Dialler will mark them as “unavailable” until they are ready for more calls. The Adaptive Progressive Dialler records the time a user spends unavailable, so that you can create a report showing how much time agent spent unavailable and how long they were talking to customers.

    The Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler makes the process of outbound calling much easier for agents, using the Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler agents can double the number of calls they make, often resulting in higher commission rates for the agent, and more revenue for the company.



    Predictive Dialler

    The Aastra Adaptive Predictive Dialler increases the productivity of people who make outbound telephone calls to consumers – the perfect example of manually making calls is that your customers will often be out when you call them.

    Campaigns can be set up in minutes using a very easy to use campaign editor which allows you to import lists, and set outcome of call codes. In conjunction with adaptive CTOI, you can also screen pop details of the customers when the call is delivered

    The Adaptive Predictive Dialler rings ahead to find people who answer the phone, so your agents spend more time talking and less time listening to a ring tone.

    The Aastra Adaptive Predictive Dialler controls nominated extensions on your telephone system, using them to make many telephone calls at the same time. The more calls it makes, the more chance of having a call answered. As soon as a call is answered, it is transferred to an agent. This means that users talk to a lot more people during the day, increasing productivity and revenues.


    Three Dialling Modes of The Adaptive Predictive Dialler

  • The dialler predicts when the next agent will become free and starts to make multiple calls for them, by the time an agent is free, one of the calls is likely to have been answered and the user can take that call.


  • Unlike fully predictive dialling, the dialler does not try to predict when users will be free: instead, it waits until a user is actually free before it starts to make calls for them. This guarantees that when one of the calls is answered, an agent will be available to take the call.


  • Progressive dialling works by using the agents handset to automatically dial the next number for them.

    • The Adaptive Predictive Dialler can have multiple campaigns operating in different modes. This means that you can choose the best dialling method. From a manager’s perspective, the Aastra Adaptive Progressive Dialler provides realtime and historical management reports.

    A supervisor can see how much work has been done, how much is waiting to be done, how many calls each agent has completed and how successful their calls were. You can generate historical reports on call outcomes , campaign activity, ,user productivity, etc. You can even export report data for use in other applications.



    Aastra Adaptive Web Assist

    Aastra’s Adaptive Web Assist is designed to help your company generate more business through the world wide web – for example through a corporate website or HTML mailshot. Many companies have a web presence that attracts lots of visitors but fail to utilise the ‘moment’ that the visitor is there, interested and ready to be captivated. Adaptive Web Assist helps you to turn visitors into customers.

    Using Aastra Adaptive Web Assist, you can offer web visitors two unique forms of assistance. Your website can display a “Call me” button that enables the visitor to request an instant, or scheduled telephone call-back. You can also offer your visitors the opportunity to “talk” to your users using interactive web chat – instant messaging is something that is increasingly familiar and comfortable to many people.

    How Web Assist Callbacks Work

    To request a callback, visitors complete a simple and tailored web form, entering their name, telephone number, when they want to be called back by your organisation or business and lastly any other useful information that you want to collect from them. When submitted, the request is automatically put into a queue in the Astra Adaptive system. When the call-back is due, it is automatically presented to the next available user with the correct level of skill to handle it.

    If the Aastra Adaptive CTI Professional is used with Aastra Adaptive Web Assist, the user can dial the presented call-back by simply clicking the “Dial” button on the call-back dialog. The Aastra web assist system can also trigger an Adaptive CTI screen-pop when the call-back is made.

    Who uses Adaptive Web Assist?

    Any organisation that wishes to encourage website visitors to make contact by telephone will find Aastra Adaptive Web Assist callbacks invaluable. Aastra’s Web Assist is perfect for companies selling items that can be advertised on the web but need further contact to close a sale – often the case in sales for expensive items like cars, holidays, property, furnitue, mobile phones and suchlike.

    Businesses that take orders over the web know that a percentage of customers get frustrated during the entire process and fail to “check out” their purchases. This is often because they have questions that need to be answered prior to confirming purchase, which cannot be found online. You can utilise the Aastra Adaptive Web Assist to provide real-time assistance to support these customers throughout the purchase process; turning visits into sales and increasing both customer satisfaction and sales revenue.

    Aastra Adaptive Web Assist is ideal for contact centres and dedicated call centre agencies.

    How Web Assist Web Chats Work

    To request a web chat, visitors complete a simple web form giving their name (or nickname) and any other information that you want to collect from them. When submitted, the request is instantly placed into a queue in the Adaptive system. As soon as the next user with the correct level of skill becomes available, the chat is automatically presented to that user.

    During an Aastra Web Assist chat, the user can “push” web pages to the visitor. A comprehensive spellcheck facility enables the user to check their own text prior to sending it to the visitor, ensuring your business or organisation continually looks professional. The user can also save typing time by inserting standard phrases into the chat with a single click.

    Visitors do not need to download or install any software onto their computer, all they need is their web browser.

    From a Manager’s Perspective…

    Aastra Adaptive Web Assist includes a comprehensive management reporting package which has a database of all Web Assist call-backs and chat transcripts. These can be searched, displayed and printed to improve service, determine the cause of customer contacts and ensure the business is adapting to up and coming needs of your visitors.

    In addition, comprehensive real-time reports are available within the Aastra Adaptive Web Assist which show each user and how they are currently working – plus how many call-back and chat requests are currently queued. You can even see how long requests have been waiting, ensuring you are on top of your service levels agreements.

    All callback and web chat activity is recorded. Historical reports detailing volumes of requests, average handle time and user productivity are also available.

    From an integrator’s perspective…

    The Aastra Adaptive Web Assist can be used “out of the box” or customised to suit your needs. The system works using standard ASP (Active Server Pages) web pages. Sample pages are provided: you can use these “as is” or modify them using industry-standard web development tools.

    More Benefits of Adaptive Web Assist

  • Engaging with visitors to your website increases sales
  • Web Assist lets you manage your customer callback requests better – they are more likely to be handled by the best qualified user and at the appropriate time
  • Comprehensive management reporting leads to better staff management
  • Complete database of call-backs and web chats enables detailed analysis of website visitors
  • With Adaptive Web Assist, visitors do not need to download or install any software onto their computer

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    Aastra Adaptive Contact Centre

    The Aastra Adaptive Contact Centre solution delivers all of the Adaptive products as an integrated, total solution at a lower price. If you commit to purchasing the Adaptive Contact Centre, you receive a substantial discount compared to the cost of buying the Adaptive system module by module.

    Implementing the total solution is faster, because all modules are installed at the same time. User training is cheaper and reduced because the installation, configuration and training only has to be done once.

    There are various Adaptive Contact Centre Bundles available to suit the needs of most organisations and businesses around the world.


    Bundle Detail

  • Adaptive Office Bundle – Provides Adaptive CTI Professional and Adaptive Desktop SMS in a single discounted licence.
  • Adaptive Outbound Call Centre Bundle – Provides Adaptive CTI Professional, Adaptive Desktop SMS and Adaptive Predictive Dialler in a single discounted licence.
  • Adaptive SMB Contact Centre Bundle – Provides Adaptive CTI Professional, Adaptive Desktop SMS, Adaptive Progressive Dialler and Adaptive Messaging in a single discounted licence.
  • Adaptive Enterprise Contact Centre Bundle – Provides Adaptive CTI Professional, Adaptive Desktop SMS, Adaptive Progressive Dialler, Adaptive Predictive Dialler, Adaptive Messaging and Adaptive Web Assist in a single discounted licence.