Product overview
Manage high volumes of calls from customers, employees, and business partners smoothly and efficiently. Cisco® Unified Attendant Console Advanced (Figure 1) gives users the tools required to confidently, efficiently, and professionally tend to incoming calls. Within the console client, users see all console queue activity, shared active call notes, and informative call tags for held, recalled, and parked calls. The customizable contact directory presents contact phone line (BLF), Cisco Jabber®, and Skype for Business status.
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced uses a web-based administration utility to guide you through configuring and managing the application server. The attendant console client software is loaded onto each user’s desktop PC.
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced controls and monitors Cisco Unified IP Phones and Cisco Jabber soft phones registered with your Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Business Edition platform.
Features and benefits
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced is built around the core competencies of a console user. Having all call controls, a searchable corporate directory, and queue visibility in a single user interface allows users to operate more efficiently and with a greater focus on the caller’s experience.
Table 1 outlines an extended list of Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced features and benefits.
Table 1. Features and benefits
Feature | Benefit |
Queue features | |
Support for 100 queues with prioritization | Configure queue names and priorities to match your call answering requirements. You can prioritize and answer calls out of order. For example, you might have a sales queue, a service queue, and a general business queue. Sales calls can be prioritized and answered first, before service or general business calls. |
Operator queue assignment | In the web-based administration tool, you can assign one or more queues to each console user. |
Queue view | View all calls within a specific queue or all queues. Empowered with this information, users can adjust their call handling times to deliver the best possible level of support to queued and active calls. |
Queue statistics | Users can see the following details in real time for each queue: ● Number of calls abandoned ● Number of operators logged in ● Number of operators available to answer calls |
Queue overflow options (defined on a queue-by-queue basis) | ● Number of calls overflow sends calls to the overflow destination when the queue is full. ● No operator overflow sends calls to the overflow destination when no operators are logged in to the queue. ● Wait time overflow sends calls to the overflow destination when a call has been waiting in a queue for a defined period of time. |
Queue salutations (displayed when a call is accepted from a configured queue) | Deliver the most appropriate greeting to each caller by providing a script to be read by the operator for each queue. |
Music on hold (option to configure on a queue-by-queue basis) | Callers hear hold music through the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Music on Hold (MoH) function. The attendant console’s queue device groups let you play different music to different queues. |
Directory features | |
Active Directory, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, iPlanet directory integration | You can synchronize contact data directly from your corporate directory. Console users have the option to update any contact field not belonging to the directory source. |
Manually add contacts | Users may add individual contacts to the full directory and to shared and private directory groups from within the console. System administrators can add individual contacts to the full directory from within the web-based administration tool. |
Bulk add, update, and delete contacts | System administrators can import, update, and delete contacts in bulk from the server’s web-based administration tool. |
Personal directory groups | Each user can create and share up to 100 custom directory groups, displayed as tabs across the top of the directory. Directory groups are populated by directory filters, by dragging and dropping contacts from the full directory, and by manual creation. |
Search options | Six directory search fields are provided. They allow the operator to find call destinations quickly and then dispatch calls quickly. Search options include last name, first name, department, extension, job title, and location, and they can be customized within each attendant console client. |
Presence integration | With Cisco Jabber (Cisco IM & Presence and Cisco WebEx® Messenger) and Skype for Business integration, console users are able to see real-time availability for directory contacts. |
Telephony features | |
Operator handset ringing | When a call comes into a queue configured with operator handset ringing, the call is sent directly to the handset of the operator who has been logged in to that queue the longest. This feature lets operators answer the call from a wireless headset while away from their desks. (The wireless headset is not included.) |
Transfer reversion (call recall) | Enables a transferred call to revert back to the operator so that it can be answered and then transferred to a new destination. |
Call park | With call park, the operator can place a caller on hold while announcing that a call is on hold and waiting for a particular person or group. The call can be answered from any phone by dialing the park extension. |
Call park recall | If a parked call is not answered, it reverts back to the operator so that it can be transferred to a new destination. |
Call toggle | Call toggle allows the operator to shift between callers. |
Conference | The conference feature allows the operator to provide a third-party conference call. |
Emergency Mode switch | Redirects all calls to another destination if an emergency such as a natural disaster or weather event occurs. This manual switch lets you stay in touch with callers or alert them that the business is closed until further notice. |
Out-of-hours routing | For each queue, you can define specific blocks of time and where to send calls during that time. Create templates that you can apply to queues. Set up call routing for recurring holidays. |
Additional client-side features | |
Auto-unavailable on idle | If an operator’s PC is idle for a specified period of time, the attendant console can automatically change their state to unavailable. |
Server-based console preferences | All attendant console client preferences follow user login names, allowing users to enjoy the same user experience from any console client location. |
Console client user single sign-on | Easy account management and user passphrase management |
Adjustable font size | Changing the font size is one of the many ways in which individual users can tailor the Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced application to best suit their needs. |
Accessibility | The visually impaired can use the attendant console with JAWS screen reading software (English and Spanish scripts available). |
Attendant console client localization | English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Russian, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese are supported. |
Additional server-side features | |
Reports | Gain a better understanding of call volumes by operator and queue, the queues that have the most abandoned calls, and other important metrics through attendant console reports. Reports are easily accessible through the web-based administration tool. |
High Availability | Provides an added layer of protection against system failures and convenience during maintenance efforts by adding a hot standby server. In the event of service interruption, console users and the calls they manage are automatically routed to the standby server until service is restored to the primary server. |
Scalability
Table 2 outlines the scalability of Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced.
Table 2. Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced scalability
Feature | Scale |
Maximum number of concurrent user logins (no limit on console user accounts) | 50 concurrent users |
Maximum number of console queues | 100 console queues |
Maximum number of directory contacts | 125,000 directory contacts |
Maximum number of speed dials per console user | 500 speed dials per user |
Platform compatibility
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced Version 12.0 is compatible with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Versions 10.x, 11.5(1.13032-4) or later, and 12.0(x). Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express is not supported.
System requirements
Tables 3 and 4 list the server and client system requirements for Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced. Refer to the product release notes and Administration and Installation Guide for detailed system requirements (link).
Table 3. System requirements for server
Processor | 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor |
Memory | 4 GB |
Available disk space | 80 GB |
Networking | Network card, connected to the network using TCP/IP |
Operating system | ● Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit) ● Windows Server 2016 (64-bit) Windows regional settings must be set to English |
Database | ● Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express, Standard, or Enterprise ● Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express, Standard, or Enterprise ● Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Express, Standard, or Enterprise |
Notes | ● Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server Standard or Enterprise licenses are purchased separately, and are not available through Cisco. ● Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Express is installed by the Cisco Unified Attendant Server installer if an existing installation of SQL server is not detected. ● High Availability (optional add-on) requires Microsoft SQL Server Standard or Enterprise (not Express) on the Publisher server. You can use Microsoft SQL Server Express, Standard, or Enterprise on the Subscriber server. The Publisher and Subscriber servers must use the same version of Microsoft SQL Server. |
VMware support | VMware ESXi 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 Host machine must be compliant with the Cisco Specifications-Based Hardware Support program. For more information, visit: https://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Specification-Based_Hardware_Support. |
Note: The Attendant Console client for Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced requires the PC specifications listed in Table 4.
Table 4. System requirements for client
Processor | 2.0-GHz Pentium 4 processor |
Memory | 4 GB |
Available disk space | 1 GB |
Hardware | ● Network card, connected to the network using TCP/IP ● SVGA (1024 x 768) display card ● Sound card and speakers (highly recommended) ● 17-inch or larger monitor (highly recommended) ● Keyboard with 10-key number pad |
Operating system | One of the following operating systems: ● Microsoft Windows 10 (Desktop Mode) ● Microsoft Windows 8.1 Update 1 or later ● Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 or later |
Warranty information
Find warranty information on Cisco.com on the Product Warranties page.
Ordering information
You must order a Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced license for each concurrent operator login. A maximum of 50 concurrent operator client logins are supported per Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced server. Example: If you need 50 attendant consoles logged in to the server at the same time, you should order 50 licenses.
To place an order, go to How to Buy. You can download software here.
Table 5 gives ordering information for Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced.
Table 5. Ordering information
Product name | Version | Delivery method | Top-level configuration product number | Product number |
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced | 12.x | Electronic | L-CUAC12X-ADV | |
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced High Availability | 12.x | Electronic | L-CUAC12X | L-CUAC12X-ADV-HA |
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For more information
For more information about Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced, visit https://www.cisco.com/go/cuac for the product home page or contact your local Cisco account representative.
To download Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced, visit https://www.cisco.com/go/ac. After downloading and installing the Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced server, you may register for a \ 60-day evaluation license for the product at no cost.
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