How to use Shared Lines and Multiple Lines with Avaya Workplace

A knowledge base article about How to use Shared Lines and Multiple Lines with Avaya Workplace provided by the UC Berkeley IT Service Hub - Knowledge Portal

How to use Shared Lines and Multiple Lines with Avaya Workplace

Introduction

This document attempts to address a number of questions about using shared lines and multiple lines with Avaya Workplace VOIP softphone client.

A few Scenarios

Your department has a shared number that is answered by many people simultaneously and you would like many people to answer the line with Avaya Workplace Client.
Your department has a desk phone that is answered by multiple people throughout the day and you would like multiple people to answer it with the Avaya Workplace Client.
You would like your departmental number to be displayed to persons you call outside the University Campus rather than a personal number.
You would like a different name and/or a different number displayed to persons you call inside the campus rather than a personal name or extensions.

Solutions and Recommendations

Bridged Line Appearances

In many of the scenarios described above, the use of Bridged Line Appearances will be the solution that best meets the needs of the individual and the department.

Bridged Line Appearances start with fully functional telephone stations that are then added or ‘bridged’ on to another station so that the person on the second station can answer the calls made to the first station, and dial out with the first stations caller ID number and name.

Bridged Line Appearances are commonly placed on an administrative assistant’s phone, who must answer calls made to an executive. They are also placed on the individual phones of small departments, so that everyone is able to answer a published phone number.

You may have multiple appearances of the same Bridged Line Appearance. This will allow you to answer multiple calls.

You may dial out through Bridged Line Appearances as well as accept incoming calls. Dialing out through a Bridged Line Appearance allows the caller to show the Caller ID number of the Bridged line appearance to whomever they call, outside off campus, and show the Name and extension number to anyone they call on campus.

Bridged Line Appearances are nothing new. They have been in use on Avaya Digital Lines for quite some time.

Bridge Line Appearances are not the same as ACD lines that are assigned to agents. Generally ACD lines are used for larger call centers and often accompany the use of auto-attendants with caller menus. ACD lines are not currently compatible with Avaya Workplace.

Some Do’s and Don’ts for Avaya Workplace Deployment

This is how Avaya Workplace is a bit different than an ordinary digital phone.

Every Avaya Workplace client must pair no more than one CalNet ID to one telephone number.
Therefore, multiple people can’t log in to the same telephone number.
Therefore, a single person can’t have multiple numbers.
But, a single person may have a number of Bridged Line Appearances on their phone.
Every Avaya Workplace client must use a CalNet ID.
Every user who wants an Avaya Workplace client must be authorized to use the telephone number they wish to associate to their Avaya Workplace client.
To be used by an Avaya Workplace Client, every telephone number must be
On the Avaya System: No centrex or cell phone numbers.
A Digital, or IP phone on the Avaya System.

Scenarios with Solutions

Scenario 1: Your department has a shared number that is answered by many people simultaneously and you would like many people to answer the line with Avaya Workplace Client.

Solution: If your shared line is not an ACD line you may add the shared line as a Bridged Line Appearance on another telephone set. The Bridged Line Appearance might be a telephone number associated with another Avaya Workplace client, but it does not have to be.

Steps: Everyone who wishes to answer the shared line must have their own telephone number on a qualifying line and a CalNet ID. Add the shared line to these numbers.

Note: you must add as many instances of the Bridged Line Appearance as the number of simultaneous calls you wish to handle. Six simultaneous calls will require Six Bridged Line Appearances of the same number.

Scenario 2: Your department has a desk phone that is answered by multiple people throughout the day and you would like multiple people to answer it with the Avaya Workplace Client.

Solution: Bridge this line onto Everyone who must answer this phone number.

Steps: Everyone who wishes to answer the shared line must have their own telephone number on a qualifying line and a CalNet ID. Add the shared line to these numbers.

Scenario 3: You would like your departmental number to be displayed to persons you call outside the University Campus rather than a personal number.

Solution 1: If you want to permanently show your departmental Phone Number for every call made by individual members of your staff. Provide the TSS department with a list of extension numbers of your staff, and the Caller ID number you wish them to show.

Solution 2: If you want the flexibility to sometimes show individual caller ID numbers and sometime show the departmental number, add the Bridged Line Appearance of your departmental phone line, then instruct the staff to dial out through those Bridged Lines Appearances when they wish to show the Departmental Caller ID.

Note: This solution will not work if the Departmental phone number is an ACD number.

Scenario 4: You would like a different name and/or a different number displayed to persons you call inside the campus rather than a personal name or extensions.

Solution: Add the Bridged Line Appearance of your departmental phone line, to the individual phone lines of staff, then instruct the staff to dial out through those Bridged Lines Appearances when they wish to show the Departmental Caller ID.

Questions? Send email to telecom-avaya-workplace@berkeley.edu