Enterprise Voice

Enterprise Voice describes the set of features that allow Lync Server to be leveraged as a complete telephony solution for an organization. This includes connectivity to the PSTN, as well as PBX and IP-PBX systems using media gateways and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks. It also includes voice features that are common to many voice platforms, such as call forwarding, hold, transfer, call parking, enhanced 9-1-1, call admission control, branch office survivability, distinctive ringing, and many more. Traditional voice management functions are also included, such as dial plans, call authorization, and call detail records.

The Enterprise Voice features included with Lync Server are on par with and in many cases exceed the functionality provided by a traditional PBX system. For this very reason, Lync Server can be considered a viable replacement for PBX systems, which can be accomplished either through attrition or via a greenfield replacement.

For many organizations, an important benefit of using a VoIP system such as Lync Server is the ability to bypass long-distance toll charges through the use of call routing, which is also referred to as toll bypass. For example, if a company has offices in San Francisco and New York, and these two locations are connected via a WAN link, calls between the sites can be routed internally via Lync Server, which makes the call effectively free since the data network is being utilized.

If, on the other hand, a user in San Francisco needs to call an external user in New Jersey, there are two ways this call can be routed. Either the VoIP call from San Francisco can directly exit the local PSTN gateway to the long-distance provider, or the call can first traverse the WAN to the New York office and then exit the PSTN gateway at that location. This would likely result in a cost savings, since the toll charges for a call to New Jersey are likely lower from New York than from San Francisco. Through the use of effective dial plans and call routing, a Lync Server administrator can leverage toll bypass to ensure that the least expensive call path is used for a given scenario. These rules are typically configured based on area codes so that the number of required rules remains manageable.