International time zone support

Last Updated : Mar 20, 2024 |

The International Time Zone (ITZ) support is available on the Central voicemail server, and the Distributed voicemail servers that are connected to the IP Office located in different time zones across the globe. With the International Time Zone support enabled on the Central voicemail server, users of IP Office located across the globe receive messages in their voicemail system with their respective local timestamp.

Note:

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is the time standard that regulates world clocks and time. Computer servers, online services, and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC.

Example Centralized Voicemail Pro Setup

  • Sample scenario: Three IP Office, located in different time zones, connect to each other. Two of the IP Office, located in different geographical locations, connect to the central IP Office. The voicemail server connects to the central IP Office. The system stores the voicemail messages on the Centralized Voicemail Pro. Each IP Office is set up to use Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) or "None" as a time source.

Example Distributed Voicemail Pro Setup

  • Sample scenario: Three IP Office, located in different time zones, connect to each other. Two of the IP Office, located in different geographical locations, connect to the central IP Office. The central IP Office connects to a central voicemail server and the other IP Office connect to the Distributed voicemail servers. Each IP Office is set up to use SNTP or "None" as a time source.

International Time Zone Scenarios

The various scenarios in which the International Time Zone support capability functions work on the voicemail servers are:

Scenario

Description

Call Answering:

When you call a user located in a different time zone and leave a message in the mail box of the user, the system calculates the time stamp associated with the call answering using the UTC time and the local offset time of the IPO where the user receiving the message is located.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). You call another user on IPO2 where the time is 2:00 (UTC - 10:00) and leave a message for the user on IPO2. The system stores the message on the Voicemail Pro located in a time zone where the time is 17:30 (UTC + 5:30). Even though the system stores the messages in the voicemail server, the system states the time as 2:00 (UTC - 10:00) and not 17:30 (UTC + 5:30).

    Note:

    If a user is hot desking on an IPO2 that is in a different time zone than the home IPO1, the system uses the offset time set on IPO1.

Clock Action

When you invoke a Clock Action configured on a voicemail server, the Clock Action reports the time based on the time zone where you are located and not the time where the voicemail server is located.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). You invoke a Clock Action configured on a voicemail server where the time is 17:30 (UTC + 5:30). The system states the time as 14:00 and not as 17:30.

    Note:

    In a Distributed voicemail server setup, International Time Zone support capability functions similar to the Centralized voicemail server setup.

Call Recording

The system calculates the time stamp associated with the call recording using the UTC time and the local offset time of the IPO where the recording was initiated.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00) and record a call. The system stores it in the in the mail system on a voicemail server where the time is 17:30 (UTC + 5:30). The system states the recorded time of the call as 14:00 (UTC + 2:00) instead of 17:30 (UTC + 5:30).

Campaign Recordings

When you record a campaign, the system calculates the time stamp associated with a campaign recorded response using the UTC time and the local offset time of the IPO where the campaign response was recorded.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). You call and record a campaign response. When the system stores the message in the Centralized voicemail server, the system displays the time as 17:30 (UTC + 5.30). With International Time Zone support, the system states the recorded time as 14:00 (UTC + 2:00) instead of 17:30 (UTC + 5:30).

Week Planner Condition

When you design a call flow and store it on the Centralized Voicemail Pro that contains a Week Planner Condition set for a particular time, the system checks the Week Planner Condition based on the time zone in which you are located and not based on the time where the Centralized Voicemail Pro is located.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). You call a user located in a different time zone where the time is 2:00 (UTC - 10:00). If the user has set the Week Planner Condition to 02:00 (UTC - 10:00) and call flow is on a Centralized voicemail server where the time is 17:30 (UTC + 5:30), the call flow condition is based on the time zone of the user and not of the voicemail server where the system stores the call flow.

    Note:

    If you had adjusted the time programming to accommodate the time offset of a user in previous versions of Voicemail Pro, those adjustments need to be removed because Voicemail Pro automatically takes into account the time offset of the user.

Hunt Groups

When you leave a message in a Hunt Group mailbox, the system calculates the time stamp associated with the call answering using the UTC time and the local offset time of the IPO where the Hunt Group receiving the message is located. Irrespective of the offset time set on the IP Office switches, where the users of that Hunt group are located, the time stamp associated with the messages in the Hunt Group is always based on the offset time set on the IP Office to which the Hunt Group belongs.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). You call a Hunt Group2 on IPO2 where the time is 02:00 (UTC - 10:00) and leave a message on the Centralized Voicemail Pro where the time is 17:30 (UTC + 5:30). Even though the system stores the messages in the Centralized voicemail server, the system states the time as 02:00 (UTC - 10:00) and not 17:30 (UTC + 5:30).

Distribution List

When you send a message through a distribution list, the time stamp associated with the recording in the mailbox of each of the recipient is the UTC and the local time offset of the IP Office to which the recipient belongs.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). When you send a message through a distribution list to all the users on IPO2 where the time is 02:00 (UTC - 10:00), the system stores the messages on the Centralized Voicemail Pro where the time is 17:30 (UTC + 5:30). The time stamp associated with the recording is the time of the IPO2 02:00 (UTC - 10:00), to which all the recipients in the distribution list belong.

Outcalling

You can configure your mailbox such that when you receive a new message, the system generates a call on a pre-configured destination. The destination can be your desk number or an external number—telephone or mobile. For detailed information on configuration, see Setting the Outcalling System Preferences. The voicemail server checks the configured time spans against the local time of the user (UTC + local time offset). When you receive a new message in your mailbox, Voicemail Pro uses the local time, which is the UTC time and the offset time of the user, to compare with the configured outcalling time. The comparison between the local time and the outcalling time determines the destination of the outcalling.

  • Example: In a setup where the IPO is in time zone 14:00 (UTC + 2:00) and voicemail server is in time zone 17:30 (UTC + 5:30). You are on IPO1 and have configured outcalling for a desk number during 13:00 to 15:00. When you receive a message at 14:00 (UTC + 2:00) IPO1 time, voicemail server initiates the outcalling even if the time of the voicemail server is currently 17:30 (UTC + 5:30) and outside of the time span you have set.

    Note:

    If you had adjusted the time programming to accommodate the time offset of the user in previous versions of Voicemail Pro, those adjustments should be removed because Voicemail Pro automatically takes into account the time offset of the user.

Alarm Set

You can configure Voicemail Pro to match the alarm time with the time zone where you are located. When you set an alarm on your telephone, Voicemail Pro automatically matches the alarm time with the local time of the user.

  • Example: In a setup where IPO1 time is 14:00 (UTC +2:00) and the time of the voicemail server is 17:30 (UTC +5:30). You, on IPO1 have set an alarm for 14:30. The system triggers the alarm when the time on the IPO1 is 14:30 and not when the time on the voicemail server is 14:30.

E-mail reading

When you use Voicemail Pro TTS to read e-mails, the system calculates the time stamp associated with an e-mail using the UTC time and the local offset time of the IPO to which the recipient belongs.

  • Example: In a setup where you are on IPO1 where the time is 14:00 (UTC + 2:00). You receive an e-mail. When reading the e-mail, the time stamp that the system plays back is the UTC time and the local time offset of IPO1 (14:00 - UTC +2:00).