PhoneValet Message Center 3.1.1 Posted 2/20/2006 at 17:59 UTC in Reviews by gnye@amdesign.net | Permalink | Tweet We have been testing Parliant's PhoneValet Message Center 3.1.1 for the past couple weeks and so far have been very impressed. Installation was very easy and the software was up and running very quickly. A few of the features added in version 3.1.1 of the software include:
* Users may now create an essentially unlimited number of choices (i.e. mailboxes) in voice mail. The caller can choose from the default mailbox, and any number of other choices.
* Choices available to the caller in voice mail have been expanded. Previously, callers could select from mailbox choices (that take messages), and announcement choices (for delivering recorded information).
* Now callers can select choices that transfer their call to an extension on an office phone system. To use the transfer feature on a regular telephone line you generally must contact your telephone provider's customer service department and request it specially. Transfer choices can play a user-specified message prior to transferring the call (for instance "Please wait while your call is transferred").
* In addition to transfers, a new choice type is available that lets the caller run a remote-control script and hear the result (audio or text-to-speech). For remote-control choices, PhoneValet can return the caller to the main menu after they've heard the result of their remote-control script.
We were led to the software by the need for more flexible voicemail. At the top of our list was the ability to have voicemails sent to users through email, notifications sent to cell phones and the ability to access details through a web browser.
One of the biggest challenges is staying in touch while on the road. Calling in to an answering machine or voicemail to check messages was not really an option as we want to know as soon as a call comes in. With PhoneValet, we have the option of being notified whenever a call comes in and from who it came. Listening to the message is as easy as checking email or logging into the web site using the optional PhoneValet Anywhere.
PhoneValet Anywhere allows you to log into the web site (which is powered by the built in Apache web server), view call logs, listen to messages and more. In fact, we have found that we never even need to go to the machine the software is running on. It also enables you to setup notifications that display on network machines as calls come in. No need to look at the phone to see the Caller ID, it will display right on your computer screen. This is accomplished by a client application that runs on both Mac and Windows. In our case, we chose to integrate PhoneValet with Growl to perform the same function. This integration was as easy as writing a couple of AppleScripts and has worked flawlessely.
As we researched solutions for a Mac OS X-based voicemail system, there were really only two contenders. Ovolab Phlink and Parliant's PhoneValet. Both packages had very impressive and similar lines of features. However, the one that made a difference to us was PhoneValet's ability to run even when the machine is not logged in. We run PhoneValet on a server which is usually logged out and for security reasons we do not allow this machine to log in automatically. This means that if the power goes out while we are out of town, the machine restarts on its own when power comes back on and voicemail comes back up without human interaction. With Ovolab Phlink, it would have required someone to log the machine in so the software could start.
Overall, we continue to be impressed with PhoneValet. It has created a feeling of freedom from phone lines that we didn't used to have. While the software and the additional PhoneValet Anywhere is not inexpensive, it offers features not available in many of the standard voicemail solutions from the phone company and with just three users, the return on investment is roughly 12 months. For us, this is a small price to pay for the flexibility, reliability and freedom it has afforded us.
