Standard on all NexPath Telephony Servers is Automated Call Distribution, or ACD. ACD is the process of distributing calls to a selected group of telephones, by ringing the phones one at a time. If all of the extensions in the ACD group are busy, then the caller is put into what is called a queue. The queue is nothing but a hold condition, during which messages, or hold music, or both, can be played to the waiting caller. As soon as an extension in the group is available, the caller is transferred to that extension.

ACD is useful for sales and technical support groups, so a caller can wait for an available agent and not go to voice mail. Usually, different algorithms can be selected in ACD groups to distribute the calls to the agents in different ways.

On the NexPath system, multiple ACD groups can be set up. For each group, the administrator can set how long the caller can remain in the queue, and whether the caller will ultimately be transferred to voice mail when the queue time limit has expired. While the caller is in the queue, up to ten individually configurable reassurance messages can be played at individually programmable intervals.

The NexPath ACD system also has a unique feature: dynamic group adjustment. Dynamic group adjustment is the process of removing an extension from the ACD group, for each call, if an extension rings with no answer. This prevents extensions from ringing repeatedly as the distribution strategy tries extension after extension. The extension is returned to the group for the next call, etc. This feature is very useful for small business, since many times members of the ACD group will leave their telephones without putting them in the DND mode (Do Not Disturb).

Similar to ACD, but different in operation, is Ring Groups. Rather than ringing phones one at a time, in a ring group, all of the phones ring at approximately the same time. Many small businesses use ring groups rather than ACD groups. It is also possible to configure rings groups within an ACD group.

ACD General Capabilities:

• Multiple ACD groups, limited only by the number of auto-attendants
• Unlimited number of extensions in ACD group
• Overlapping ACD groups
• Dynamic group adjustment on a call by call basis, for ring no answer group members
• Group pickup keypad function from any telephone
• Hold music while in queue and no message is being played
• Extension can login or logout of group using DND (Do Not Disturb)
• ACD group extensions can be regular inside extensions or extensions that ring several phones at the same time (ring group extensions)

• Optional message on entering queue
• Optional transfer to voice mail on queue timeout
• Optional user exit from the queue to voice mail by pressing star (*) key
• Reassurance message upon entering queue and up to 10 subsequent reassurance messages at programmable time intervals
• Configurable time between each reassurance message (seconds)
• Automatic repeat of last reassurance message
• Configurable queue time limit (up to 99 minutes)
• Optional message to be played upon queue timeout
• Optional message to be played upon star (*) exit to voice mail
• Configurable voice mail exit extension for each distribution group
• Configurable time limit that each extension in the queue will ring before the next extension is tried
• Priority setting for overlapping queues
• Choice of Round Robin or Least Busy distribution strategies