Version 2.3
Xantel Corp.
3710 East University Drive, Suite 4
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Ph: 602-437-6400
Fx: 602-437-6410
Web site: www.xantel.com 

Price: $500-2,500 per seat.

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: 4
Documentation: 4
Features: 4
GUI: 5
Overall:  A-

Xantel's Connex package is an excellent software for identifying, managing, and delivering your organization's messages. The product's server software, which runs on a server that sits between a PBX and external telephone lines, supports 25-500 users. The product, from the client side, offers a supurb user interface, as well as an impressive battery of functions.

INSTALLATION
Like many users, we skipped the server side of the software installation. However, unlike most users, who let Xantel personnel perform the server installation on site, we simply connected to a server residing at the Xantel headquarters in Phoenix. According to Xantel, the most challenging part of the installation is physically attaching the server to a company's phone lines. Almost as challenging is the chore of configuring the user accounts. These services, along with training, usually occupy the Xantel personnel for an entire day.

A much easier task is installing the client software. In many cases, installing the client software can be accomplished by individual users. For our purposes, we had to install but one client. We connected to the server at Xantel headquarters, downloaded three files (via FTP), and ran an executable file. A standard Windows wizard quickly took us through the installation.

Our platform was a Pentium 200 running Windows NT 4.0 Server with 32 MB of RAM. Xantel claims that the client software can run on a lowly 386 with 8 MB of RAM running Windows 3.x, but we recommend at least a high-end 486 running Windows 95. (The server itself, usually a turnkey system provided by Xantel, relies on DSP technology to deliver its functionality.)

DOCUMENTATION
Our experience with the Connex documentation, like our experience with installation, was limited to the client side of things. However, the documentation we did review was fine. Information about the client was presented clearly in the printed material as well as in the CD-ROMs. One CD-ROM included a guided tour; the other, a tutorial. Our only criticism is that the tutorial and guided tour run at a snail's pace, which can be annoying for even a moderately technical user.

We would like to point out, however, that the best thing about Xantel's instructions is how they are reinforced by the help support team, which gave us a three-hour overview by telephone. Fortunately, this is more than enough time for any user to feel comfortable with the client software, which we found to be extremely intuitive. The system administrator's software is equally intuitive and well documented.

FEATURES
Rules Creation
Our favorite feature is Xantel's "rules" system, which allows users (depending on conditions set by the system administrator) to custom-build rules dictating what happens when certain parties call them.

Faxing
Users can fax by printing to a fax driver (from within any Windows application); also, they can treat incoming faxes as .TIF files. These files can, in turn, be sent to a user's e-mail account, forwarded on to other system users, or imported into any graphics application. And, because everything goes through the server, users' PCs don't need individual modems. (The control of voice mail messages is similar, but the degree of control depends on whether you use a proprietary voice mail system or Xantel's own system, which is available as an option.)

Remote Administration
We also liked the remote privileges available to the system administrator, who can download diagnostic files, view the status of current users, restart the server, and more, all from any PC. The administrator's rights are even more advanced on site, where we found a seemingly endless array of system settings. All together, there are probably more than a hundred different options that can be combined or expressly set to apply to users or groups of users.

Groupwide Notifications/Annotations
Users can message other users in notes or tags to accompany other voice mail, fax, or telephone messages, and groups are used to control this. There is one master group by default, but any user with the appropriate privileges can configure their own group. Users can also place incoming calls into a group, which is ideal for help desk applications, where a call can use rules to alert other members of the group to its presence. This makes conference calls and organizational team work much easier.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
Logging In
Logging into the system requires a user name and case-sensitive password, plus the computer name or IP address of the server. There's also a "remember" feature for these options, so you'll only have to type them once, but we recommend keeping this feature off for security reasons. Logging in takes from 1-5 seconds, depending on how busy the server is and on other network traffic matters.

User Interface
We loved Connex's intuitive user interface. When calls come in, you can select answer, hold, transfer, or send to a group.

In Figure 10, you'll notice an "available" button on the left. Click it once, and it toggles to read "unavailable." Users can choose from one of five "unavailable" messages to display to other Connex users, including standard unavailable, gone home, out of the office, in a meeting, and other (this last message is customizable). Whenever you leave your desk, or just don't want to be interrupted, toggle this switch to unavailable, and a whole new set of rules applies to incoming messages.

Beneath the available/unavailable toggle there are three indicators, for faxes, messages from other users, and voice mail messages. Clicking on any of these buttons displays that feature's log file, which is essentially the File Manager for incoming messages.

To the right of these buttons are the icons for the user directory, for redialing and for sending voice mail. Continuing to the right, you'll find a dialing keypad, which is also customizable. On the far right are speed dial buttons, limited to 10 numbers.

Across the top are icons used to see the directory, view the call log, record voice prompts, set rules, send a note, rank specific callers ("VIP" or "blackball" status), put callers on hold, mute a call, turn on the "call record" option (the maximum length of which is determined by the system administrator; recorded calls are saved as .WAV files), and access online help.

The bottom portion of the client displays a maximum of five icons at one time, which change dynamically depending on what feature you're currently using. Running the display this way helps keep the windows uncluttered.

Defining A Rule
We don't have the space here to describe all the permutations you can explore when defining rules, so we'll confine ourselves to explaining how we set a sample rule. User rules, by the way, supplement two pre-defined rules. User rules always take precedence over the factory set defaults.

To make a rule, you start by choosing Connex Rules from the tools menu, or by clicking the quad-diamond icon on the toolbar, which brings up the rules dialogue box. All rules follow one protocol -- they abide first to who is messaging you, then by when the rule applies, and finally by what to do with this sender's message, at this time.

"Who" gives five choices: all callers, VIP callers, blackballed callers, callers whose telephone systems don't provide identification, and specific callers. We selected the last option, and set it to apply to the Connex engineer who was helping us via telephone. We also added him to our user directory.

"When" is the next step. Connex lets you choose between when you're available, when you're unavailable, and when it doesn't matter whether you're available or not (the "regardless" option). We selected the first option, in conjunction with a fourth (which applied only during specific time period). (Incidentally, availability can be defined in one-minute increments.) We decided to make ourselves available to this caller, the Connex engineer, on Wednesdays between noon and 6:00 p.m.. That allowed us to make the rule apply immediately, since we created the rule on a Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.

"What" to do with the call is the last step, which itself comprises multiple steps. The first sub-step we chose was "send the call to me" -- an option that instructed the software to send the call directly to our desktop. We also told this part of the rule to wait 25 seconds before moving on to the next part, which would give us ample time to answer the call or to manually interrupt the rule in some other way.

For the second sub-step, which would apply if we didn't intercept the call after 25 seconds, we decided to direct the call toward a second number, in this case a remote phone where we would normally be when away from our desk. We specified the phone number, and allowed for a 20-second interval before moving on. Also, notice that the sample phone number includes an account code between the number and the extension. Account codes are requested by the Connex server before extensions are dialed.

For the third sub-step, if we didn't answer the remote phone in the given time frame, our rule directed the call to a voice mail system, using Connex's system for testing.

As you can see, setting up rules can be complex, but getting used to the format is easy. Considering how varied a typical user's contacts database can be, it's good that Xantel supplies so many options for rule setting, including the option to set one's own voice prompts. And we like that these prompts are set directly through a telephone, and not through a microphone-equipped PC.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
We hate to sound greedy, but although we found veritable cascades of options, we also realized certain options were simply unavailable, and that certain limitations applied. For example, users can create directories of any size, but there can only be 10 speed dial entries. Users can enter their own unavailable messages, but these messages are limited to 40 characters. Also, although many system options can be set remotely, many others cannot, such as the available/unavailable toggle switch. Finally, the system can handle no more than 500 users.

We also have to point out that the system can seem slow at times. In several instances, we had to wait several seconds for a rule to take effect while the incoming caller sits on hold.

We're told that many of these points will be addressed in upcoming releases, which we can't wait to test. We're also told that Xantel may enhance the available/unavailable toggle, by adding a pull-down menu that would allow users to associate the toggle with voice recognition software. That way, when you arrived at or left your desk, you could say "Hello, Connex" or "Bye, Connex," and the switch would toggle by itself.

CONCLUSION
Overall, Connex is a great product. We do see a need for future releases to be made faster, though, and we'd like to see a tutorial that focuses on practicalities and eschews marketing fluff. All the same, we highly recommend this software package to any organization that receives many incoming messages that demand diverse responses. We love the rich feature set, excellent user interface, and knowledgeable support staff.