Operating UM in a Multi-language Environment

Providing UM to your users in a multi-language environment requires additional considerations so that your users receive voice prompts for their local language. Consider the following when planning a multi-language implementation:

• Create one UM dial plan for every language you support. For example, if you set up a UM server for Germany, you should configure a UM dial plan with its own subscriber number that has German configured as default language in Language Settings.
• You can only define a single text message in a UM mailbox policy. If you are in a multi-language environment, you should consider either adding a text message for all languages or using a common language only.
• Minimize the number of languages to only the needed ones. Every language installed requires time for grammar generation and language specific work. If you do install all 26 languages, this might never be finished.

Note

You should consider a Subscriber Access number for every primary language that you want to support so that your local users can access their mailboxes in their local language.

Notes from the Field—Changing Language for Voice Mail

Korneel Bullens
Team Coordinator Unified Communications, Wortell, Netherlands

One of the questions I hear from my customers is "Why do I get my OVA greeting in English while my colleague has a Dutch or English intro?" This is a simple challenge. When your mailbox is created and you log on to Outlook or OWA, you encounter a language selection process. The language you pick is the language used on your voice mail. You can change this by opening Outlook Web App and changing your regional settings back to your desired language.