Unified Communications – Zoom Phone December Community Update

This update was emailed to employees by Vijay Menta on December 14, 2023.

Good afternoon,

Together we have made excellent progress on the transition to Zoom Phone to enhance Unified Communications! By next week nearly all active campus phone numbers will be transitioned, including a new phone system for WPI Police and emergency phones. In January we transition the remaining inactive numbers and focus on operations. We are very thankful for the community’s efforts to assist and adapt, keeping this project on target. Below are some important updates and notes about using the new system, and next steps.

As of Dec. 19, 2023, blue light emergency phones and elevator emergency phones or buttons will only call WPI Police. Calls to internal extensions and external numbers cannot be placed from these phones.

For areas that have physical phone handsets, we advise phones remain plugged in. Advantages of moving to Zoom Phone are that ITS now has the ability to remotely assess the online/offline phone status, and WPI Police can identify phone locations in an emergency.  When unplugged, the phone status is offline and can neither be reached by WPI Police nor serviced by ITS. If you prefer not to receive calls on a specific phone, please use these instructions to set Do Not Disturb or adjust business hours. 

4-digit dialing resumes as of noon on December 19th!  All WPI phone numbers can be reached in Zoom Phone simply using the 4-digit extension. Some WPI phone extensions are internal only, which means they do not have a full 10-digit phone number. These extensions are recognized by starting with a 2xxx, 3xxx, or 8xxx digit. External callers must dial the main WPI number 508-831-5000, and then enter the 4-digit extension. WPI internal callers can reach these extensions by simply dialing 4-digits.

Directory: 

• Most WPI employees are included in the Zoom Phone directory and are visible when you begin entering their name or extension to make a call. If you can’t find someone, call the department’s main phone number.
• Individual names and numbers in the directory are not available to external callers, including students, since they do not have Zoom Phone. Instead, these calls go to the operator.
• The operator of the WPI main line, 508-831-5000, can only search for and transfer to employees who have their business phone entered in Workday.

Training & Support: Please continue to watch WPI Today and the WPI Hub for training opportunities. You are welcome to contact the IT Service Desk at its@wpi.edu or x5888 for support, questions, and requests.

SMS Update: We continue to work with Zoom to navigate new federal regulations required to enable SMS texting.

Operationalizing & Optimization! This project continues into next year as we develop and implement procedures and refine documentation and support. We will also be planning another project for phase 2, where we will address additional phone service needs, including requests that were out of scope for phase one (i.e. phone installations in spaces that do not currently have phones).

Thank you for your continued cooperation and investment in these improvements. As we head into the holiday break, I hope that each of you, our key contacts, and the entire Unified Communications Project Team can enjoy a bit of relaxation knowing how valuable all contributions have been and how much we have accomplished together. We will be back in the new year with more updates for you!

Best,

Vijay

Vijay Menta (he/him/his) 

Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Information Technology Services

Worcester Polytechnic Institute