Microsoft Teams Enhances Voicemail: Supports Distribution Lists & Security Groups

Microsoft Teams' Shared Voicemail Now Supports Distribution Lists and Security Groups

Microsoft Teams' Auto Attendants and Call Queues Shared Voicemail have received an update. Previously, the transfer of shared voicemail was only possible via a Microsoft 365 Group. However, the software has now been updated to support Distribution Lists and Mail Enabled Security Groups. The time of implementation of these changes remains uncertain.

In the past, search boxes in Auto Attendant or Call Queue Wizards could only return Office 365 Groups, but now they return other types of groups as well. This includes Security Groups, which, it should be noted, are not capable of receiving emails. For more information on the Auto Attendant or Call Queue capabilities, check out this link.

There have been queries raised as to whether shared voicemails are delivered to Distribution Lists. In this context, it appears to be working smoothly, with voicemails being received through both Distribution Lists and Mail Enabled Security Groups. Visually, in Outlook, both types of groups appear identical.

In a test scenario, shared voicemail emails sent to Distribution Lists and Mail Enabled Security Groups may be labeled as a "Distribution list", despite being technically distinct group types. Both types of groups are presented similarly in Azure AD as well.

No changes have been observed on the PowerShell side, with OverflowAction bearing the title "SharedVoicemail" and the OverflowActionTarget.Type retaining the "Mailbox" label. The Overflow Action Target's Id also remains as the group's Object Id. Despite these new changes, thankfully, this means that there is no need for an update to the M365 Call Flow Visualizer.

It might be seen as slightly concerning to find that a Security Group's Id was set as the Shared Voicemail Target for a Call Queue through PowerShell. When this is updated through PowerShell, the Security Group name is displayed through the Wizard. Given that security groups are not included in search results, it seems questionable functionality at present.

While there is great potential in this updated functionality, it is advised not to implement this in a production environment until there are confirmed updates to the official documentation. With Microsoft 365 Groups as the only option before, users had to ensure that all group emails were subscribed to or that the Follow in Inbox feature was activated.

Mention of the missing group type validation in Set-CsCallQueue has been reported to Microsoft for review and potential fixes. But for now, it is urged to be extra cautious in configuring Group Ids of Microsoft 365 Groups, Distribution Lists or Mail Enabled Security Groups.

It is expected that future updates will address these issues and offer users even more flexibility and convenience when using Microsoft's communication platform.

Read the full article Microsoft Teams Shared Voicemail Now Supports Distribution Lists and Security Groups

Learn about Microsoft Teams Shared Voicemail Now Supports Distribution Lists and Security Groups

New updates in Teams (used once) Auto Attendants and Call Queues have brought interesting changes to the functionalities of shared voicemails. Initially, the configuration could only support a Microsoft 365 Group as a transfer target. This article shares the revised functionality.

The wizards in Auto Attendant or Call Queue can now return Distribution Lists and Mail Enabled Security Groups to the search box. There's no clear date indicating when this update was implemented, however, the evidence suggests it has been in effect for some time.

In spite of the alterations, the documentation is not yet updated. At present, it continues to reference Office 365 instead of Microsoft 365 groups. Furthermore, Auto Attendant and Call Queue Wizard still reference Microsoft 365 Groups only, even though they provide results for Distribution Lists and Mail Enabled Security Groups upon a search.

The new development piques the question of whether these new group types are just selectable options or whether shared voicemails can actually be sent to Distribution Lists as well. The current evidence suggests that it works just fine.

• Distribution Lists and Mail Enabled Security Groups look exactly the same in Outlook, despite being different group types technically.
• There have not been any changes on the PowerShell side of functionalities.
• The OverflowAction is still labeled as “SharedVoicemail” and OverflowActionTarget.Id remains as the group’s ObjectId.

Notably, the Auto Attendant properties remain unchanged as well. However, it has been discovered that the Id of a Security Group can be set as Shared Voicemail Target for a Call Queue via PowerShell. Unfortunately, PowerShell doesn't seem to take into account the group type when the queue is saved.

This article discourages implementation in a production environment until the official documentation is updated, and Microsoft confirms the correct working of this feature. With the former set up, users had to constantly ensure they were subscribed to receive all group emails or enabled the Follow in Inbox feature on their own.

These new features of Microsoft Phone (used thrice, alternate name used) pose as valuable updates and their operative confirmation is anticipated. Though there exist minor mishaps, such as missing group type validation for Set-CsCallQueue, it can be accounted for with caution during configuration and by ensuring appropriate Group Ids are utilized.

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Keywords

Microsoft Teams, Shared Voicemail, Distribution Lists, Security Groups, Teams Voicemail, Voicemail Support, Microsoft Security, Voicemail Features, Microsoft Teams Updates, Teams Distribution Lists.