1 Getting Started

This chapter provides an overview of Oracle Communications Connector for Microsoft Outlook.

Deploying Connector for Microsoft Outlook

Connector for Microsoft Outlook enables users in your organization to use Microsoft Outlook as their email, calendar, address book, and Global Address List (GAL) client while connected to Unified Communications Suite servers. Connector for Microsoft Outlook must be installed and configured on each user desktop to facilitate the necessary ongoing communications between Microsoft Outlook and the server. The Connector for Microsoft Outlook software is installed one desktop at a time by a Setup Wizard that can also upgrade or convert any existing Microsoft Outlook data files to a format that the new software can read and use.

About Deployment Connector for Microsoft Outlook

To simplify both the administrator's work associated with deployment and the user's tasks in actually installing and configuring the new software, Oracle provides a deployment configuration program. This tool lets the administrator create customized end-user installation packages for the software, with pre-set configuration parameters to simplify and streamline the user's process, and to enforce any configuration settings the administrator deems necessary or desirable for a particular user or group of users. The deployment configuration program saves those pre-set configuration parameters in an .ini text file, and then bundles the .ini file with an installation program, the Setup Wizard, for end users. When an end user activates the package, the Setup Wizard reads the .ini file to install and configure the Connector software on the user's desktop according to the administrator's specifications.

A system administrator may create different installation packages for individual users or for groups of users. For example, to provide different configuration schemes for users in the Sales department versus the Engineering department and so forth, or to offer configuration options to some groups of users while setting fixed parameters (eliminating the choices) for others.

Administrator's Process Overview

In a typical deployment scenario, an administrator will perform four primary tasks to deploy the Connector for Microsoft Outlook.

Deploying the Connector for Microsoft Outlook

1. Prepare a comprehensive deployment plan.

   Planning and foresight are critical to a smooth deployment. The process of developing a comprehensive deployment plan is a valuable exercise that will lead you to consider and accommodate all of the factors likely to influence your organization's migration. The deployment information in Connector for Microsoft Outlook Installation Guide describes important migration concepts, prerequisites, and strategic choices, and explain how to develop a deployment plan that will guide you through your migration. Every administrator should therefore read these sections and prepare a comprehensive deployment plan.

2. Install the deployment configuration program.

   The administrative software obviously must reside on the administrator's computer before it can be used to create end-user installation packages. See Connector for Microsoft Outlook Installation Guide for more information.

3. Configure end-user package.

   "Configuring End-User Packages" explains how to use the deployment configuration program to create customized packages for Outlook end users. These packages can be configured to install the necessary software on user desktops, or to convert users' existing Outlook data files for use with the new software or both, depending on your circumstances.

4. Deploy each end-user package.

   Create an installation package for your users. Many administrators simply copy the package to a shared folder, and then provide links to the installation package in an announcement email to users.

Steps 1 and 2 of this process overview are a good place to start regardless of your unique configuration and preferences. If your migration strategy calls for two or more different installation packages for different users or user groups, simply repeat steps 3 and 4 for each package until all users have been migrated.

The deployment process can proceed along different paths depending on your original and destination network configurations, the administrative structure of your organization, and your own informed sense of the extent to which your users should be involved in the process of installing and configuring their own desktop software. Moreover, your network configuration or preferences may dictate some variation to the standard scenario described above. "Application Notes for Special Circumstances" provides application notes for the most common of these variations.