Automated Attendant is usually the first application that callers hit in the Call Processing scheme. Automated Attendant allows the user to program a menu of choices. For example:

"If you know your party's extension you can dial it now, or press 1 for dial by name; press 2 if you want Sales Department..."

Subsequent layers of menu choices are also possible to further narrow down the destination such as a particular group in the Sales Department.

Each time a caller is presented with a new menu of options, a Call Processing mailbox is required. VMS instantly transfers the caller to an extension or department, thus freeing the VMS port for the next call.

Another option of VMS allows transfer of callers to an Information Mailbox. Information Mailboxes can be Listen Only or Listen-and-Reply. In the latter, the caller has an option of leaving a message after listening to information. For example, information may be given on some product, and callers are told that if they need additional information or want to buy the product, they could leave their name and address and the product would be sent to them.

Call Processing requires dedicated ports equal to the maximum number of simultaneous conversations that the application is expected to process.

A two port minimum is required by the tariff. Maximum number of ports is limited by the current system capacity.

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