Computer telephony integration
Encyclopedia
Computer telephony integration, also called computer–telephone integration or CTI, is a common name for any technology that allows interactions on a telephone
and a computer
to be integrated or coordinated. The term is predominantly used to describe desktop-based interaction for helping users be more efficient, though it can also refer to server-based functionality such as automatic call routing.
Common desktop functions provided by CTI applications
Common server functions provided by CTI applications
First-party call control
Third-party call control
") technology. This allows data collected from the telephone systems to be used as input data to query databases with customer information and populate that data instantaneously in the customer service representative screen. The net effect is the agent already has the required screen on his/her terminal before speaking with the customer.
This technology started gaining widespread adoption in markets like North America and West European countries.
There were several standards which had a major impact in the ´normalization´ of in the industry, previously fully closed and proprietary to each PBX/ACD
vendor. On the software level, the most adopted interface by vendors is the CSTA
standard, which is approved by the standards body ITU
. Other well known CTI standards in the industry are JTAPI, TSAPI and TAPI
: JTAPI, the Java Telephony API is promoted by Sun; TSAPI, originally promoted by the AT&T (later Lucent then Avaya
) and Novell
, by far the most adopted in large scale contact centers; Microsoft pushed their own initiative also, and thus TAPI was born, with support mostly from Windows applications.
Among the key players in this area, Lucent played a big role and IBM
acquired ROLM
Inc, a US pioneer in ACDs, in an attempt to normalize all major PBX vendor interfaces with its CallPath middleware
. This attempt failed when it sold this company to Siemens AG
and gradually divested in the area. A pioneer startup that combined the technologies of voice digitization, Token Ring networking, and time-division multiplexing
was ZTEL of Wilmington, Massachusetts
. ZTEL's computer-based voice and data network combined user-programmable voice call processing features, protocol conversion for automated "data call processing," database-driven directory and telset definitions, and custom LSI chipset technology. Unfortunately, ZTEL ran into funding and management problems, and it ceased operation in 1986.
Two other important players were Digital Equipment Corporation
and Tiger Software
(now Mondago). Digital Equipment Corporation developed CT Connect
which includes vendor abstraction middleware. CT Connect was then sold to Dialogic
, which in turn was purchased by Intel. This CTI software, known as CT Connect
, was most recently sold in 2005 to Envox Worldwide. Tiger Software produced the SmartPhone suite which was primarily aimed at allowing CRM application vendors to add CTI functionality to their existing applications with minimal effort. After changing their name to Mondago, Tiger Software went on to produce the Go Connect server application, which is aimed at providing at helping other CTI vendors integrate with a wider range of telephone systems.
Many of the early CTI vendors and developers have changed hands over the years. An example is Nabnasset, an Acton, Massachusetts
firm that developed a CORBA
based CTI solution for a client and then decided to make it into a general product. It merged with Quintus, a customer relationship management
company, which went bankrupt and was purchased by Avaya
Telecommunications. Smaller organisations have also survived from the early days and have leveraged their heritage to thrive. However, many of the 1980s startups that were inspired by the "Bell Breakup
" and the coming competitive telephony marketplace, did not survive the decade.
On the hardware level, there was a paradigm shift since 1993, with emerging standards from IETF, which led to several new players like Dialogic
, Brooktrout (now part of Dialogic), Natural MicroSystems (also now part of Dialogic) and Aculab
offering telephony interfacing boards for various networks and elements.
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
and a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
to be integrated or coordinated. The term is predominantly used to describe desktop-based interaction for helping users be more efficient, though it can also refer to server-based functionality such as automatic call routing.
By application type
CTI applications tend to run on either a user's desktop, or an unattended server.Common desktop functions provided by CTI applications
- Screen popping - Call information display (caller's number (ANIAutomatic number identificationAutomatic number identification is a feature of telephony intelligent network services that permits subscribers to display or capture the billing telephone number of a calling party. In the United States it is part of Inward Wide Area Telephone Service . ANI service was created by AT&T for...
), number dialed (DNIS), and Screen popScreen popIn call centers that provide integration between a telephone system and an agent's desktop , a screen pop is a window or dialog box that autonomously appears on the desktop, displaying information for a call simultaneously sent to that agent's telephone....
on answer, with or without using calling line data. Generally this is used to search a business application for the caller's details. - Dialing - Automatic dialing and computer-controlled dialing (power dial, preview dial, and predictive dialPredictive dialerA predictive dialer dials a list of telephone numbers and connects answered dials to people making calls, often referred to as agents. Predictive dialers use statistical algorithms to minimize the time that agents spend waiting between conversations, while minimizing the occurrence of someone...
). - Phone control - Includes call control (answer, hang up, hold, conference, etc.) and feature control (DND, call forwarding, etc.).
- Transfers - Coordinated phone and data transfers between two parties (i.e., pass on the Screen popScreen popIn call centers that provide integration between a telephone system and an agent's desktop , a screen pop is a window or dialog box that autonomously appears on the desktop, displaying information for a call simultaneously sent to that agent's telephone....
with the call.). - Call center - Allows users to log in as a call center agent and control their agent state (Ready, Busy, Not ready, Break, etc.).
Common server functions provided by CTI applications
- Call routing - The automatic routing of calls to a new destination based on criteria normally involving a database lookup of the caller's number (ANI) or number dialed (DNIS).
- Advanced call reporting functions - Using the detailed data that comes from CTI to provide better-than-normal call reporting.
- Voice recordingCall recording softwareCall recording software records telephone conversations over PSTN or VoIP in a digital audio file format. Call recording is distinct from call logging and tracking, which record details about the call but not the conversation; however, software may include both recording and logging...
integration - Using data from CTI to enrich the data stored against recorded calls.
By connection type
Computer-phone connections can be split into two categories:First-party call control
- Operates as if there is a direct connection between the user's computer and the phone set. Examples are a modemModemA modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
or a phone plugged directly into the computer. Typically, only the computer associated with the phone can control it by sending commands directly to the phone and thus this type of connection is suitable for desktop applications only. The computer can generally control all the functions of the phone at the computer user's discretion.
Third-party call control
- Interactions between arbitrary numbers of computers and telephones are made through and coordinated by a dedicated telephony server. Consequently, the server governs which information and functions are available to a user. The user's computer generally connects to the telephony server over the local network.
History and main CTI technologies
The origins of CTI can be found in simple screen population (or "screen popScreen pop
In call centers that provide integration between a telephone system and an agent's desktop , a screen pop is a window or dialog box that autonomously appears on the desktop, displaying information for a call simultaneously sent to that agent's telephone....
") technology. This allows data collected from the telephone systems to be used as input data to query databases with customer information and populate that data instantaneously in the customer service representative screen. The net effect is the agent already has the required screen on his/her terminal before speaking with the customer.
This technology started gaining widespread adoption in markets like North America and West European countries.
There were several standards which had a major impact in the ´normalization´ of in the industry, previously fully closed and proprietary to each PBX/ACD
Automatic call distributor
In telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor , also known as Automated Call Distribution, is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals that agents use. It is often part of a computer telephony integration system.Routing incoming calls is the task of the ACD...
vendor. On the software level, the most adopted interface by vendors is the CSTA
Computer-supported telecommunications applications
Computer-supported telecommunications applications is an abstraction layer for telecommunications applications. It is independent of underlying protocols. It has a telephone device model that enables CTI applications to work with a wide range of telephone devices. Originally developed in 1992,...
standard, which is approved by the standards body ITU
Itu
Itu is an old and historic municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2009 was 157,384 and the area is 641.68 km². The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, meaning big waterfall. Itu is linked with the highway numbered the SP-75 and are flowed...
. Other well known CTI standards in the industry are JTAPI, TSAPI and TAPI
Telephony Application Programming Interface
The Telephony Application Programming Interface is a Microsoft Windows API, which provides computer telephony integration and enables PCs running Microsoft Windows to use telephone services. Different versions of TAPI are available on different versions of Windows...
: JTAPI, the Java Telephony API is promoted by Sun; TSAPI, originally promoted by the AT&T (later Lucent then Avaya
Avaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
) and Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
, by far the most adopted in large scale contact centers; Microsoft pushed their own initiative also, and thus TAPI was born, with support mostly from Windows applications.
Among the key players in this area, Lucent played a big role and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
acquired ROLM
ROLM
-Products:The company first produced rugged mil-spec computers which used Data General software. The company divisionalized in 1978 becoming Rolm Mil-Spec Computers and Rolm Telecom...
Inc, a US pioneer in ACDs, in an attempt to normalize all major PBX vendor interfaces with its CallPath middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
. This attempt failed when it sold this company to Siemens AG
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
and gradually divested in the area. A pioneer startup that combined the technologies of voice digitization, Token Ring networking, and time-division multiplexing
Time-division multiplexing
Time-division multiplexing is a type of digital multiplexing in which two or more bit streams or signals are transferred apparently simultaneously as sub-channels in one communication channel, but are physically taking turns on the channel. The time domain is divided into several recurrent...
was ZTEL of Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm...
. ZTEL's computer-based voice and data network combined user-programmable voice call processing features, protocol conversion for automated "data call processing," database-driven directory and telset definitions, and custom LSI chipset technology. Unfortunately, ZTEL ran into funding and management problems, and it ceased operation in 1986.
Two other important players were Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
and Tiger Software
Mondago
Mondago Ltd, founded in 2001 as Tiger Software Ltd, offers various Computer Telephony software products for supply across Europe. Their products serve small, medium and national multi-location companies across various industries....
(now Mondago). Digital Equipment Corporation developed CT Connect
CT Connect
CT Connect is a software product that allows computer applications to monitor and control telephone calls. This monitoring and control is called computer-telephone integration, or CTI...
which includes vendor abstraction middleware. CT Connect was then sold to Dialogic
Dialogic Corporation
Dialogic Corporation is a designer, developer and manufacturer of communication products. It was founded in 1984 in Montreal, Canada. Dialogic products are sold worldwide through a large network of distributors and resellers, and supplied to OEMs....
, which in turn was purchased by Intel. This CTI software, known as CT Connect
CT Connect
CT Connect is a software product that allows computer applications to monitor and control telephone calls. This monitoring and control is called computer-telephone integration, or CTI...
, was most recently sold in 2005 to Envox Worldwide. Tiger Software produced the SmartPhone suite which was primarily aimed at allowing CRM application vendors to add CTI functionality to their existing applications with minimal effort. After changing their name to Mondago, Tiger Software went on to produce the Go Connect server application, which is aimed at providing at helping other CTI vendors integrate with a wider range of telephone systems.
Many of the early CTI vendors and developers have changed hands over the years. An example is Nabnasset, an Acton, Massachusetts
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
firm that developed a CORBA
Çorba
Chorba , ciorbă , shurpa , shorpo , or sorpa is one of various kinds of soup or stew found in national cuisines across Middle East...
based CTI solution for a client and then decided to make it into a general product. It merged with Quintus, a customer relationship management
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
company, which went bankrupt and was purchased by Avaya
Avaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
Telecommunications. Smaller organisations have also survived from the early days and have leveraged their heritage to thrive. However, many of the 1980s startups that were inspired by the "Bell Breakup
Bell System divestiture
The Bell System divestiture, or the breakup of AT&T, was initiated by the filing in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Justice of an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T. The case, United States v...
" and the coming competitive telephony marketplace, did not survive the decade.
On the hardware level, there was a paradigm shift since 1993, with emerging standards from IETF, which led to several new players like Dialogic
Dialogic Corporation
Dialogic Corporation is a designer, developer and manufacturer of communication products. It was founded in 1984 in Montreal, Canada. Dialogic products are sold worldwide through a large network of distributors and resellers, and supplied to OEMs....
, Brooktrout (now part of Dialogic), Natural MicroSystems (also now part of Dialogic) and Aculab
Aculab
Aculab is a privately held, UK-based limited company that was founded in 1978. It is a designer, developer and manufacturer specialising in enabling technology for telephony and communication products that are used in fixed line PSTN, wireless and VoIP networks. Aculab's products are sold worldwide...
offering telephony interfacing boards for various networks and elements.
See also
- Automatic number identificationAutomatic number identificationAutomatic number identification is a feature of telephony intelligent network services that permits subscribers to display or capture the billing telephone number of a calling party. In the United States it is part of Inward Wide Area Telephone Service . ANI service was created by AT&T for...
(ANI) - Automatic call distributorAutomatic call distributorIn telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor , also known as Automated Call Distribution, is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals that agents use. It is often part of a computer telephony integration system.Routing incoming calls is the task of the ACD...
- Dialed Number Identification ServiceDialed Number Identification ServiceDialed Number Identification Service is a service sold by telecommunications companies to corporate clients that lets them determine which telephone number was dialed by a customer. This is useful in determining how to answer an inbound call. The Telecommunications company sends a DNIS number to...
(DNIS) - Predictive dialerPredictive dialerA predictive dialer dials a list of telephone numbers and connects answered dials to people making calls, often referred to as agents. Predictive dialers use statistical algorithms to minimize the time that agents spend waiting between conversations, while minimizing the occurrence of someone...
- Screen popScreen popIn call centers that provide integration between a telephone system and an agent's desktop , a screen pop is a window or dialog box that autonomously appears on the desktop, displaying information for a call simultaneously sent to that agent's telephone....
- Telephony Application Programming InterfaceTelephony Application Programming InterfaceThe Telephony Application Programming Interface is a Microsoft Windows API, which provides computer telephony integration and enables PCs running Microsoft Windows to use telephone services. Different versions of TAPI are available on different versions of Windows...
(TAPI) - Telephony Server Application Programming InterfaceTelephony Server Application Programming InterfaceTSAPI, short for Telephony Server Application Programming Interface, was a computer telephony integration standard developed and promoted by Novell and AT&T. It consisted of a number of call control commands for switching calls, voice mail and call logging using Netware servers...
(TSAPI) - Computer-supported telecommunications applicationsComputer-supported telecommunications applicationsComputer-supported telecommunications applications is an abstraction layer for telecommunications applications. It is independent of underlying protocols. It has a telephone device model that enables CTI applications to work with a wide range of telephone devices. Originally developed in 1992,...
(CSTA) - Multi-Vendor Integration ProtocolMulti-Vendor Integration ProtocolThe Multi-Vendor Integration Protocol is a hardware bus for computer telephony integration equipment, a PCM data highway for interconnecting expansion boards inside a PC...