Versit Consortium
Encyclopedia
The Versit Consortium was a multivendor initiative founded by Apple Computer
, AT&T, IBM
and Siemens
in the early 1990s in order to create Personal Data Interchange (PDI) technology, open specifications for exchanging personal data over the Internet
, wired and wireless connectivity and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI
). The Consortium
started a number of projects to deliver open specifications aimed at creating industry standards.
was the Versit CTI Encyclopedia (VCTIE), a 3,000 page, 6 volume set of specifications defining how computer and telephony systems are to interact and become interoperable. The Encyclopedia was built on existing technologies and specifications such as ECMA
's call control specifications, TSAPI and industry expertise of the core technical team. The volumes are:
Appendices include:
The core Versit CTI Encyclopedia technical team was composed of David H. Anderson and Marcus W. Fath from IBM
, Frédéric Artru
and Michael Bayer from Apple Computer
, James L. Knight from AT&T
(then Lucent Technologies
), Tom Miller from Siemens
, and consultants Ellen Feaheny and Charles Hudson. Upon completion, the Versit CTI Encyclopedia was transferred to the ECTF
and has been adopted in the form of ECTF C.001. This model represents the basis for the ECTF
's call control efforts.
Though the Versit CTI Encyclopedia ended up influencing many products, there was one full compliant implementation of the specifications that was brought to market: Odisei
, a French company founded by team member Frédéric Artru
developed the IntraSwitch IP-PBX. Odisei
was later acquired by semiconductor company 8x8
, which deployed the IntraSwitch technology as the second largest standalone U.S. VoIP service provider.
proposed and went on to create the vCard
and vCalendar technologies. vCards were intended to make it easy for many people using computers connected to the Internet
to exchange contact information, while vCalendars were intended to make it easy for people to swap scheduling information.
In 1996, all rights to these technologies were transferred to the Internet Mail Consortium
, a trade association headed by the original Versit Consortium members, which continues to maintain and develop the standards.
This was later extended to create technologies for VToDo, to transfer ToDo
details between computing devices, and vBookmark, to transfer URL
s between computing devices.
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, AT&T, 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...
and Siemens
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....
in the early 1990s in order to create Personal Data Interchange (PDI) technology, open specifications for exchanging personal data over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, wired and wireless connectivity and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI
Computer telephony integration
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 Consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
started a number of projects to deliver open specifications aimed at creating industry standards.
Computer Telephony Integration
One of the most ambitious project of the ConsortiumConsortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
was the Versit CTI Encyclopedia (VCTIE), a 3,000 page, 6 volume set of specifications defining how computer and telephony systems are to interact and become interoperable. The Encyclopedia was built on existing technologies and specifications such as ECMA
ECMA
Ecma or ECMA may refer to:* Ecma International, an international standards organization for Information Communication Technology and Consumer Electronics* Engineering College Magazines Associated, a group of student-run engineering-based publications...
's call control specifications, TSAPI and industry expertise of the core technical team. The volumes are:
- Volume 1, Concepts & Terminology
- Volume 2, Configurations & Landscape
- Volume 3, Telephony Feature Set
- Volume 4, Call Flow Scenarios
- Volume 5, CTI Protocols
- Volume 6, Versit TSAPI
Appendices include:
- Versit TSAPI header file
- Protocol 1 ASN.1 description
- Protocol 2 ASN.1 description
- Versit Server Mapper Interface header file
- Versit TSDI header file
The core Versit CTI Encyclopedia technical team was composed of David H. Anderson and Marcus W. Fath from 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...
, Frédéric Artru
Frédéric Artru
Frédéric Artru is a French entrepreneur born in Pau, France. He is best known for his work as co-author of the Versit CTI Encyclopedia and the specifications of Versit's protocols as well as the founder of Odisei, a French-based software company that achieved the highest return on investment on a...
and Michael Bayer from Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, James L. Knight from AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
(then Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies
Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc., originally Lucent Technologies, Inc. is a French-owned technology company composed of what was formerly AT&T Technologies, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs...
), Tom Miller from Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, and consultants Ellen Feaheny and Charles Hudson. Upon completion, the Versit CTI Encyclopedia was transferred to the ECTF
ECTF
ECTF was formed in1995 by telephony equipment and software suppliers toimprove the interoperability of various vendors’ CT solutions.Until ECTF was formed, the computer telephony industry was an...
and has been adopted in the form of ECTF C.001. This model represents the basis for the ECTF
ECTF
ECTF was formed in1995 by telephony equipment and software suppliers toimprove the interoperability of various vendors’ CT solutions.Until ECTF was formed, the computer telephony industry was an...
's call control efforts.
Though the Versit CTI Encyclopedia ended up influencing many products, there was one full compliant implementation of the specifications that was brought to market: Odisei
Odisei
Odisei S.A. was a French company based in Sophia-Antipolis, France that developed the first Internet protocol private branch exchange software solution hosted by carriers Frédéric Artru launches Odisei in Sophia-Antipolis. It was founded by Frédéric Artru in 1998 based on his work at the Versit...
, a French company founded by team member Frédéric Artru
Frédéric Artru
Frédéric Artru is a French entrepreneur born in Pau, France. He is best known for his work as co-author of the Versit CTI Encyclopedia and the specifications of Versit's protocols as well as the founder of Odisei, a French-based software company that achieved the highest return on investment on a...
developed the IntraSwitch IP-PBX. Odisei
Odisei
Odisei S.A. was a French company based in Sophia-Antipolis, France that developed the first Internet protocol private branch exchange software solution hosted by carriers Frédéric Artru launches Odisei in Sophia-Antipolis. It was founded by Frédéric Artru in 1998 based on his work at the Versit...
was later acquired by semiconductor company 8x8
8x8
8x8 Inc. is a United States communications technology company, one of the largest VoIP service providers in the country. 8x8, Inc. offers integrated voice, video and mobile unified communications solutions for small to medium-sized business and distributed enterprise customers.-Products:*8x8...
, which deployed the IntraSwitch technology as the second largest standalone U.S. VoIP service provider.
Personal Data Interchange
In 1995, the ConsortiumConsortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
proposed and went on to create the vCard
VCard
vCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards are often attached to e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways, such as on the World Wide Web or Instant Messaging...
and vCalendar technologies. vCards were intended to make it easy for many people using computers connected to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to exchange contact information, while vCalendars were intended to make it easy for people to swap scheduling information.
In 1996, all rights to these technologies were transferred to the Internet Mail Consortium
Internet Mail Consortium
The Internet Mail Consortium provides information about all the Internet mail standards and technologies. They also prepare that supplement the Internet Engineering Task Force's RFCs....
, a trade association headed by the original Versit Consortium members, which continues to maintain and develop the standards.
This was later extended to create technologies for VToDo, to transfer ToDo
Todo
Todo may refer to:* Todo , a Mexican humor magazine.* Todo Bichig, Kalmyk ‘Clear Script’* Time management, or to-do list* TODO, a computer programming comment tagTōdō may refer to:...
details between computing devices, and vBookmark, to transfer URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
s between computing devices.
External links
- Minčių Sodas - Archive - Thinking Powerfully - Number 184 (Andrius Kulikauskas' reasoning for opposing XMLXMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
as the format for vBookmark) - CompTIA ECTF group - Repository of the Versit CTI Encyclopedia