|
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) is not about
technology any more than books are about ink and paper. CTI is an enabling
technology--it enables people to be more productive. It unites the
technologies of the PC, network or host computer with the intimacy of
personal communication. Truly, it means simplification. It allows us to
communicate quickly and more productively with less effort by merging the
two most important and powerful business tools--the computer and the
telephone The ability to access the power of computer telephony has led to an explosion in applications ranging from call routing to unified messaging. These applications and others save time and money by increasing the speed and accuracy with which calls can be processed.
The introduction of open standards permitting any computer system to talk to any phone system compliant with those standards changed that. CSTA, the international standard; TAPI, from Intel® and Microsoft®; and TSAPI from AT&T® and Novell® allow a computer application to work with many telephone systems much the way a software program can work with many printers. It’s no longer a proprietary world.
Increased standards means decreased prices and, as a
result, a rise in the development of CTI applications. In a business
environment honed on rightsizing and increased competition, that adds up
to solutions that meet the needs of businesses of all sizes demanding
faster, more efficient methods of communication.
|
.
CTI is not a new concept, but until recently, the cost
of implementing such technology was prohibitive. There was a high cost of
development, a high cost for the underlying technology, and a high cost of
support, particularly for proprietary solutions.