Computer Telephony Integration

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Computer Telephony Integration , also known as Computer Telephony Integration or CTI , is a general term for any technology that enables the integration and coordination of interactions over the telephone and computer. The term is mainly used to describe desktop-based interaction that makes users more efficient, but it can also refer to server-based features such as automatic call forwarding .

Usual functions

By application type

EDP ​​controls the telephone system

CTI enables, from computer programs , the automatic establishment, acceptance and termination of telephone calls , the establishment of telephone conferences , the sending and receiving of fax messages , telephone book services and the transfer of calls. CTI applications usually run either on the user's desktop or on an unattended server. Common desktop functions provided by CTI applications:

  • Dialog box - display with call information (ANI = Automatic Number Identification ), dialed number (DNIS = Dialed Number Identification Service ) and dialog box when the call is accepted, with or without the connection data . This function is generally used to use a Business application to search for details about the caller.)
  • Dialing - Automatic dial-in and computer-controlled dialing (power dialing, preview dialing, predictive dialing ).
  • Telephone control - includes call control (taking calls, hanging up, holding, conference calling etc.) and function control (DND (do not disturb), call forwarding etc.).
  • Transferring calls - Coordinated transfer of calls and data between two parties (ie forwarding the dialog box with the call).
  • Call Center - Allows users to log in as a call center agent and control their status as an agent (ready, busy, not ready, break, etc.).
Telephone system controls EDP

The appropriate data record with customer data from a database can be brought onto a screen using automatic caller identification . Furthermore, CTI programs (depending on the provider) can keep a journal of the conversations held. This technology is mainly used by call centers . Common server functions provided by CTI applications:

  • Call forwarding - The automatic forwarding of calls to a new destination connection is based on criteria that usually include a database lookup of the caller's number (ANI) or the number dialed (DNIS).
  • Advanced Call Reporting Features - The detailed data from the CTI application provides superior call reporting.
  • Integration of voice recordings - The detailed data from the CTI application enrich the data that was saved from the recorded calls.

Executions

Computer-phone connections can be divided into two categories:

Call control by the user

Call control by the user ( First Party Call Control )

Works as if there was a direct connection between the user's computer and the phone. Examples would be a modem or a telephone that is connected directly to the computer. Typically, only the computer connected to the phone can control the calls by sending commands directly to the phone. This type of connection is therefore only suitable for desktop applications. The user of the computer can generally control all functions of the phone at will.

Third party call control

Call control by third parties ( Third Party Call Control )

Interactions between any number of computers and telephones are managed / coordinated on / by a dedicated telephony server. As a result, the server controls which information and functions are available to the user. The user's computer generally uses the local network to connect to the telephony server.

Computer Telephony Integration is a feature that is supported by many telephone systems .

CTI systems in practice

In practice, the systems are often integrated in e-mail programs , for example Microsoft Outlook or IBM Notes , and have a TAPI interface. This allows, among other things, saved contacts to be called directly from the e-mail program. Journal functions, for example, store all the notes that a clerk makes during the call, along with the contact details. If necessary, the person making the phone call can immediately access the entire history of customer contact, thus saving unnecessary inquiries. In addition, some CTI modules also offer fax functionality. CRM or backend systems can be connected to some products using standardized interfaces .

History and major technologies

The origins of CTI can be found in the technology of the dialog windows (or pop-ups). As a result, the data collected from the telephone systems can be used as input data to query customer information from the databases and to fill the customer service representative's screen with this same data. This ultimately leads to the agent being able to see the required dialog window on his / her terminal before the telephone call with the customer.

This technology initially spread very widely in markets such as North America and Western European countries.

There were several standards that had a major impact on the "normalization" of the industry and which until then had been non-public and owned by private branch exchange (PBX) and automatic call distributor (ACD) providers. As far as software is concerned, the CSTA standard approved by the ITU standardization organization is the interface that is most commonly implemented by providers. Other well-known CTI standards in the industry are JTAPI , TSAPI, and TAPI . JTAPI, the Java Telephony API, is sponsored by Sun; TSAPI originally learned about AT&T (later from Lucent and then from Avaya ) and Novell advertising; and Microsoft also started its own initiative - this is how TAPI was born, which was supported primarily by Windows applications. All these standards required the PBX providers to program a special driver, the support of which initially took off very slowly.

Two other key players in the industry were Digital Equipment Corporation and Tiger Software (now Mondago ). Digital Equipment Corporation developed the software product CT Connect , which includes application-neutral middleware. CT Connect was then sold to Dialogic , which in turn was acquired by Intel. Known as CT Connect, this CTI software was sold to Envox Worldwide in 2005. Tiger Software, meanwhile, produced the SmartServer suite, which was primarily designed to enable CRM application providers to add CTI functionality to their existing applications with minimal effort. After later renaming to Mondago, Tiger Software began producing the Go Connect server application, which helps other CTI providers to integrate with a wider range of telephone systems.

By 2008, most PBX providers had aligned themselves with one or two of the TAPI, CSTA or TSAPI standards. TSAPI supporters included Avaya and Telrad , while Siemens (now Unify ), Aastra , DeTeWe , Toshiba and Panasonic supported CSTA. The majority (see main article on TAPI for details) preferred TAPI. A few vendors promoted proprietary standards: Mitel , Broadsoft , Digium, and most hosted platforms. CT Connect and Go Connect thus provided an important middle layer for translation, which enables the private branch exchange to communicate in its preferred protocol, while an application can communicate with its preferred protocol.

CSTA

Computer Supported Telecommunications Applications ( CSTA ) is the name of a protocol specification standardized by the ECMA that is used for data traffic between a telephone system and computer programs. Like many other protocols in telecommunications, this specification is written in ASN.1 . The CSTA protocol only defines the transmitted data, not the transport layer. Basic encoding rules (CSTA phase I, II, and III) and XML encoding rules (CSTA phase III) are used to encode the data streams . The CSTA protocol can be transported over various media ( serial , ISDN , TCP / IP ).

The newest variant is uaCSTA (ECMA Technical Report TR / 87). This variant, which was introduced for so-called user agents , was created with a limited scope, which exclusively uses XML for coding.

literature

  • William A. Yarberry, Jr .: Computer Telephony Integration. Second Edition, Auerbach Publications, Washington DC 2003, ISBN 0-8493-1438-0 .
  • Andreas Tikart: VoIP, CTI & ACD in practice: telephone systems for IT administrators. 2nd revised edition, REDLINE GmbH, Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-8266-5901-0 .
  • Bernd Schürmann: Computer connection structures. Friedrich Vieweg + Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 978-3-528-05562-2 .
  • Johannes Hennekeuser, Gerhard Peter: Computer communication for users. Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg 1997, ISBN 978-3-540-57298-5 .
  • Dirk H. Traeger, Andreas Volk: LAN practice of local networks. 4th revised and supplemented edition, BG Teubner, Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 978-3-519-36189-3 .

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