Basic Principles
Computer telephony, also called computer
telephony integration (CTI), is a new branch that has
existed since the mid-1980s. CTI is a technology of
coordinating the action of computer and telephony systems.
This is an open technology that allows creating small as
well as large-scale systems. The journal of 'Computer Telephony'
gives the following definition of the branch: 'Computer
Telephony is a technology that uses intelligible computer
resources (hardware and software) to send outgoing calls
and to receive incoming calls, and to manage the telephone system.'
Computer telephony today is characterized by a wealth
of choices and options. It becomes a wide-distributed
technology penetrating into all areas of human activity.
The main reason of its popularity is that it lets companies
to increase the productivity of office workers and to allow
a wide range of new services to their customers.
Typical Model
The simplest computer telephony system consists of the following:
- Voice Server
- Agent's Workstation
- Telephony Switch
The telephony server software manages the system by controlling
interaction between agent workstations and the switch.
It monitors the state of the switch's resources and controls
agent activity accordingly. The telephony server also maintains
call information and agent productivity data. The telephony
client software supports the graphical system interface for
the user and provides interaction between the agent's
workstation and the telephone switch through the voice
server. The telephony client can be customized to
run on a variety of platforms, including Microsoft
Windows, OS/2, and UNIX.
The telephone switch is the hardware component that handles
all telecommunications; it receives inbound calls and
transmits outbound calls.
Capabilities
Functioning of CT systems is based on the use of voice
prompting the caller. A caller listens to a message of
what options can be chosen at the moment and what
action is necessary to choose a specified option.
The caller makes a choice by pressing a key or a
series of keys or, for instance, by a voice command.
Computer telephony offers features that are not
possible with stand-alone telephone equipment:
- Intelligent call routing
- Preview dialing
- Predictive dialing
- Call recording system
- System of voice messaging
- Interactive voice prompting
Benefits
With CTI, companies can:
- Increase productivity of office workers
- Allow a wide range of new services to customer
- Increase efficiency in handling calls
- Reduce number of operators
- Effectively use existing lines
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