April 1998

BY RICH TEHRANI

The quantity of hype and hoopla in the CTI market multiplies at an exponential rate. The products that we at CTI magazine see in our labs are becoming better and better. The latest products are solving real customer problems and saving corporations huge sums of money.

CTI products are the most profitable products for today’s reseller. Corporations installing CTI products find incredible productivity increases and can do more with fewer people. SOHO users can have the image of a Fortune 500-class corporation with call forwarding, conferencing, auto attendant, multiple mailboxes, and more for under $1,000. From unified messaging to PC-based PBXs, computer-telephony integration will change the way we all work. In a call center environment, CTI technology can cut agent talk time down by 30 percent or greater.

In some call centers, CTI has a negligible effect on talk time but increases sales by 30 percent. In other cases, customer satisfaction has jumped through the implementation of call center CTI.

EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORNS
As with any technology that receives a great deal of positive attention at first, there are always a few negatives that rear their ugly head at a later date. CTI is no exception.

The effect of computerization has been dramatic in almost any industry you can imagine. Fishing, farming, transportation, and — believe it or not — even motion-sensitive lights benefit from the ubiquitous use of inexpensive microprocessor control.

There is something special about CTI, however, that makes it necessary for those that implement it to take special caution. I am referring to the letter "T," which stands for telephony (or more generally, telecommunications). This single letter has serious implications and whenever you see it, realize that a special term always precedes it. That term is "mission critical." There is no situation in business where your telephone system can undergo any type of interruption without the business either looking unprofessional or losing money.

Packaging the mission-critical "T" for telephony with the surrounding letters "C" and "I" means that the mission-critical nature of telephony must be recognized and dealt with accordingly during its integration with a computer system. This is true from the smallest home office, to the largest corporation, to the largest call centers. If you are manufacturing, selling, or purchasing CTI systems, please make sure that you account for the fact that computer platforms are not yet as reliable as traditional PBXs or ACDs.

WHY THE PRECAUTIONS?
As any interconnect (PBX reseller) can tell you, PBXs are among the most reliable types of electronic equipment on this planet. They just keep working year after year. Statistics that I have seen place the average PBX downtime at around six seconds a year.

You don’t need to have much experience in the computer field to realize that a PC’s downtime is much greater than six seconds per year. Although Microsoft Windows NT is much more stable that Windows 95, it still cannot match the robustness of a PBX.

THE PBX: MORE RELIABLE THAN A PC
An important point to understand about a PBX is that it is a completely closed system. You are not allowed to run any outside programs on a PBX at all. All programs that run on a PBX are supplied by the manufacturer and are tested extensively for flawless operation. Our own experience in the lab, however, has shown that we can force a PBX to do something it wasn’t supposed to. PBXs are far from foolproof; yet when they do make an error, they don’t seem to crash or lock up. Developers often tell me that many PBXs have mechanisms built into them that allow them to perform a rapid software reboot without disconnecting any lines. I wish my PC could do that.

Besides this inherent closed approach PBX vendors have taken, they have also eliminated moving parts from the PBX entirely. An adjunct or integrated IVR, voice mail, or auto attendant are the only exception to this rule, as they all need a hard disk to operate.

Contrast this architecture to a PC server, where there is a constant flood of new applications being installed: Web server software, e-mail servers, fax servers, file servers, unified messaging servers, and many other applications that run on a server. The temptation is always to run more and more of these applications on the same machine. Even if you’ve gotten into the habit of purchasing unique machines for each server- based application, there are lots of bells and whistles we load onto these servers out of necessity or convenience — anti-virus software, continuous disk defragmentation software, backup software… the list is limitless. These programs often conflict or cause instability in the entire operating system due to memory leaks and other problems.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PC OVER THE PBX
Economy of scale is the single largest weapon the PC has in its arsenal. Whereas most PBX vendors have their own specifications for all of the internal equipment in their PBX, a standard power supply from any computer can fit just about any computer. Likewise, memory, graphics boards, keyboards, hard disks, and other peripherals are swappable between machines.

This economy of scale has dramatic impact on the cost and construction of the most stable and reliable PCs available. The industrial computer is the benefactor of a computer industry based on component-level standards.

For a fraction of the cost and with the same functionality of a PBX, an industrial computer offers redundant, hot swappable power supplies, error-correcting memory, redundant processors, and RAID-based hard disks. In short, a PC or server that is based on standard components can easily outperform a PBX on the basis of value when it comes to fault resilience and fault tolerance.

It should come as no surprise that Microsoft Windows NT has become the runaway leader in future CTI applications. Every vendor I have spoken to has an NT port in the works. Customer demand seems to be the driving force. This demand will soon make NT the dominant platform in this market, if it has not already achieved this goal.

Based on the points above, we know that CTI applications are only as reliable as the underlying software of the OS and the application. Subsequently, it is safe to say that the OS is the most important factor in the adoption of CTI, and that that OS will be Windows NT. We have also established that as the operating system becomes more robust, the CTI market will have fewer barriers to adoption. Every version of NT has become more stable than the last, and we expect this trend to continue.

Although it is not a good idea to be the first person on the block to implement the latest software version (regardless of the vendor), make sure to upgrade your OS on a timely basis, while carefully scrutinizing the appropriate trade journals that cover software bugs and glitches. With the OS taken care of, make sure you are using the best and most reliable industrial computer you can afford. Many CTI vendors have already taken this to heart and are working with industrial computer manufacturers to produce industrial-strength CTI products right from the factory of the industrial computer company.

ROAD TRIP: INDUSTRIAL COMPUTERS
On a recent road trip, I was able to visit a couple of industrial computer manufacturers, and got a feel for how they operate and what strengths they provide their OEM partners.

Industrial Computer Source
One such company was Industrial Computer Source, a fast-growing company that has a reputation for sending out thick product catalogues on a regular basis. If you read this magazine or any other, chances are, you have seen one of their many catalogues.

As I toured their plant, I was amazed to see that they are much more than just a catalogue house. They have OEM agreements with some of the largest CTI and Internet telephony product manufacturers in the business. Although I am not allowed to disclose any of their customers, suffice it to say they have many of the major players in the industry.

While touring their plant, I had the opportunity to look at their upcoming Pentium II 266 MHz computer running some benchmark programs. Although this is far from the in-depth product analysis produced by our TMC Labs, I can tell you that this machine was amazingly fast. One of the features Industrial Computer Source is particularly proud of is the fact that they have mounted the Pentium II "brick" right on the motherboard as opposed to the daughterboard mounting popular with some other vendors in the field. The sheer weight of this "brick" makes it a major stress point on the daughter-board, and can cause long-term warping of the plastic board which can potentially interfere with the solder connections on the board. Please see the company’s Web site at www.indcompsrc.com for more information.

I-Bus
Another vendor that I was able to visit was I-Bus. Although I was not able to conduct an extensive plant tour, I-Bus relayed to me that they have a very strong desire to work with OEMs and to continue to play a role as a design and development partner in the assembly of leading-edge industrial-strength PC solutions. Please visit www.ibus.com for more information.

CTI vendors should all be actively pursuing relationships with industrial computer vendors to assure that the systems they develop are as robust as possible. As the CTI market is still in its infancy, it is important that customers have trouble free experiences with the CTI products they purchase. We want to create a population of repeat buyers.

As a VAR assembling custom IVR solutions, keep in mind that today’s customer installs are tomorrow’s references. A reference such as "The installed system is state-of-the-art and we really love it when it runs," leaves a lot to be desired. Make sure to use only the most reliable components in your installs.

As end users, make sure to impress upon vendors that it is important to you to have the most reliable components possible in the products that you purchase. Don’t purchase a product based on price alone. Industrial computers do cost more, but they are well worth the added security and fault tolerance they provide in your mission-critical telephony applications.

There are two important points I hope you will take with you as a result of reading this Outlook. The first is that an industrial strength or fault tolerant computer with a good UPS and power conditioning system are a must-have for any CTI installation. Secondly, resist the temptation to place additional burden on your CTI server by running too many disparate and unnecessary software packages on this or any other mission-critical computer. Following these important guidelines will ensure a CTI installation that will cause minimal headaches and be as reliable as possible today and in the future.

Novell was the first desktop OS vendor to realize the need for telephony support in th4e OS.  They really serve credit for establishing a desktop OS framework for CTI to thrive in.

Beyond supplying desktop OS components that connected to standard PBXs through their TSAPI specification, they realized that they needed to educate a VAR channel who would beat the computer telephony drum and sell CTI products to end users.  The idea was that once they were educated, end users would jump at the opportunity to increase their corporate efficiency levels by purchasing CTI solutions.

Novell scaled down their computer telephony division a while back and left a group of resellers to continue reselling CTI applications without the level of support they previously enjoyed.  This group, dubbed the"CT Pioneers," evolved from a group of Novell-specific CTI resellers to vendor-neutral resellers.

This nationwide group of seventy-five Vas and telephony resellers is doing its best to make computer telephony happen.  The CT Pioneers currently focus on finding the best business model for selling computer telephony solutions, educating their sales and technical staffs, and finding real products to include in their CT solutions.  They have also been working with vendors to get the sales, marketing, and technical help that they need to get CTI moving.  Their objective is to collaborate with other companies in the CTI arena.  They regularly educate each other about new products, share technical information, share money-making opportunities, and partner to provide customers with the technology that they need.

According to these pioneers, there is a list of CT-related products a mile long.   But there are three important components still missing.  The first component is a hybrid channel that embraces a solution-selling approach.  The second component is an industry-wide training program to provide VARs and telephony resellers with the means to properly train their staffs on datacom, telephony, and the merging of the two.   The third components is end user understanding and acceptance of the benefits and viability of the technology.

The CT Pioneers are a pro-active group--they are addressing the first missing component by using biweekly teleconferences and e-mail to share technical and sales information.   In addition, the Pioneers are working with vendors to help them provide VARs with better products, better marketing materials, and better channel programs.

They are addressing the second missing component, training, by working with the CT Institute, which has developed an industry-wide multi-vendor certification program for the CT industry.  This program, similar to Novell's CNE and Microsofts's MCSE (but vendor-independent), focuses on providing technical training that has, at its core, course in datacom, telephony, and the merging of the two technologies.  The the CT Institute takes their training one step further by providing vendor-specific or CT technology-specific courses to be included in the certification process.  The CT Pioneers will have the first CTE certified engineers in the industry and will continue to leverage the very strong synergy between the two organizations.

The CT Pioneers are also addressing the third missing component--end-user acceptance-- in a number of ways.  They are working in conjunction with the CT Institute to offer   "solutions/interoperability" testing lab for CT products, believing that this will help both VARS and end users. The Pioneers will also be promoting the CT Institute's CTE certification because they believe that technical certification will provide a previously lacking comfort level to end users. Finally, the Pioneers are working with trade shows and with their own seminar formats to focus on CT as a series of business solutions rather than individual products.  To apply for membership or vendor sponsorship, visit their Web site at www.ctpioneers.org. Or contact Pam Avila, at [email protected]or 888-5CTVARS.

We are happy to announce the first major trade show in this industry on the East coast!  When selecting a venue, we make sure to locate CTI EXPO in a convenient location accessible by Bostonians and the New Yorkers as easily as those people south of the Mason Dixon line.

After extensive research, we chose the most beautiful and reachable setting available:   Baltimore, Maryland in the Spring (May 19-22).  Having recently constructed a brand-new convention center in a picturesque harbor setting, Baltimore is a must-see destination for the who family.  I was truly delighted when I visited the city for the first time.  If you haven't been there recently, you don't know what a great location you are missing.

Convenient, easy and inexpensive shuttle and train access means that you can come to CTI EXPO with your entire buying team of decision makers without incurring the huge costs associated with trade shows that are further away.  Bring your buying team, and the whole family as well (but I suggest separate hotel rooms).

Aside from the setting, there will be a host of other great experiences at CTI EXPO that will help you make better purchasing decisions.  CTI magazine editors have diligently chosen seminar topics that are truly education and useful.  If you enjoy the objective, non-nonsense style of the editorial pages of all the TMC publications you read, you will also enjoy the same no-nonsense approach to trade who education that we provide.

Having produced successful trade show since 1986, we are confident that our entire editorial team at TMC will help provide your buying team with the most comprehensive seminar program that will help resellers, developers, service providers and end users alike. An entire pre-conference day will be devoted to educating those people new to the industry.  Here is a break down of some of the highlights:

Pre-Conference

• Principles of Telephony

Telephony Overview

• The PBX And ACD:  What to Look For
• High Bandwidth communications (ISDN/Frame Relay/xDSL)
• Collaborative Computing In Today's Workplace

Voice, Fax, Video, And Data Convergence

• Collaborative Computing:  The Essential Tool For Every Workgroup
• Video Conferencing:  What You Need To Know
• Fax Routing:  Save Time And Money
• Voice Over Data Networks
• PC-PBXs:  Available Now

Introduction To CTI In The Call Center

• CTI Basics
• Call Control:  The Essentials
• Web And Call Center Integration:  How And Why
• Help Desk:  Building For the Future

We haven't forgotten about those of you who are not newcomers.  We have four technology-packed seminar tracks to choose from:

Internet Telephony
Standards, long-distance savings, and Internet fax, and Internet security.

Application Development And Programming
Speakers from Dialogic, Natural Micro, MediaSoft Telecom, and more.

CTI Technology
Productivity tools, the PC-PBX unified messaging, and more.

Reseller, Integrator And Developer Opportunities
Choosing a product to resell, PBX selection, and more.

There are too many sessions to list here, so I encourage you to look in the brochure bound into the this issue or visit our Web site at www.ctiexpo.com for more information.

We at TMC strive to stimulate the education process and make it an exciting learning experience by limiting most of our seminars to a single instructor--thereby eliminating the sales pitches so common at many industry trade show seminars loaded with multiple panelists.  As with our magazines, we pride ourselves at TMC on providing a first-rate educational experience with every product we produce.

The Exhibit Hall is packed with exhibitors that span many facets of the CTI industry.   Some of the exciting exhibitors you will see are Lucent/Rhetorex, Natural MicroSystems, Samsung, Mosaix, Inter-Tel, Switchview, MCI, DC systems, Periphonics, and many more.  Please see www.ctiexpo.com for an up-to-date list.

I always save the best for last. Microsoft and Cisco will be detailing their strategy of convergence in once location at CTI EXPO at keynote addresses for the first time that I am aware of in trade show history.  This is a historic opportunity to come find out how the leading software provider and networking equipment provider will affect the telecommunications industry.

A mere five years ago, networking companies had few, if any, telephony products.   Contrast this to 1998, a year in which every networking company and Microsoft is preaching convergence.  The industry is rapidly evolving and you need to come to CTI EXPO, May 19-22 in Baltimore to find out why and how it will benefit you.