September 1999

OPENING DOORS WITH CTI

BY GARY KLIMOVICH AND COLIN BARNETT

Cliff Wener, executive director of Williams Communications Solutions' CTI Lab, carries a wireless phone on the job. But this is no ordinary cellphone. When Cliff wants to enter a secured area of the lab, he presses a button on the phone and the door latch springs open. At the same time, the lab's call accounting system records the activity: phone 4932 unlocked Door 5 at 0711 on 12.02.1998.

The Williams Communications Solutions' CTI Lab is an interactive showcase of advanced computer telephony integration where programmers and customers develop and test CTI applications based on actual business needs. The lab's first suite of CTI software products, Dialect, was released in 1998 and provides customers with products to support a complete CTI environment — including call routing, database access, Internet communications, interactive voice response (IVR), and queue monitoring — all built around industry standards.

Cliff uses a Nortel Meridian Companion phone set programmed to access a door security system connected to a Nortel Meridian 1 PBX. The Companion directory displays a list of available doors, and Cliff selects the one he wants to open.

Phones aren't necessary to open secure doors at the lab — all doors also open with security swipe cards. But the CTI Lab has found a novel use for the Companion phone, and one that provides exceptional customer service. Visiting customers are offered a Companion phone to use during their stay. The Companion has all the features of a Nortel telephone connected to a Nortel Meridian switch, so the customer can receive and make calls anywhere in the lab. And if the capability is activated, the customer can use the phone to open doors, leaving a log of this activity in the lab?s call accounting system.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
There are three components to the system: 1) the PBX, 2) a DTMF controlled relay, and 3) the door security system.

A loop start analog trunk port is defined on the Meridian 1, which can be directly seized by dialing an authorization code. Three Viking Model RC-3 DTMF-controlled relay units are connected to the port. These units are bridged together for a total of nine relay contacts, each controlled by a unique DTMF sequence. By dialing the trunk authorization code and the corresponding DTMF sequence, any one of the nine contacts can be closed.

These contacts are connected to the lab’s door security system. Each contact is connected to a relay for a specific door. When a contact is closed, the security system unlatches the corresponding door.

The Display
This type of application is easy to use because of Companion’s LCD display. Each DTMF sequence is assigned a corresponding entry in the directory. The user presses the Companion’s directory key, scrolls to a particular door, then presses the DIAL key. In the screen enlargement (Figure 1) the directory displays Front Door. Beneath the screen, under the words ERASE, EDIT, and DIAL are three white buttons. The DIAL button opens the listed door.

Security and Audit Trail
To activate a Companion set for use as a “door opener,” the lab’s telecom manager assigns each set a unique authorization code. Whenever that set is used to unlatch a door, the PBX CDR port sends a call-detail record to the lab’s IntegraTRACK call accounting system, providing an audit trail of activity. The authorization codes provide tremendous flexibility — any set can be provided with access to all doors, no doors, or a group of doors.

CTI Extension
The lab has used CTI and IVR to extend the basic application. Soon, they will be able to announce that the door was opened, and have a message sent to a supervisor’s pager noting the same information.

The Companion supports CTI functionality through the use of a 32-bit API provided by Nortel. The only hardware required to support Companion CTI, over and above the Companion system itself, is a Nortel CTA 100 Computer Telephony Adapter. This adapter is placed in series with the Companion administration terminal.

With CTI, the Companion displays text from the database on a CTI server. Programs on the server can also communicate with an IVR system such as Nortel’s Meridian Open IVR to send pre-recorded messages to the paging system and specific pagers.

MORE THAN JUST DOORS
The Companion set simply instructs the PBX to close an electrical switch, based on pre-defined authorization codes, so anything that can be switched on and off is a candidate for an application. Want to turn off all the lights in the office before you leave? Need to turn on a TV monitor as you enter a particular part of the building? If your Companion’s extension is in the PBX database, just press the button. Again, all activities are logged.

Companions are great phones with or without this new application. Many supervisors find them essential, as the Companion literally lets them take their desktop phone with them throughout the building. And with this added application, roving workers can easily control any number of devices in their environment.

Gary Klimovich is senior manager, Technical Services, and Colin Barnett is senior manager, Quality Assurance, of Williams Communications Solutions’ CTI Lab. Williams Communications Solutions is a single-source provider of business communications equipment and multimedia integration services for data, voice, video, and advanced applications. For additional information, please contact Gary Klimovich at 732-326-4627.