CALL CENTER/CRM MANAGEMENT SCOPE
Speech Technologies For The 21st Century
By Rob Kassel, SpeechWorks
While flying cars and orbiting hotels remain a distant dream, practical speech technology for input and output is a reality today. In fact, speaking to devices and hearing their spoken responses is rapidly becoming commonplace.

Leveraging Web Infrastructure For Speech Applications (Sidebar)
By Jim Seidman, Verascape, Inc.
From a functional perspective, it is helpful to imagine a VoiceXML platform as conceptually similar to an IVR system, only much more flexible. VoiceXML platforms use open standards and are designed to be interoperable with components from multiple vendors. As a result, these platforms make it easier to deploy voice-based solutions.

HOW TO BUY PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Computer-Telephony Integration: What It Is And How To Use It
By Charles E. Day, Charles E. Day & Associates
Computer-telephony integration (CTI) systems are becoming increasingly more prevalent and powerful in business today. They provide sophisticated call center environments with expanded capabilities. Here is a look at popular CTI applications, missed opportunities, potential trouble spots and operating performance and cybernetics considerations.

Evaluating Inbound Routing Tools In The Age Of Multichannel Customer Contact (Sidebar)
By Ralph Breslauer, Concerto Software
Although the concept of multichannel customer interaction management (CIM) is fairly straightforward, its implementation within the framework of the contact center is quite challenging.

Inbound Routing Software Roundup
The editors of Customer Inter@ction Solutions bring you the names and contact information for a select group of companies that offer products in the inbound routing arena.

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OUTSOURCING OF CALL CENTER AND CRM FUNCTIONS
Its The Law: Complying With Do-Not-Call Legislation
By Donovan Bezer
By now, unless youve been living on another planet, you must know about state do-not-call laws. Enacted back in 1991, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was straightforward, and even if telemarketers did not like the TCPA, they understood how to comply with it. Eleven years later, compliance is not even remotely as simple as it once was.