Formerly CTI� Magazine

October 2000

NEWS AND VIEWS
Breaking News

Letters To The Editor

Enabling Technologies
Chris Donner, Managing Editor
In an industry that changes daily, how is a company supposed to develop a quality product and bring it to market before their window of opportunity is closed? Partnering provides at least part of the answer to this question through education, shared marketing, customization, and coordinated sales.

Corporate Solutions
Carol Drzewianowski, Associate Editor
Does the ASP model present a threat to the traditional PBX model? Why deal with the hassles of frequent upgrades when a service provider will do it for you? Judge for yourself as key industry players tackle this question.

Customer Contact
Carol Drzewianowski, Associate Editor
Scheduling and workforce management software is evolving from simply a functional necessity, to a feature-rich offering. Find out how a call center manager's life can be made much easier.

FEATURES
24 x 7
As communications systems converge, so do power protection requirements. Meaning that only having protection for -48VDC may not be enough. You may need AC power backup as well, and a hybrid solution requires a more holistic systems approach for it to be done right. Fred Stack of Liebert discusses this issue. Additionally Ron Mann of Compaq offers some definitions and troubleshooting tips for power problems.

Swimming With Sharks: Fierce Competition In The Technology Marketplace
By Mary Bradshaw, MultiMedia Telecommunications Association
Technology Company A merges with E-business B, because together they can develop SuperSolution C. Sounds confusing? Mary Bradshaw discusses the risks and opportunities presented by merger strategies. Specifically, she relates the acquisition strategy of Expanets, a networked solutions provider.

TOM KEATING'S CC:
Break Up Microsoft? Are You Kidding Me?
Tom Keating, Executive Technology Editor
The Department of Justice vs. Microsoft case continues to elicit heated discussions. Tom Keating shares his views on what the possible outcome could mean for the communications industry.

REVIEWS
TMC Labs Innovation Awards

DEPARTMENTS
Analytical Views: Voice XML -- A Crisis For IVR
Brian Strachman, Cahners In-Stat Group
Some people view IVR as an antiquated mode of information gathering. But along comes voice XML, possibly boosting IVR's penetration into a promising market.

Inside Networking: Return On Relationship With Legacy Systems
By Tony Rybczynski, Nortel Networks
A narrow focus on the Web channel will take e-business only so far, since most enterprises maintain multiple service delivery channels, including brick-and-mortar channels and electronic channels (the telephone, fax, e-mail, and chat, as well as the Web). To move e-business to the next plane, to encompass all manner of customer interaction, it will be necessary for many enterprises to interface Web-based systems into legacy mainframe-based applications.

On The Horizon: CompactPCI Roadmap -- Fostering Further Success
By Brough Turner, Natural MicroSystems
Must developers relying on CompactPCI take an "off road" approach when building packet-based systems, or systems beyond 2,000 channels? Not necessarily. While we've seen many vendor-specific extensions to CompactPCI, we're already looking forward to common routes, standardized approaches to such things as packet backplanes and extended PCI bridging.