THE LATEST FROM LUCENT
Lucent Technologies Computer Telephony Products (formerly known
as Rhetorex) has made their first product introduction under their new name. The Vantage
DSPM is a cost-effective voice and fax processing technology for OEMs. The Vantage DSPM
module is slightly larger than a credit card and combines with a single board computer
(SBC) to provide a complete PC-based platform in a compact package. The SBC and DSPM
combined are custom designed to insert into the back-plane of a key system or PBX.
The DSPM module offers the capabilities of the Lucent Vantage Series platforms,
including high-performance fax algorithms, which enable unified messaging as well as other
computer telephony applications.
Each DSPM module provides 4 channels with a limit of 16 channels per SBC. The product
should reduce overall system cost for OEMs by eliminating the need for redundant analog
interface on the voice or fax processing component and utilizing the interface available
in the PBX. For more information, please visit www.lucentctproducts.com.
MICROSOFT COMMITTED TO CTI
Various Microsoft representatives have recently reassured me of
Microsoft’s commitment to TAPI 3.0 and telephony. It appears they want to assuage any
possible doubt as to the "top priority" status being given to telephony.
Although it is too soon to tell for sure, the preliminary reports from developers using
TAPI 3.0 are that it is an order of magnitude easier to develop with 3.0 than 2.1. This is
great news for all CTI applications developers and users. We will keep you posted as we
hear more. Meanwhile, pay a visit to www.microsoft.com.
CYBERDESK INCORPORATES TTS
Mediaphonics has recently signed a licensing agreement with
Lernout and Hauspie (L&H) to enable Mediaphonics’ PhoneRider CyberDesk with
text-to-speech (TTS) capability. PhoneRider 33.6 received a favorable review from TMC labs
in the May/June 1997 issue of CTI � . With this new TTS capability, PhoneRider now
enables remote access of unified messaging mail as well as the ability to respond to any
mail with a voice message. Furthermore, CyberDesk can now specify remote forwarding of
calls, allowing users to set up a one-number "follow me" system. For more
information, please visit www.mediaphonics.com
or www.lhs.com.
TELRAD’S AGENT-C: SECRET NO MORE
In the August 1997 issue of CTI
� , we
reported on the revolutionary switch-based server architecture proposed and subsequently
implemented by Telrad. Instead of external CTI links that rely on proprietary or even open
standards, Telrad takes CTI one step further by integrating the PC server right into the
PBX.
Leveraging the power of the switch-based server has allowed Telrad to introduce
Agent-C. With this new release, they bring a unique shrink-wrapped package that is
"plug-and-play" to the desktops of call centers. Having the server so tightly
integrated with the PBX allows database searches to take place immediately, without
incurring any network delay. The ability to bring up customer history, and set triggers
for a variety of applications based on Caller ID, ANI, DID, and DNIS allows predetermined
events to take place before a call is answered.
Telrad is one of the few PBX manufacturers that harps on integrating voice telephony
with data communications on the network. This is a very logical extension of the core PBX
functions, and something I have been promoting for some time now. Coming from a PBX
company, this is a very impressive direction, and I believe that most PBX vendors will be
forced to follow their lead eventually. For more information, please see www.telradusa.com.
PARITY’S IP-ENABLED APP GENS
Underscoring the growth of Internet telephony, Parity has
announced one of the first application generators that can handle Internet telephony. The
two products that have been enhanced to handle IP are Parity’s well-established
Call-Suite and VOS app gens. Their new products support Dialogic’s newly released DM3
mediastream resource architecture, and the DM3 IPLink platform. The goal of these new
releases is to bring the graphical interface to the currently cumbersome world of Internet
telephony programming, which requires knowledge of low-level APIs and telephony
board-level architecture.
VoiceBocx/IP adds IP telephony support to the CallSuite family of ActiveX development
tools, allowing users of Visual Basic, Visual C++, Delphi, and other Windows languages to
avoid the low-level programming interface that the Dialogic IPLink drivers offer. The
beauty of this product is that the VoiceBocx/IP works just like Parity’s VoiceBocx
versions for other Dialogic boards — the familiar VoiceBocx interface is almost
unchanged, making it exceptionally easy for developers who may or may not be familiar with
Parity’s products to make the jump to IP telephony.
VOS developers can download a free VoIP RLL from the
Parity Web site, www.paritysw.com.
ELPAS, THE NEXT GENERATION
The Motorola StarTAC was designed with Star Trek-type
communicators in mind. Indeed, the form factor is pretty close to their goal. ELPAS has
taken this concept a step further. EIRIS, a wearable infrared, wireless transmitter (about
half as large as a credit card) allows corporations to monitor their workers’
whereabouts.
So, is Big Brother watching us? Well, to be honest, the concept may seem eerie at
first, but let’s face it, we all compete to achieve the highest productivity in the
marketplace. Success or failure is intrinsically linked to workers’ productivity.
ELPAS realizes the importance of productivity and has subsequently connected its
monitoring base station to a variety of PBXs. Creating an "adaptable office
environment," EIRIS allows incoming calls to be sent to the telephone set closest to
the called party, regardless of their location in the building. An LCD panel displays the
called person’s name on the ringing phone, so a person near the called party can let
the called party know they have a call. I can practically feel the pulse rates of call
center management rising as they read this.
Once implemented, this is an effective way to increase office call completions and
reduce that horrible phone tag game that no one wins. I suspect vertical markets, such as
law offices and hospitals, will be the early adopters of such products.
Based in Israel, ELPAS currently works with most Israeli switches, with plans to
support a wider variety of switches soon. Please see www.elpas.co.il
for more information.
TELEGRA’S INTERNET FAX TESTING
Telegra’s flagship fax testing product, MaxTrace 14.4 Pro,
has received a major upgrade. MaxTrace is designed to test multi-port fax networks, fax
servers, and, most recently, Internet fax products. What sets Telegra apart from others is
that they focus on very high-end multi-port fax on both analog and digital (T1/E1)
networks.
MaxTrace ranges from 8 to 192 ports and can also test over the Internet if required. It
is imperative for developers to test products before they are deployed. Drawing upon years
of fax testing experience, Telegra provides a Max Test Library with a variety of standard
tests. Functionality tests, load tests, and network tests are all provided with source
code so they can be modified if need be.
Future plans include additional test libraries for voice, system maintenance, and
system audit. A TCP/IP-based client/server version is in the wings as well.
HARRIS: CARRIER-CLASS TAPI
The PrePaid Solutions Package from Harris is the first carrier
TAPI-based product from a carrier-class product company. The product is built on the
Harris Enhanced Services Platform, which supports many additional subscriber services
including voice mail, fax mail, information services, unified messaging, follow me,
conference calling, and more.
Since it’s based on NT, Harris can leverage SQL
Server, Internet Information Server, and Internet Explorer, in addition to TAPI. If anyone
still needs convincing that NT is the dominant platform for CTI, the fact that Harris has
put a carrier-class switch on this platform underscores NT’s potential functionality
for just about any telephony application out there. For more information, please visit www.dts.harris.com.
QUINTUS ACQUIRES NABNASSET, CCE
Recent acquisitions by Quintus Corp. have truly positioned this
company to become a leader in the call center and customer care market. Quintus claims to
be the most comprehensive provider of enterprise call center technology and services by
enabling an end-to-end call center solution.
Quintus, a company traditionally known for providing excellent customer care and
support, has acquired two companies — Nabnasset Corporation and Call Center
Enterprises — giving them a full suite of call center products and allowing them to
fulfill most any call center software and service need.
Nabnasset was one of those companies that had great products and a great reputation in
the CTI market but didn’t promote themselves too well to the media. I often heard
their customers, partners, and even competitors praising them. I don’t hear that too
often. It’s nice to know that their product line will now be subjected to the Quintus
PR and marketing machine, which has done a great job of promoting Quintus through all of
its varied announcements.
The differentiator at Quintus is the end-to-end solution they provide. Nabnasset’s
technology and Call Center Enterprises’ consulting service will be integrated into
the overall Quintus line of offerings, and will be available either as a suite or as
individual components.
Nabnasset’s VESP line of computer-telephony integration tools has been renamed
Nabnasset CTI and will be featured in Quintus product enhancements and new releases
throughout the coming months. The Call Center Enterprises business consulting services
will be enhanced as part of Quintus’ new QSolutions consulting organization.
QSolutions provides services for the life of a call center, from analysis and design
through implementation and long-term support. For more information, please see www.quintus.com.
SIEBEL ACQUIRES SCOPUS
Siebel seems to have come out of nowhere to become one of the
highest- flying public companies in our market in an amazingly short amount of time. This
momentum continues with the acquisition of Scopus technology for $460 million.
Siebel’s purchase of Scopus combines Scopus’ customer service and call center
solutions with Siebel’s sales automation products.
The architectures of both the Siebel and Scopus solutions were already very similar,
and so allow the rapid unification of the two disparate product lines without requiring a
huge learning curve from the installed base. Both products use visual tool sets and a
general repository or database.
Scopus brings some interesting features to the Siebel product line by dynamically
connecting clients to applications and reconnecting clients after server failures. Other
features that Scopus brings to the table are database replication, multiple database
support, and the ability to run distributed applications across an entire enterprise.
Some of the features that both products share are their reliance on accepted, open
computer standards, such as customizability through Microsoft’s Visual Basic and
client support of Java.
Siebel’s goal is to create a single, unified, integrated environment that
expresses the best of both technologies including a common set of development tools and a
common interface across the entire product family.
The following example should illustrate the potential impact this partnership will have
on Siebel’s clients. Both systems currently use workflow managers that are capable of
generating events for each other, based on operations that take place within each system.
An escalated service request from Scopus’ Support Team could drive a salesman’s
customer contact activity through Siebel’s Sales Enterprise. If your needs are sales,
or service, or call center oriented, you should investigate the new product portfolio of
Siebel to see some of the best integration in the industry. Please see www.siebel.com for more information. |
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