May 1999

To: CTI Readers
Cc: Brooktrout, Comdial, Dialogic, Ergo Systems, Hammer Technologies, Natural MicroSystems, Teltone
Subject: The State Of TMC Labs

Ordinarily, I use this column to look outward, at the emerging or culminating trends I see in the CTI industry. This month, however, I'd like to try something different. I'd like to look inward, and comment on the growth of TMC Labs. Of course, TMC Labs is a subject close to my heart. But why should you, the reader, care at all?

The answer, I think, is that a glimpse inside TMC Labs might reveal the enthusiasm we have for the products we test. Granted, not every product is an award-winning sensation, but that's not the point. We love the products the same way book reviewers love literature. A weak book here and there doesn't lessen a book lover's enthusiasm for books, any more than a weak product here and there lessens our enthusiasm for the products.

We hope that a quick review of the history of TMC Labs will add a human dimension to the reviews you see every month, that this human dimension will help readers identify with the work of TMC Labs, and that some of the enthusiasm we feel within TMC Labs is conveyed to our readers. Who knows? The enthusiasm might be infectious. If so, readers themselves may scrutinize products more closely, and make better decisions as a result.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS…
Our original lab was very small, hardly more than a closet, really. And we had to walk five miles through the snow to get there. (OK, so maybe I exaggerate a little.)

Still, no matter how cramped our quarters, and no matter how inaccessible they may have seemed, (our original lab stood apart from TMC's main building), the lab was our home. We found ways to make it livable, not to mention effective.

Indeed, our TMC Labs engineers came up with some creative ways of making space. For example, we once received three large anvil boxes from a vendor, which couldn't fit anywhere in the lab. So, we temporarily tossed out our comfortable leather chairs and rested our weary selves on the Anvil boxes for a few weeks.

Not to belabor the point, our old testing facility was suited to its purpose, but it was no showcase. (And all those empty soda bottles and discarded candy wrappers didn't help, either. Brain food, you know.)

…TO STATE OF THE ART
TMC has invested heavily in TMC Labs, which includes a new state-of-the-art facility, complete with various testing gear and ergonomic LAN/workstation furniture from Ergo Systems.

I must say that our new testing facility is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, I'm biased. I designed the layout with one of our lab's staff, and we assembled the furniture ourselves. So, it's no wonder I'm so taken with the new lab. Also, we're reveling in all the free space. We now have four times the area we had previously. More room to accommodate anvil boxes, not to mention stashes of junk food. And the waste is now merely ankle high, not knee high.

But to be serious for a moment, I should say a few words about our favorite equipment. We're particularly pleased with our Hammer IT/VoIP Suite from Hammer Technologies. The Suite helps us test Internet telephony hardware. We also rely on ISDN and analog simulators from Teltone Corporation. We've put more work hours into working with this equipment than just about anything else in TMC Labs. Comdial Corporation recently donated their Comdial FXS series PC-based PBX, which we'll use in the future to test TAPI applications. We also have numerous Brooktrout, Dialogic, and Natural MicroSystems hardware that we use for testing various CTI products.

A BROADER MISSION
TMC Labs has certainly grown in its first four years. Originally, we called ourselves CTI Labs, since we started out testing and writing reviews exclusively for CTI magazine. We changed our name to TMC Labs, however, when we started working for two additional TMC publications, Call Center Solutions and Internet Telephony. We feel our experience in testing complex CTI software and hardware applications has helped us quickly climb a steep learning curve in our reviews of complex call center and Internet telephony products.

All of our engineers produce reviews for all the TMC publications, the better to promote internal cohesiveness. Also, we feel the cooperation we practice and the breadth of knowledge we cultivate results in potent synergies, as well as insights that may not be available were we, like other labs, to settle for a narrowly defined mission

Our commitment to a broad mission also makes sense from another point of view. That is, our work reflects how the CTI, the call center, and the Internet telephony industries inform and support one another. For example, it is a commonplace that the call center is often the "testing grounds" for deployment of CTI technologies. Why then, it only makes sense that TMC Labs engineers should reach beyond a parochial knowledge of CTI technologies, that we should also know how CTI technologies integrate and work within the call center!

But the plot thickens. Add into the mix the fact that Internet telephony is absolutely perfect for the call center market. Accordingly, TMC Labs recognizes it needs to be a testing ground for the integration of CTI, Internet telephony, and the call center. In the near future, we will certainly see CTI technology blended with Internet telephony technology and put into call centers. (One example of CTI blended with Internet telephony is the Altigen AltiServ PC-PBX, which is reviewed in this issue. In the review, please be sure to note the product's new Internet telephony capabilities.)

This knowledge of call centers, CTI, and Internet telephony comes in handy when testing products and writing reviews. We can take products and put them in proper perspective to determine how well these products will fit in their targeted market. To have an understanding of three different industries (CTI, Internet telephony, and call centers) certainly gives TMC Labs an advantage when trying to write informative reviews.

As always, TMC Labs will continue to be the leading source of objective reviews in the CTI, call center, and Internet telephony industries. We will continue to be honest and forthright, "telling it like it is." If a product performs poorly, we'll make no bones about it. We will tell you.

WHERE WE'RE HEADED
We've heard from our readers how much they enjoy reading TMC Labs reviews, and we've heard from several readers that want more comparative reviews. Well readers, you got your wish. In this issue, the CTI industry's first-ever comprehensive PC-PBX shootout continues where last month's issue of CTI left off.

With six PC-PBXs to examine, we just couldn't fit them all into one magazine, so we reviewed two PC-PBXs last month, and four this month. A feature matrix comparing features and pricing between all the PC-PBXs is included in both issues for reference. TMC Labs engineers worked long and hard to test each PC-PBX and determine which PC-PBX is best in any given situation, and we certainly hope you will find the information useful.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?
TMC Labs usually includes a "Room For Improvement" section in its reviews. Well, we're certainly not above the law. TMC Labs knows that we, like everyone else, can always stand some improvement. That's why we invite our readers to suggest some areas where we could do better.

I realize I may be opening myself up for vendors to write back, "I have a suggestion. Give us a better review next time!" Or worse, that I might receive anonymous e-mail messages saying things not fit to print here. As such, if you do have any comments or suggestions, please include your real name and company, especially if you use a HotMail account or some equivalent. Let me know your thoughts.

Tom Keating is chief technical officer and executive technology editor for TMC. He welcomes your feedback. To contact him, send your e-mail to Tom Keating .

Order Management Doesn't Require Burning The Midnight Oil
NightFire Software, Inc., announced NightFire Product Suite 1.5, the latest generation of its order management solution, which is designed to automate the telecommunications supply chain, and to enable Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) to provide better customer service, increase revenues, and reduce costs. Basically, NightFire Product Suite 1.5 automates order management processes between CLECs and Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs). In addition, it offers packaged interfaces to Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, and Pacific Bell, providing CLECs with access to a market of more than 75 million access lines for residential and business customers across the United States.

The NightFire Product Suite integrates and automates sales inquiry, pre-order, and order management across the telecom supply chain, thereby increasing revenues and productivity, reducing order error rates, and improving customer service for competitive carriers. NightFire supports a wide range of communications services, including Centrex, circuits, digital subscriber lines, directory assistance, emergency 911, local number portability, total service resale, and unbundled local loop. According to NightFire, their product is the only one that supports pre-ordering functions such as address validation, customer service record retrieval, and appointment scheduling.

Version 1.5 of the NightFire Product Suite also improves service request processing for both long-distance and incumbent carriers with support for Local Service Request (LSR) and Access Service Request (ASR) processing. Long-distance carriers rely on ASR to gain access to customers and to order high-capacity circuits through Local Exchange Carriers. For more information check out www.nightfire.com.

Simple, Fast Internet Access Doesn't Have To Be A Stretch
Elastic Networks, an independent unit of Nortel, has created a technology called EtherLoop that just might change the world of high-speed data access. Essentially, EtherLoop is Ethernet over phone lines, with obvious advantages such as inexpensive deployment, no reconfiguration, and the ability to use existing twisted pair copper lines.

Early customers will likely include hotels, which may use EtherLoop to provide guests easy-to-use, high-speed Internet access. Hotels benefit from EtherLoop for the following reasons: No rewiring of hotel rooms, easing of communications traffic problems caused by guests using the phone lines for data connections, and new revenue opportunities from high-speed Internet access.

This product is essentially plug-and-play. For instance, if I travel to a hotel that uses this product, I can just plug my laptop into the RJ-45 network port on Elastic Networks Elite modem. The Elite modem converts the laptop's Ethernet packets to electrical signals that travel over the phone line, also using the Ethernet standard.

Then, I just bring up my browser and go to a Web site. The InterProxy program running on the Elastic Networks server will intercept the HTTP packets and send a Web page that will request my authorization. Of course, the authorization step enhances security. It can also be used both for billing purposes. That is, hotels can now institute unique charges for Internet usage. The rates for time online can differ for the rates for time on the phone.