Thursday 06 April 2006 8:28:16 pm

Re: Realtime applications - Avaya CTI integration

Hi Stef, If I understand Jurado correctly, he is working on a Computer Telephony Integration ( CTI ) project (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_telephony_integration) and is looking for volunteers from the fsfe to help him. I believe a CTI system is Voice Over IP ( VOIP ) but with additional features. - - - - - As an example, Generic Computers International ( GCI ) is an OEM making and selling PCs to retailers and online and through telesales. Joe Shopper is a consumer who wants to buy a PC for home use. When Joe Shopper first phones GCI, the CTI uses caller-id to retrieve the Joe's telephone number. The CTI system checks its database but is unable to find any record of this caller. A new record is created and a form is displayed on Rodney the receptionists screen prompting him to collect the callers name. Rodney does this and enters Joe's name into the system. Joe tells Rodney that he'd like to buy a new PC and Rodney passes him through to telesales. Dani, the telesales executive, receives the call and as she answers, a form appears on her window telling her that the callers name is Joe and that he would like to buy a new PC. Dani confirms this with Joe and goes on to ask him a few questions about what sort of PC he is looking for (is it for games, study, multimedia, etc). Dani records Joe's answers into the system (he is looking for a PC to play World of Warcraft). Dani selects the "games : WoW" option from the "list of uses" field on the "New PC Purchase" form. A list of suitable PCs appears on Dani's screen. Joe buys one of them and waits for it to arrive. After a couple of weeks, Joe hasn't received his PC. He phones GCI to find our where it is. Rodney, the receptionist, answers this call and as he picks the line up, a form opens on his screen presenting him with a list of possible callers ("Joe Shopper" or "New Caller"). Rodney asks Joe's name and selects "Joe Shopper" from the list of options. As he does this, the form updates to tell Rodney that Joe has recently bought a new PC. The PC was dispatched yesterday and should arrive at the delivery address tomorrow. Rodney repeats this information to Joe. Joe is very impressed with this efficient service and goes away happy. To Joe's delight, his new PC arrives exactly when Rodney predicted. Unfortunately, being a computer novice, he runs into difficulties getting set up. Joe phones GCI again. Rodney answers the call and identifies Joe as the caller. The CTI system tells Rodney that Joe has just had a new PC delivered so Rodney asks Joe how he's getting on with his new PC. Joe complains that he's having problems so Rodney passes Joe through to Steve the Support Engineer. Being a computer wizard (and a member of fsfe) Steve quickly solves Joe's problems for him and Joe is soon logged onto WoW and doing what he bought the PC for : having fun. After a month or so, Joe decides he'd like a better monitor. So Joe phones GCI to buy one. With the help of the CTI system, Rodney quickly identifies Joe Shopper as the caller. Rodney asks Joe how he's getting on with his new PC and what level his WoW character is. ... and so on ... - - - - - In essence, CTI helps businesses keep track of their customers and streamline their services. Hope this helps. Brian