Overview

Computer telephony systems can range from simple voice mail to multimedia gateways. The equipment used in these systems includes Voice Response Units (VRUs), fax servers, speech recognition and voice recognition hardware, and intelligent peripherals deployed by telephone companies and service bureaus.

Today's businesses need to leverage the power of these diverse, multi-user computer telephony systems to improve productivity, give users more access to information, and provide communication options and services to both customers and employees. Business customers can use the telephone to automatically receive information about a product through a fax machine, while employees can access computer-managed voice, fax, and even data through telephones and computers to connect offsite workers to the office and expand relationships with outside enterprises.

The computer telephony industry offers the power of sophisticated telephone systems to any size business the same way the PC industry exploded in the 1980s. In just over 10 years, the computer telephony industry has grown to encompass many diverse applications and technologies. In 1999 alone, analysts estimate the revenue from multiuser computer telephony applications, development toolkits, and services and technologies to be $10 billion worldwide.

Understanding Computer Telephony Technologies

Many manufacturers and value-added resellers (VARs) are committed to providing technologies and products to customers for achieving success with automated call-processing applications. These products take advantage of technologies and enable users to store, retrieve, and manipulate computer-based information over a telephone network.