Many of the telephone systems sold and supported today can support computer telephony integration by using one or both of two methods - first party and third party. This is not to say one methodology is better than the other, just different. . The choice between methods has more to do with preferences or manufacturers than anything else. The ability to screen pop a transferred call with first party and third party through the delivery of the CallerID information is a function of the Tapi driver supplied by the telephone system manufacturer and may vary according to call origination.
There are various APIs (Application Protocol Interface) that have been developed, the most common of which is called Microsoft TAPI - this is the API that we commonly use. There is also Novell/AT&T TSAPI, IBM CallPath, Dialogic CT Connect, JTAPI and others. CTI Link can integrate with all of these APIs if required - contact us for more details.
Your telephone system supplier should be able to tell you if your telephone system can support Tapi. If they have questions about this, just have them call us.
For screen popping there are three elements required.
First Party Tapi - This is generally a direct connection (such as a serial cable) between the workstation computer and the telephony device. A driver (known as a TSPI) must be installed and configured on the workstation. The connection (serial cable for example) carries information about the status of the handset and call related information such as CallerID (CLI / ANI) and DDI (MSN / DNIS) from the deskset to the computer workstation and commands such as dial and hang up from the workstation to the deskset. When a serial cable is not used there may also be a PC expansion card, USB or IP connection or even a virtual phone.
First party Tapi has the advantage of a smaller number of users with independent cost associated, as well as when the single workstation fails, only that workstation will be affected.
Third Party Tapi - This is generally a network connection between the workstation computer, the deskset, and the server. The advantages here is the connection can carry information about all the telephony devices connected to the telephony system. Each workstation is assigned to the appropriate telephony device via the network configuration. A TSPI driver (just like above) is installed and configured on the workstation or server. CallerID, ANI, CLI, DDI, and DNIS is passed from the telephony system via the network to the workstation and commands such as dial and hang up are passed from the workstation via the network to the phone system.
As far as function there is no difference between third party and first party Tapi. The differences lie in costs involved and required hardware.
The connection between the telephony deskset and the computer depends on the phone system and strategy you may have selected for connecting the two. Our system uses TAPI (see TAPI in definitions). We can talk to any installed telephony driver (TSPI) on the computer. Often times a serial connection from the server to the telephone system is how third party Tapi solutions are setup, but the newer systems connect through the server.
Our products are supported on the following Windows operating systems. Win98, WinNT4, Win2K, WinME and WinXP.
We support all Tapi drivers from Tapi 1.3 to Tapi 3.0. The operating system must support Tapi 1.4 or higher
Our products support all versions of GoldMine 5.x (5.0, 5.5 and 5.7), GoldMine BCM and GoldMine Sales and Marketing. Our products support all versions of Heat 6.x (6.0 and 6.4) both standalone and combined with GoldMine.
Yes, CTI Link will search the three standard telephone numbers at the top of the contact record (Phone1,Phone2 and Phone3) as well as all numbers in the contacts tab
By default, CTI Link will display the Incoming Call dialog box with "Unknown". You are given the option to either "Ignore" the screen pop, "Create New" contact record or "Add Additional" to the current contact record in GoldMine.
You have the choice to do either on each of the PCs. You simply specify your choice in the Setup CTI Link for GoldMine dialog box.
Some users prefer to see the details of all callers in the Incoming Call Pop-Up screen and auto-hide the screen if the call is answered by someone else. Other users prefer to wait until the call is answered before bringing up the Incoming Call Pop-Up Screen.
The delivery of a screen pop to an agent's screen when the call is transferred from another extension is fully supported by CTI Link. However, in order to function correctly, the Tapi driver provided by the telephone system manufacturer needs to pass the CallerID when a call
CTI Link is fully compatible with Windows Terminal Services but does require some extra configuration. You will need to check that the Tapi driver provided by the telephone system manufacturer supports Windows Terminal Services as well. You will require a third party Tapi driver.
Yes, CTI Link can screen pop using data such as an Account Number or PIN entered into an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system and does require extra configuration and possible development time. You will need to check that the IVR system and the Tapi driver provided by the telephone system manufacturer is capable of passing this data.