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Computer telephony continues to expand, both conceptually and indeed, geographically. On the conceptual front, while first-generation CTI concentrated on the switch-to-host link and sought merely to improve the voice communications […]

At first glance, the facsimile, the most antiquated-seeming of new telecom technologies, seems an unlikely candidate for open architecture. How retrograde the fax appears, compared to the direct digital delivery […]

The innovations from Computer Telephony Expo '94 probably could occupy this column for the better part of a year, so great was the enthusiasm and technological fervor characterizing this groundbreaking […]

The weeks before the Computer Telephony Conference and Exposition show (held March 8 -- 10, 1994 at the Dallas Convention Center) has been a deceptively quiet one for the switch-to-host […]

Total connectivity remains the dominant concern among switch-to-host equipment vendors, software developers and peripherals purveyors. Inter-Tel, for one, has embraced a Hayes-like protocol for its AXXESS platform, affording integration of […]

IT COMES IN SMALL, MEDIUM AND EXTRA-LARGE Given their heavy interest in new applications, observers often neglect to mention how utterly switch-to-host telephony is transforming the traditional telephone system. Ten […]

The past half decade has seen not only the infancy of open architecture, but a turbulent adolescence and a victorious early adulthood. When InteCom and NEC American first unleashed OAI […]

IT'S NO LONGER JUST A BIG AND SMALL MARKET. When TELECONNECT first took stock of the key system market way back when, there were only two types worth talking about […]

CONVENIENT, INNOVATIVE, ECONOMICALLY JUSTIFIED AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT - PRESTIGIOUS Try to interest your telecom-illiterate CEO in ISDN or switched 56 Kbps transmission and you'll lesson of the real business […]

THE IDEA IS SIMPLE-. OPEN THE PBX TO OUTSIDE SOFTWARE COMPANIES. LET THEM PROGRAM SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS. MAKE THE PBX MORE USEFUL TO END USERS. ADD VALUE TO THE PBX. ADD […]

In the early days of computer telephony (or CTI as it was then called), the battlefield was littered with would-be conquerors, who found life difficult in the balkanized world that […]

Caller ID, the telecom service that delivers a caller's phone number (and often her name) along with the call, is proving to be fecund network-delivered raw material for open applications, […]

In last month's column, we put forth a definitive assessment of open architecture, as of October, 1992. Of course, each week continues to usher in fresh applications. This month, we […]

According to the latest Dataquest study, TIE/communications is the second largest vendor of key systems in America. When you consider that Number One, AT&T, enjoys a century of monopoly and […]

Almost no one in key systems prepared themselves for the International Trade Commission's heavy tariffs on major key systems from Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The tariffs, in effect for almost […]

A BEHIND-THE-SCENE LOOK AT AN INTERESTING APPLICATION ENVIRONMENT The receptionist was a burly man in blue. The nameplate on his desk read Officer Regan. I'm here to see Cecil Clarke," […]

DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT It's war as usual in the crowded key system arena, but an easing of tensions may be on the horizon, according to David Keeler of Dataquest. […]

Buyers' Guide, 1989 Alcatel ITT EKS-308 Max phones: 8 Max lines: 3 KSUless?: Yes Alcatel's ITT EKS-308 is a state-of-the-art key system or the small or budding business. Each phone […]

Two factors hamper the development of universal telecom standards. First, the distinctly global nature of telecom, with the dominance of state-run PTTs, most of whom want "to run it their […]

In retrospect, it is far from surprising that the ACD industry has embraced switch-to-host applications with such relish. Never are the reasons for integrated voice and data so compelling as […]

6 YOU CAN NOW PROGRAM YOUR PHONE SYSTEM TO SUIT YOUR BUSINESS, GIVING YOUR CUSTOMERS A BUNCH MORE REASONS TO DEAL WITH YOU. A nursing home has 100 elderly residents. […]

What can we tell you? Last year, we jumped up on our soapbox and made an impassioned plea for intercom and paging. We told you how intercom and paging equipment […]

SMALL KEY SYSTEM MEGATRENDS The small key system market has been hit by a variety of outside forces. Vendors have been slapped with tariffs, chastened by regulators. They've even been […]

AG Communication Systems' (Phoenix, AZ) WindowPhone integrates the PC and telephone and furnishes full caller ID capabilities. The company claims it can run on any IBM or compatible 286, 386 […]

Takacom's (Los Alamitos, CA) Rich-ard Van Tieghem came to our testdrive labs with one of their CS-D40 sequencers. The basics: The CS-D40 consists of two main components -- a cabinet […]

In the past few years, AT&T (Parsippany, NJ) has displayed so much innovation that even the most rational-minded systems expert might, for a second, mistake them for a small hungry […]

COMDIAL'S EXECUTECH 2000 -- A MODULAR HYBRID KEY SYSTEM Riding high on the crest of its anti-dumping victory, Comdial introduced a brand new family of hybrid key systems for 1990. […]

COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR AN EAGER ACD AUDIENCE 1. Centrex ACD Bonanza. Centrex's blitzkrieg into our customer premises has been as sweeping as it is swift. ACDs have apparently done precious […]

Bach's TA-500 System Traditional call-accounting systems work in tandem with PBXs, high-end key systems, or some sophisticated computer hardware. As a result, mom and pop businesses were not afforded the […]

ACDs AND THEIR SOFTWARE An Automatic Call Distributor put simply, is a specialized switch capable of directing large amounts of inbound call traffic. Airline reservations centers, rent-a-car companies and order-by-phone […]

TURREST RESURGENCE When we last took a long look at the turret market, gloom and doom pervaded the landscape. In the wake of Black Monday, traders were getting fired left […]

Small Key System Buildup In the turbulent field of telecommunications, the small key system is about as placid a subject as you're going to find. Don't get us wrong. The […]