| | Technical
Background | | The
Challenge | The
current computer telephony (CT) marketplace is complex and broad-based. It includes
a wide variety of application-specific, predominantly proprietary devices like
Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVR), Voice Mail Systems, E-mail Voice Gateways,
Fax Servers, Switches (PBX and CO), Automatic Call Distributors and Predictive
Dialers. The complexity is compounded by a user desire to integrate these devices
with computing environments like Host-based Computer Systems, Client-Server Systems
and Desktop Computer Systems. Services are enhanced and new ones added using emerging
technologies like Voice Compression and Expansion, Text-to-Speech, Automatic Speech
Recognition, Facsimile, Fax-to-Text, Data/Fax/Voice Modems, Desktop Telephony
interfaces, Hearing Impaired Devices and Screen Based Phones. Enterprise telephony
networks have become too complicated to understand, manage or perform as expected
and the duplication increases the cost of implementation and service. The following
figure shows a possible network. |  |
| Further,
applications and devices are sold and supported by a diverse group of vendors
including Switch Vendors, Interconnect Vendors, System Integrators, Telecommunications
Companies, Computer Companies, Shrink-wrapped application vendors, Application
tool-kit vendors, Telephony Server vendors. This
complexity has created huge interconnection and interoperability problems dramatically
slowing the growth of the CT market. Software developers want to create integrated
applications by combining features, services and technologies as needed regardless
of supplier, vendor, technology or industry source. Market forces have created
a need for a set of agreements on the many interworking issues; agreements that
free the customer to select any hardware, any platform and any application, put
them together and build new services; agreements that allow users to enjoy straight
forward implementations and avoid duplication of hardware, services and administration;
agreements that encourage the market to grow. The
task for ECTF is to make it easier for users to deploy CT services by understanding
the myriad needs of users, service providers, integrators, distributors and suppliers.
Then using that knowledge to identify, link and augment existing standards and
publish implementation agreements to guide the CT industry toward interoperability.
Interoperability is crucial to market growth since it offers lower cost products
that are easier to install and maintain, are faster to market and provide more
options for customers as well as suppliers. |
| The
Resolution | Any
Implementation Agreement must address five factors: -
Modularity The framework must
be modular to allow independent operation, and broad enough to allow the creation
of multiple application types. For example, an E-mail supplier must be able to
add text-to-speech or voice mail to their product.
-
Extensibility While the current
focus of the ECTF is on audio bandwidth, the framework must put no restrictions
on the type of media, so that both narrow bandwidth (compressed media or speech)
and wide bandwidth (video or multimedia) services can be supported.
-
Flexibility Compliance must
not restrict customization, extensions and future evolution. The framework must
allow application developers to target their applications to reside either on
a CT server or on a client processor. The ECTF solution must be flexible and permit
vendors to provide their own unique and differentiated solutions.
-
Determinism An application developer
must be able to create applications that will operate in a deterministic fashion
across multiple client or server environments. An end user must be able to purchase
applications from multiple vendors and expect them to run concurrently and cooperatively
on a CT system.
- Resource
sharing Several compliant applications in a common network must be able to
share the telephony resources of a single logical node consisting of one or more
servers without any operational knowledge of each other. For example several applications
must be able to cooperate and share a single call sequentially.
The
ECTF has defined a solutions framework to address these and other issues. |
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