Telephony Glossary - Page 3

Channel - In computer telephony (voice processing), a channel is a logical path that is used for voice processing (see also entries for Port and Line to avoid confusion).

CIT - See Computer Integrated Telephony.

CLID (Calling Line Identification) - See ANI.

Client/server - A computer system that uses a local area network (LAN) to split the workload among users' desktop PCs and one or more servers on the LAN.

Collected digits - The keys a caller presses in response to menu choices or other requests for information, such as account number, made by a Voice Response Unit.

Commence - TAPI-compliant PIM application from Jensen-Jones that includes calendars, t-do lists, address books, project management, and contact management features. Xinex Networks bundles Commence "lite" with mindSET for basic telephony at the PC.

Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) - A specification developed by the Object Management Group (OMG) that enables applications running in different object-oriented environments to communicate with one another.

Computer Centers of America (CCA) - Reviewers: Please define.

Computer Integrated Telephony CIT - DEC/Dialogic's computer-specific API for connecting DEC computer operating systems (all? some?) to ASAI.

Computer Telephony Integration - (See CTI.)

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) - A technology that acts as an electronic bridge connecting telephones or switches with computers.

Computer-assisted Telephony (CAT) - A general term used by GPT to describe CTI. Hence iCAT for the iSDX PABX.

Computer-mediated Communications (CMC) - An umbrella term covering CTI, voice processing, and communicating multimedia.

Computer-Supported Telecommunications Applications (CSTA) - Term originally used by ECMA to describe its CTI standards activities.

Computer-supported Telephony (CST) - See CTI.

Conference on European Posts & Telecommunications (CEPT) - This committee sets worldwide standards for data communications.

Coordinated transfer - A feature provided by some CTI applications that allows users to transfer voice calls and application data screens to one another simultaneously.

CSA - See CallPath Services Architecture.

CTI interface - See API.

Cubix - An industrial grade server with multiple hard drives and 10 ISA slots, which Lucent Technologies customers can purchase through our selected VAR. Suggested for use as SoundByte server.

Customer intimacy - A measure of the closeness of an organization's relationships with its customers. Research has shown that better, or more intimate, relationships with customers contribute to customer loyalty, increased sales, and higher profits, even when there is an unfavorable price differential.

Data Transport (DT) - Use of CTI link to carry data. Computer data input from telephone keyboard, for example.

Data-Link Layer - Layer 2 in ASAI protocol stack, which controls data transmission across the link. ASAI specifies several different data-link layer protocols that can do this.

Davox - ISV that developed Unison®, an ASAI-compliant CTI application. (See also Unison®.)

DC - See PassageWay™ Direct Connection.

DCP 8411 telephone set - A DEFINITY® telephone set designed for PassageWay™ Direct Connection. The set has a Direct Connection (DC) pod built in to the set so that it can be connected directly to a Windows PC without an additional analog line or other hardware.

DEC/Dialogic - Current name for Digital Equipment Corporation's CIT division, acquired by Dialogic in 1995. Dialogic's CT-Connect is positioned as the universal CTI server (TAPI, TSAPI, DDE applications) and is bundled with many third-party solutions. (See also Computer Integrated Telephony.)

Desktop Solutions - Screen-based telephony and other software tools from Genesys that provide telephony events, such as screen pops, to existing customer applications with minimal programming changes. Desktop applications support industry-standard protocols and tools such as TAPI, OLE, OCX, DDE, RPC, and CORBA.

Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) - A service often used with free-call (toll-free) and 900 lines that gives the called number. For example, a company may have different free-call numbers for sales and help desk. Helps Call Centers that handle calls to more than one number determine the reason for the call and handle it accordingly.

Digital - Capable of processing or transferring data encoded as the discrete values 0 and 1. (See also Analog.)