IBM jumps COPY's bones:
IBM throws weight behind
computer-telephony integration
By Jessica Davis
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 5:27 PM PT, Aug 7, 1997
Looking to jump-start the languishing computer-telephony integration (CTI) market, IBM
will announce Monday that it is lending its brand name to a CTI platform, a third-party
vendor certification program, and a VAR partnership program.
Through the program, IBM will certify software developers and board/card manufacturers
to work with the IBM CTI platform, ensuring a tightly integrated solution and the marketing
power of Big Blue's name.
The program also lets VARs put together custom solutions for customers through an a la
carte selection of applications provided by certified vendors.
This should give users more flexibility in the type of CTI applications that can be deployed,
and will give users the power to upgrade those solutions modularly without the need for
switching out the entire system.
"Selling a phone system that works on a computer doesn't do anything for me. But there
are some vendors who have written some enhanced applications" that aren't available on
standard PBXes, said Art Schoeller, formerly of Lucent Technologies, and now a research
director at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Group. "There are some neat solutions out
there."
The IBM platform promises to make those solutions -- such as fax on demand, speech
recognition, and others -- available on user desktops.
Companies such as Lucent and Nortel offer complete solutions that include the platform
and applications all in a closed box. Although these systems are considered more reliable
than systems offered by those in the mainstream computer industry, they are not as flexible
as a platform approach.
CTI software developers certified by IBM include Active Voice, Altigen, CallWare,
Executone, and Intervoice. Card manufacturers participating in the program include
Dialogic, Brooktrout, and Natural Microsystems.
IBM's CTI platforms are the IBM 7587 passive backplane system, the IBM 7588 passive
backplane system, and the IBM 586 single board computer.
IBM is the first conventional computer maker to enter this market, but Gartner Group's
Schoeller said he wouldn't be surprised to see at least one other computer manufacturer
such as Dell, Compaq, or Micron to make a move into this market within a year.
The IBM initiative comes from the company's Global Embedded Systems, which can be
reached at (888) 426-5800 (toll-free) or clearlake.ibm.com.
IBM is based in Armonk, N.Y.
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Please direct your comments to InfoWorld Electric News Editor Dana Gardner.
Copyright c 1997 InfoWorld Publishing Company
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