Computer Telephony

I really enjoyed Jon Udell's article ``Computer Telephony'' (July). However, based on my experience, I think it is about 50 years ahead of its time. I have been trying to locate a hardware/software combination that will cause a screen pop-up identifying which line is ringing on our phones. This is necessary to assist a blind employee in answering our 30 discrete-line phones. The advice I received from an AT&T GIS technician was to install an ISDN board in the computer. I contacted about 45 computer vendors, none of whom had any idea what an ISDN board was. I tried working with Ameritech, but its solution would have cost $210,000, way outside our price range. A call to Northern Telecom was equally unproductive. Do you have any sources that may help me finally resolve this problem?

Bruce L. Brown,

brubro@aol.com

I hope it's not 50 years ahead of our ti me! Anyway, I sympathize with your problem and with your frustrating encounters thus far. I don't have an answer at the tip of my tongue, but maybe our readers will see this and respond.

--J. Udell

IBM was noticeably absent from your July cover story on computer telephony, even though the company has over 40 percent of the market share in this arena. Customers have told us that our CTI (computer telephony integrated) products, CallPath and DirectTalk, have helped them greatly improve customer service and reduce their costs of doing business. Also, analysts have told us that our CTI and interactive voice-response solutions are unmatched by any other vendor in this marketplace. Not including IBM in this article is like leaving out General Motors when discussing cars.

Stephen S. Cawn,

Marketing Manager, CallPath, IBM

Research Triangle Park, NC