By integrating caller ID with key business applications, you can provide better service and increase productivity
Gilbert Amine, Annette Riggio,and Ellis Hill
Caller-ID telephone service enables a subscriber to see a display of a caller's phone number as the telephone rings. More than 3 million subscribers currently use this telephone service in the U.S. and Canada, primarily for its call screening and security benefits. But thousands of small-business users, ranging from pizza delivery companies to work-at-home professionals, use caller ID as well.
Business applications often require the use of a personal computer and effective integration of caller-ID information with existing software. In fact, many believe that the caller-ID-to-PC linkup is at the heart of computer-telephone integrat
ion. When you properly integrate caller-ID service with your business software, new and exciting uses for this technology emerge. For example, your software might automatically retrieve information on the calling customer or supplier, which increases productivity and makes you appear more professional (see "Vodavi Keys Into Caller ID Business Applications").
In one case, a pizza operator in the Chicago suburbs cut the company's average contact time with repeat customers from almost 2 minutes to just 19 seconds, using a PC caller-ID application from National Systems (Chicago, IL). Time is money, and the savings dropped directly to the bottom line. For this firm, caller ID also solved an age-old pizza delivery problem. Because calls are now verified, pranksters can no longer send six anchovy pizzas to an 80-year-old woman who lives alone. Customers also have benefited from caller ID, because they no longer need to repeat their name, address, directions to their location, and choice of toppings each time
they call. Other service-oriented businesses could achieve similar benefits.
Customers and businesses also benefit from another caller-ID feature, call logging (see "Sidekick for Windows Gets a Kick with Caller ID"). Because caller ID can be captured in a log, service professionals can "cold call" customers who phone after hours and do not leave voice messages. Prospective customers get a second opportunity to make inquiries, and businesses get the opportunity to build their customer bases. Some businesses have increased their sales by as much as 20 percent a month.
Caller ID Basics
Caller ID is a member of the CLASS (custom local-area signaling services) family of telephone services offered by local telephone companies for a monthly fee. Other CLASS services include call return, repeat dialing, call rejection, call trace, priority ringing, and selective call forwarding. CLASS services depend on the presence of Signaling System 7, an advanced signaling protocol used to com
municate between central offices.
Caller-ID service was initially conceived by AT&T/Bell Laboratories in the late 1970s. Following the breakup of AT&T, BellSouth and Bell Atlantic were the first companies--in 1984 and 1987, respectively--to move forward with caller-ID field trials and deployments. Today, caller-ID service is available in parts of 45 states and in most of Canada (see the figure "
Caller ID Availability Map
"). Several other countries, including Australia, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, and Israel, have announced plans to deploy caller ID in 1995 or 1996.
For technical and regulatory reasons, caller ID is currently limited to identifying local numbers. Long-distance calls are usually identified as "out of area." As a result of a March 1994 ruling by the FCC, caller-ID services are expected to operate with long-distance and 800 calls by the end of April. At least one major carrier plans to offer caller ID on inbound 800 calls by February.
Another
limitation of caller ID is that it does not always show the primary number of the caller's business. In many cases, it shows the number of the line from which the call is made, rather than the main billing number. This limitation is expected to disappear as more telephone companies offer caller ID deluxe, a service that includes the caller's name.
The availability of caller-ID services within a geographic area depends on a number of factors, including the type of central office serving the area and its deployment schedule. You should check with your telephone company business office about the availability of the service and the monthly rates before acquiring the necessary equipment or software to take advantage of caller ID.
In the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Israel, caller ID is transmitted as a burst of a Bell 202 FSK (Frequency Shift Key) modem signal between the first and second ringing cycles (see the figure "
Caller ID Signaling and Data Format
"). Therefo
re, you should always wait for the second ring before you pick up the receiver. Otherwise, the central office will abort and fail to retransmit the caller-ID data if you pick up too quickly.
British Telecom and several other European telephone companies will transmit a caller-ID signal before the first ring. This intelligent implementation avoids the early pickup problem. Not surprisingly, BT has shied away from Bell 202 in favor of its CCITT cousin, V.23. In practice, any Bell 202 FSK receiver worth its salt will also detect V.23. The Dutch telephone company has its own implementation of caller ID, which uses DTMF (dual-tone modulated-frequency) tones.
In the U.S. and Canada, the data-link layer of caller ID follows the Bellcore TR-TSY-000030 specification. It consists of two possible formats, the Single Message Format, which provides the calling number, and the Multiple Message Format, which provides the calling number and the customer or business name under which the number is listed. You can
purchase the latest copy of the caller-ID specification for a nominal fee by calling Bellcore at (800) 521-2673 or (908) 699-5800.
A number of IC makers, including Exar, Mitel, Motorola, and Sierra, provide caller-ID receiver chips. In addition, modem chip makers AT&T, Rockwell, and Sierra provide caller-ID decoding in some of their products.
Residential Products
Caller-ID display units sell for $39 to $119; those with higher memory capacity and more features cost more. You can purchase them from telephone company fulfillment agents, telephone and electronics specialty stores, and mail-order companies. A second generation of caller-ID display units provides additional features, such as the blocking of selected calls or speed dialing. At the high end of the market, integrated telephone sets that include caller-ID displays and cordless telephones sell for $99 to $299.
Many software products link caller ID to a PC and provide a pop-up screen containing information on
the caller, if he or she is in the database. (See "Caller ID Products").
Caller ID Developer Tools
Many developer toolkits and application generators exist for VARs and programmers who want to integrate caller-ID information with other applications. Rochelle Communications (Austin, TX) sells developer toolkits for DOS, Windows, OS/2, Unix (Sun, SCO, AIX), and the Macintosh. Caller-ID voice application generators are also popular. Stylus Innovations (Cambridge, MA) provides caller-ID support in its Visual Voice application generator for Visual Basic.
For developers interested in voice applications under OS/2, ComTel Telecommunications (Bethesda, MD) offers an application generator that is compatible with Dialogic and Natural Microsystems voice cards. Voice Power Technologies (Austin, TX) markets Voice Manager, a Unix-based voice application generator for service-bureau applications. Davis Associates (Belle Mead, NJ) sells a caller-ID application generator based on Paradox t
hat lets you customize the database program for order entry, service management, and telemarketing.
Integration Options
To use the features of caller ID to full advantage, users must be able to take the data supplied by the telephone company, put it into applications, and link it to existing databases. Today, the path to integrating the various elements into a useful whole can be littered with pitfalls. To overcome potential problems, a number of vendors provide applications, code libraries, and development tools that can significantly cut development time and cost. Integration of existing applications to telephony services can be as simple as buying an off-the-shelf application that communicates with the target application. The primary integration options are listed below.
Memory-resident keyboard macros
. These programmable macros store a sequence of commands and are inexpensive and simple to implement. But often they require redundant database
s and can be clumsy.
Custom development
. You can tailor applications to the exact needs of the user, but development expense may be prohibitive.
DDE
. Dynamic exchange of data is effective if done right, but it does not necessarily link all data sources. Also, DDE is not available on all operating systems.
ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)
. ODBC lets one application access multiple database sources. It can provide seamless integration with leading databases but is not yet available with most applications.
DLL
. DLLs provide access to a wide variety of caller-ID functions. Caller-ID vendors provide DLLs that can be quickly linked to a user's application.
Telephony APIs
. Sets of programming interfaces available from Microsoft (TAPI), Novell (TSAPI), and other vendors give programmers access to a standard set of telephony functions, including caller ID
. Telephony APIs do not resolve database connectivity issues.
caller-ID-enabled applications
. Many end-user applications support some form of caller-ID connectivity. Often, you can link these applications to other programs to provide caller lookup from a PIM (personal information manager) or an external database.
ESP--Exemplary Service Professionals
In today's competitive environment, the quality of customer service is fundamental. Knowing who is calling and having instant access to pertinent information translates into savings on the bottom line and increased revenues. For example, important or repeat customers can be tagged to receive special handling. But a word of caution is in order. Many customers are turned off by being greeted by name before they have had a chance to identify themselves. The key to taking advantage of caller ID is not to impress the caller with "psychic" powers but to quickly access relevant information so that you can per
sonalize the quality of your service.
Caller ID Products
--
Call Editor
(Windows),
VIVE Synergies
(Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada): provides seamless integration to Symantec's Act for Windows and other popular contact-management software.
--
Caller ID+Plus
(DOS and Windows),
Rochelle Communications
(Austin, TX): a memory-resident contact manager and caller-ID system. It includes a call log and an import/export function.
--
Call Link
(Windows),
DSG Communications
(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada): offers an elegant way to relay caller ID to external applications using DDE.
--
CentrexMax
(Windows),
Dees Communications
(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada): features fully integrated caller-identification software based on the popular Modatech Maximizer contact-management system.
--
Intellect
,
Clearwave Communications
(Fort Collins, CO): a h
ardware/software product that integrates phone, fax, modem, computer, voice mail, and answering machine.
--
InterActive Communicator
,
InterActive
(Humboldt, SD): a PC/phone combination that acts as a communications center.
illustration_link (6 Kbytes)
Despite a slow start due to concerns over privacy, caller-ID service is now available in parts of 45 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. With the exception of California, remaining states are expected to offer the service by the end of 1995. Basic caller-ID service displays only the number of the caller, and deluxe caller-ID service shows the caller's name and number. Monthly rates vary by state and type of service, and range from $3.50 to $10. (Map courtesy of Research First Consulting)
illustration_link (4 Kbytes)
In the U.S. and Canada, caller ID is transmitted as a Bell 202 modem signal between the first and second rings. The single-message format is the most commonly used and provides calling-number information, the date, and the time. By dialing *67, callers may block the transmission of their phone number, and a "P" (for private) appears in the number field. Calls from outside your area, on the other hand, are identified by an "O" in the phone field. If the subscriber picks up the receiver before the second ring, the caller ID is not transmitted. (Illustration courtesy of Motorola)
SPOTPC (Smart Plain Ordinary Telephone PC)
illustration_link (24 Kbytes)
The SPOTPC (Smart Plain Ordinary Telephone PC) Phone from SDX Business Systems (Welwyn
Garden City, Hertfordshire, U.K.) is one of the first Microsoft TAPIcompliant telephone sets. It is designed for operation on any telephone line, or behind an analog extension on a PBX or key system. It features auto-dialing, caller ID, and voice mail and data/fax communications capabilities. The SPOTPC Phone will be available in the U.S. later this year.
Gilbert Amine and Annette Riggio are vice president for business and product development and manager of marketing communications at Rochelle Communications, respectively. You can contact them via MCI Mail at 653-9166, via CompuServe at 74032,712, or on BIX c/o "editors." Ellis Hill is president of Research First Consulting in Birmingham, Alabama. You can contact him via CompuServe at 73243,2260 or on BIX c/o "editors."
Caller ID Goes to Work
