User talk:Mannyarmenta

History ACD / CTI

One of the main key players was Northern Telecom, as they did develop the first digital PBX, with a stored program: the (197x)SG1, used diodes to program, however, the later SL-1(all digital) did have a complete software load with many features. The ACD feature was very flexible as a number of multiple agents could have various ques with lots of trunks servicing the traffic load. IBM was trying to use senors attached to the key strokes to cut down the time an of agent call processing, by identifying a product using key strokes.

During the early 1982, one of Nortels PBX distributors in Omaha NB. called, requesting some assistance, he was trying to interface ATT's new special WATS trunks (ANI)into the SL-1 ACD. These new trunks were capable of bringing the number (like a DID trunk)into the ACD. Because the SL-1 ACD was so flexible the input trunk side of the ACD was configured as one (1)ACD per trunk, and put on night service (out of service)this allowed the ACD to forward all the calls into the main ACD that was in service. The calls came in on each of their ACD que's and bounced out into the main ACD Que--note each incoming trunk carried the trunk number with it into the the main active ACD Que. When the call arrived on the agents telephone Display set the trunk number was displayed and the agent typed the four (4) digit number into the the terminal (computer)and BAM there was the product order form the caller wanted to purchase. This method of manipulating the SL-1 ACD software allowed the agents to cut the order entry time in half putting NorTel SL-1 PBXs in high demand. Nortel was able to develop with other computer companies into the CTI technology.

Among the key players in this area, Lucent played a big role and IBM acquired ROLM Inc, a US pioneer in ACDs, in an attempt to normalize all major PBX vendor interfaces with its CallPath middleware. This attempt failed when it sold this company to Siemens AG and gradually divested in the area. A pioneer startup that combined the technologies of voice digitization, Token Ring networking, and time-division multiplexing was ZTEL of Wilmington, Massachusetts.