CTI Play in the SIP World Is i d

A dis scussion on the role of CTI in S switch o e SIP hing enviro onments

Dr. H Holger Stoltze e Senio Product Manager or M Synte ellect Inc.

A Sy Paper r White ntellect Inc. White Paper

US U 800.788.973 33 CANAD DA 905.754.410 00 EME EA +44 (0 1252 61 885 0) 53 APA AC +65 6392.183 33

www. .syntellect.com m

Contents Introduction ................................................................................ 3 Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) .................................... 3 CTI and SIP ................................................................................. 3 CTI links and CTI Middleware ................................................... 5 Multi-vendor, Multi-site ............................................................. 6 CTI Applications ........................................................................ 7 SIP Supported Applications ..................................................... 7 Partially Supported Applications ............................................. 7 Applications Requiring CTI Links ............................................ 8 Conclusion ................................................................................. 8

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Introduction This document discusses the role CTI plays in the world of SIP switches, both pure SIP and hybrid uses. Switch manufacturers have been moving in the direction of SIP support in recent years. While SIP does offer features for CTI, there are misconceptions in the marketplace that assume that CTI links and CTI middleware software are no longer required. This document outlines findings based on first hand experiences, deployments in SIP environments, and input by technology experts and analysts. We will show that SIP does not replace CTI links into the PBX and that CTI middleware products are still required for the development of meaningful CTI applications. Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) Computer Telephony Integration or CTI is technology that allows interactions between a telephone and a computer to be integrated or coordinated. Typical applications requiring CTI functionality include: Screen pops, which display caller information on a computer screen based on a caller's number (ANI), number dialed (DNIS), or information entered by a caller in an IVR Computer controlled predictive dialing First and third party phone control - answer, hang up, hold, conference, etc. through a computer application Coordinated phone and data transfers between two parties (i.e. pass on the Screen pop with the call) Call center agent state control (e.g. logging on, logging off; after-call work notification) Intelligent call routing Customer Interaction Management, automation of desktop activities, and multi-channel blending of phone, e-mail, and web requests Reporting functions of the switch, including real-time information like queue length, wait times, agent availability Call control for Quality Monitoring including call recording software Supervisor functionality in call center

CTI and SIP As enterprises move to SIP based switches for their telephone system, the question of CTI support by the switch becomes more prominent. Part of the SIP advantage is that voice is traveling over the data network, allowing voice and data to be mixed. Specifically for CTI applications, this means that CTI information can be delivered in the same network stream sent to the phone, without an additional CTI link. However, there are several restrictions users need to be aware of. The first has to do with the type of applications that can be supported by the CTI functionality within SIP. Because of the setup of CTI over SIP, several of the typical CTI applications listed above cannot be supported by using SIP alone and require a CTI link.

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The second has to do with the fact that switch manufacturers have added proprietary extensions to the SIP protocol to offer extended CTI functionality in their environments. However, these proprietary extensions can only be used in homogeneous environments, using only one vendors equipment. In a best of breed environment where different vendors components are selected, CTI capabilities over SIP are often reduced to only rudimentary functions. Note that best of breed could mean selecting a telephone or soft phone other than the switch manufacturers. Furthermore, users need to be aware that CTI over SIP can only be used in fully SIP enabled networks. In environments where traditional telephone (TDM) and SIP is mixed, CTI capabilities always require a CTI link into the switch. All of the restrictions listed above limit the kind of CTI applications that can be built using SIP. The following table shows an overview of the different applications requiring CTI that can be built using the CTI capabilities of the SIP environment and which ones require a CTI link into the switch.

Table 1: CTI Applications supported by pure SIP environments

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The table shows that only the most basic CTI applications can be supported by data delivered directly to the phone (or the screen pop application) via SIP. Any application that requires third party call control, monitoring of switch resources other than extensions, or agent capabilities does require CTI middleware. In multi-vendor environments, the number of applications that can be supported by CTI over SIP is further reduced. Additionally, while SIP is an IETF standard that should deliver true interoperability, the real-world implementations by the majority of SIP switch manufacturers is far from standardized. Virtually all SIP switch manufacturers have implemented proprietary extensions into their SIP implementation to support their special features on their proprietary phones. This leads to incompatibilities between switch manufacturers, making the use of the SIP stream for a meaningful switch independent CTI application almost impossible. Switch manufacturers use these proprietary extensions to protect their hardware business of selling phones and switch interfaces, even in the open world of SIP. The result of this is that open SIP phones might not work or only offer restricted functionality in the specific SIP environment of a switch manufacturer. The same holds true for any access to the CTI information in that communication stream. Single vendor solutions come closest to the promise of a simplified SIP world. However, single vendor solutions usually do not offer the best of breed across all functions that customers are looking for, and are therefore rarely found. In multi-vendor solutions, due to the proprietary extensions, SIP cannot live up to its promise. Analyst Daniel Hong from Opus Research (formerly Datamonitor) agrees: As we roll out the tape over the next several years SIP will continue to emerge as the standard for IP deployments in the contact center. It is important to note that while SIP simplifies the integration and application of CTI in the contact center it is prudent that enterprises be wary of the different flavors of SIP available in the market today. They should continue to invest in CTI in customer service areas where the technology improves customer satisfaction and helps boost operational efficiencies. In the Gartner, Inc. report Hype Cycle for Contact Center Infrastructure, 2009 from July 31st, 2009, Daniel OConnell remarks: One key hurdle to SIP adoption is the flexibility enabled in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) SIP suite of standards (a core document with dozens of supporting documents). SIP vendors can pseudo-customize their products, based on the SIP features, settings, extensions and interpretations they support. Contact center vendors will also seek to protect their market share via customized SIP stacks that hinder interoperability. Therefore, "out of the box" vendor SIP interoperability does not really exist, as each vendor's implementation possesses unique characteristics. CTI links and CTI Middleware Generally, CTI is supported by CTI links into telephone switches. These data links provide information about calls, devices, and agents in the telephone switch. Several standards have been implemented for the CTI links. Most often, the Computer Supported Telecommunications Application (CSTA) standard is being offered by the switch manufacturer. However, several switch manufacturers decided to implement other standards, like TAPI, JTAPI, or TSAPI. Beside these standards, you often also find proprietary protocols or proprietary variations of one of these standard protocols. All of the CTI applications listed previously can be implemented using CTI links. The CTI links allow monitoring of the relevant devices and extensions and coordinating all

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actions that need to be taken. The event information from different switches can be combined and different vendor applications can communicate with each other and the switch without the restrictions of the SIP stack. In the world of SIP switches and SIP phones, CTI links into the switches are the only means to create uniform and fully functional CTI applications. CTI middleware further simplifies the access to CTI capabilities. The above mentioned standards are often a complex event stream or API. System Integrators (SIs) and end customers are trying to avoid developing directly against these interfaces by using a middleware, which offers a common and effective interface across a broad set of telephone switches. Similarly, developing directly to each vendors implementation of SIP adds a great deal of application complexity that most customers prefer to avoid. Applications built by customers and value added resellers (VARs) are mostly built using CTI links and CTI middleware. Many of these applications are well established in the market. It is unlikely that these customers and VARs will rewrite their applications, even if possible, to the SIP interface. Therefore, the market will continue to demand CTI links into the switches, and switch manufacturers have to continue to provide such links. CTI middleware will provide the common programming interface, making the applications independent of the underlying switching environment. Switch manufacturers are aware that the CTI capabilities on the SIP link are not sufficient for most applications. Therefore, CTI link capabilities will not be eliminated by the switch manufacturers. However, limitations of the CTI abilities for SIP extensions, trunks, and devices have been implemented. Different switch vendors have done better or worse jobs in this area. Buying a new switching environment, customers should ensure that the switch offers the same CTI capabilities for all kind of trunks and extensions to avoid later expenses. It should be noted that a CTI link usually requires an additional purchase by the customer an expenditure they might try to avoid. It is important to understand which features and functions are supported through the SIP stack of the switch, and which features and functions are only accessible by using a CTI link. For a full price comparison, additional costs and hardware required to implement the vendors SIP solution need to be taken into account. Multi-vendor, Multi-site As mentioned above, multi-vendor installations do cause issues with SIP CTI integrations. As vendors are using proprietary extensions of the standard to support their hardware and telephone specific feature set, only the smallest denominator will be available in a multi-vendor, heterogeneous environment. CTI links into the switches allow full CTI functionality for each of the switches found in an installation. Monitoring and controlling extensions can be handled in a common fashion using a CTI middleware that hides the lower interfaces into the switches from the developer, offering one common programming interface for all CTI applications in all environments. Most often, this situation is found in multi-site environments. Distributed Call Centers, in the same country or multi-national, often have different equipment at the different sites. In the current economy, companies are often faced with different equipment after acquisitions. If it is not planned today, reality often results in heterogeneous environments. CTI over SIP is in most cases not sufficient in these cases to provide all required functionality.

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CTI Applications Previously, we listed some of the typical applications that require CTI capabilities and indicated those that can be implemented using the SIP stack only, and which ones require a CTI link. We categorized these based on our experience in the market with CTI applications along with discussions with end users, System Integrators, and other vendors in the market. The applications can be classified as: Applications that can be implemented using the SIP CTI functionality, independent whether a one-vendor or a multi-vendor environment is present CTI Applications that can be supported by SIP in a single-vendor environment, but will most likely fail in a multi-vendor environment and therefore require CTI links Applications with requirements going beyond what SIP can support, even in single-vendor environments

SIP Supported Applications The most basic application in this category is IP Telephony, meaning CTI functionality that is directly related to the telephone call itself (like ANI and DNIS information). Use of ANI and DNIS is supported across different vendor equipment. If no further need for CTI is required, this application requirement can be provided by SIP. Screen pop applications are dependent on the coordinated call and data transfer and can be supported using SIP. Data can travel with the call in the SIP stack and drive the screen pop on the agents desktop. Again, this functionality is supported by different vendors and can be supported in multi-vendor environments. However, if a call is transferred between different sites or switches without using SIP connectivity, data will get lost. In these cases, only CTI links will capture and coordinate data transfer between the different sites. First Party Call Control is the ability to control a directly associated phone through a desktop application. The application acts like a proxy or back-to-back user agent to the extension. Generally, these applications can be supported switch independently and in heterogeneous environments. There might be restrictions on the supported call control functionality based on the implementation of the agent desktop and how audio is handled in the switch and the application. Partially Supported Applications The CTI applications working in single vendor environments using the SIP stack, but most likely not working in multi-vendor environments, are agent functionality (login / logout / work modes) and call recording. The agent functionalities are usually supported through proprietary extensions to the SIP protocol, allowing agents who use a phone or application that supports these proprietary extensions to control their state. Phones from other vendors are usually unable or blocked to send these proprietary commands. For another vendor to offer similar functionality requires the use of the CTI link into the switch.

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Call recording applications by the switch vendor also can use proprietary extensions to provide the solution and data to build a meaningful call recording and quality monitoring solution. Third-party call recorders usually rely on the CTI link into the switch to be able to coordinate the information about the recording with the call and make that information available to customer relationship management systems or other data storage. Applications Requiring CTI Links The remaining applications previously listed require a CTI link into the switch, independent of whether it is a single vendor or multi-vendor offering. These applications require functionality that cannot be provided by SIP. Third-party call control (being able to control any telephone from an application, not only one associated telephone number) requires functionality provided by a CTI link to monitor these extensions and devices from a centralized location and to provide commands for these devices from that location. Third-party call control is required for agent supervisor and monitoring functionality. As SIP traffic is between the switch and the device or extension behind the switch, internal switch resources that do not represent an extension like ACD queues or route points cannot be monitored or controlled using SIP messages. These require a CTI link that allows access to any of these internal resources for monitoring and controlling. Call Routing applications, ACD queue information and control applications require this functionality and therefore can only be implemented using a CTI link into the switch. Predictive dialers and Customer Interaction Management applications need access to all different switch states, including internal and external resources. They require third party call control and call monitoring. These applications therefore do require CTI links into the switches they support. Customer Interaction Management solutions also often span over several contact center sites and combine the information collected at each site. These solutions also combine information not only from the telephone switch, but also from web pages for web chat and email servers for email interactions. Conclusion The SIP CTI implementations provided by switch vendors do not live up to the promise of true interoperability and fall significantly short as the solution to all CTI requirements. Switch vendors are diverting from the standard with proprietary extensions and hardware in order to differentiate their products. This limits application integrations using SIP to only the simplest of functions and restricts it in most cases to single-vendor solutions. CTI links provided by the switch manufacturers and CTI middleware offering robust access to the PBXs features and functions are still the only way to build fully functional CTI applications from simple screen pop to multi-site contact centers.

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