Ampersand, Inc. - Computer Telephony

Computer Telephony

Computer Telephony Computer Telephony (CT) Systems have evolved beyond their roots in proprietary hardware and software—systems that date back to the origins of the CT industry as Telco switches. Modern systems are based upon Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components, industry standards such as the SCSA bus and TAPI, and open standards for computer platforms used to host CT hardware.

The evolution to COTS hardware and open standards has provided increased benefits to the CT industry, just as it has enhanced the real-time and IT industries for years. These benefits include faster development cycles, lower product cost, lower maintenance cost, increased interoperability, and increased functionality. The preference for COTS hardware and open standards has also broadened the vendor base of firms that can offer CT development solutions, and Ampersand is positioned squarely at the foundation.

For years we’ve developed IT and real-time systems based on COTS components and open standards—skills that served us in good stead when we focused on CT as a new market initiative in 1997. Ampersand was greeted with an enthusiastic response from traditional CT firms that recognized the need to evolve and wanted help in making the transition.

Ampersand rapidly became expert with Dialogic CT hardware, and with use of the SCSA bus for switching. Currently we are pursuing a partnership with Dialogic Customer Engineering. Ampersand’s work to date has been primarily in the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) market segment; however our low-level focus on system engineering is applicable to any CT market segments.