CTI, computer telephony integration, is technology that integrates an organization's telephone system with their business applications, typically to give the business applications more control over calls. An IVR (interactive voice response) is an example of an application that is made possible by CTI. CTI is typically architected as a client-server solution and a CTI server is the server part of the platform. A CTI server is software, although people may use the term CTI server to describe both the software and the hardware on which it's loaded.
CTI server software may be loaded on the same computer as the client. This is found in small offices with just a couple of employees, such as sales staff, who need to use the CTI capabilities. Larger operations, such as contact centers, will have physically separate server hardware. Many companies use a cloud-based solution. Having a contact center and a CTI server in the cloud offers benefits such as eliminating the need for internal staff to support CTI server hardware and related software, as well as greater flexibility to add features or to scale up or down.
CTI plays a critical role in the modern call center because it is the engine behind so many important capabilities that improve efficiency and the customer experience. CTI enables identifying callers up front, so that when an agent answers a routed call they are presented with customer data from the company's CRM application. Even before that agent is assigned the call, the CTI server is powering intelligent routing to make sure the caller will be assisted by the agent that best meets the their needs. CTI enables the type of service consumers have come to expect and can improve the service provided by agents.
