Finding software can be overwhelming. Software Advice helps call centers choose the right computer telephony integration software so they can improve agent interactions and integrate CRM data.
Showing 1-20 of 88 products
NICE inContact Cloud Contact Center
NICE inContact is cloud-based call center software that helps businesses to maximize the quality of leads and minimize the cost of client interaction. The solution comprises many features required to process inbound support requests... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Jive Communications delivers a cloud-based unified communication solution to organizations of all sizes across the U.S. Jive Voice includes integrated products for business VoIP, video conferencing and contact center which are all... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Talkdesk Enterprise Cloud Contact Center
Talkdesk is a cloud-based call center solution that helps businesses improve customer satisfaction while simultaneously reducing customer support costs. It uses interactive voice response (IVR), automatic call distribution (ACD) and... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
PureCloud by Genesys is an on-premise and cloud-based call center solution for businesses of any size and industry. Key modules include Automatic Call Distribution, Interactive Voice Response, Computer Telephony Integration, Auto Dialer,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
ChaseData Call Center software offers cloud-based, standalone call center functionality with customer service and support built into the solution. It’s designed for outbound, inbound and blended call center teams. Dialing capabilities... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Nextiva's Business VoIP solutions offer telephony services for small businesses with functionality that eliminates the need for a traditional phone system. The packages include VoIP phone systems, scalable PBX trunks, online faxing... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Cloud communications provider RingCentral has expanded into the Call Center space with their Contact Center solution. The integrated suite powered by inContact offers Automatic Call Distribution, Interactive Voice Response, CTI, Auto... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Kixie PowerCall is a cloud-based interactive voice response (IVR) solution that helps users automate their sales processes. It can also be deployed on-premise. Kixie PowerCall offers users one-click dialing, call recording, call history,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Ytel is a cloud-based integrated marketing suite that caters to SMB call centers and businesses with dedicated phone support teams, helping them manage multi-channel communications. The solution offers features including automated... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Aircall is a cloud-based business phone and call center system that helps manage and streamline customer support and sales engagement operations. Designed for offices and teams in remote areas, it enables users to integrate software... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
FluentStream is a business phone solution designed for companies of all sizes. It offers call monitoring, telemarketing, IVR and reporting features within an integrated suite. The solution is available both in cloud-based and on-premise... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
KOOKOO CloudAgent is a cloud contact center solution that works both standalone or blended with your existing trunk/legacy solution. Advanced tools enable intelligent call routing, inbound lead management, abandoned call management,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Five9 is an all-in-one cloud contact center solution for inbound, outbound, blended and omnichannel contact centers world-wide. Powered by Practical AI, Five9 enables agents to provide customer experiences across phone, email, chat,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
For quickly growing businesses looking to efficiently scale their support teams, Dialpad Support provides a cloud-based call center with access to real-time customer insights. Dialpad allows users to onboard quickly and focus on delivering... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
OfficeConnect by UniVoip is a cloud-based phone system that offers features including auto-attendant, call paging, conferencing, email integration, one-touch speed dial and call recording. The platform is targeted towards mid to large-sized... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
XenCALL is a cloud-based call center solution for companies of all sizes in a variety of industries. Key features include automatic call distribution, interactive voice response, auto dialing, scheduling, performance analytics and... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Noble Enterprise is a call center management solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. Key features include inbound, outbound and blended contact management, predictive dialing, skills-based call routing, digital recording and... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Service Cloud from SalesForce is a cloud-based customer service management solution that is designed to initiate customer service activities from anywhere. Built on the Salesforce1 Platform, Service Cloud works to centralize and optimize... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Twilio Flex is a fully programmable cloud-based contact center platform that gives businesses complete control of their contact center experience. With Twilio Flex, companies can deploy an omnichannel contact center platform and customize... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
NewVoiceMedia Cloud Contact Center
NewVoiceMedia’s tight integration with Salesforce is reflected in its AppExchange 5-star rating and the large number of positive reviews. The solution is designed to work in tandem with Salesforce capabilities and data to deliver... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Imagine you’re an agent at a busy call center: you’re fielding dozens of phone calls a day with customers you’ve never met, and you want to make a good impression on all of them. Don’t you want to be as prepared and efficient as possible?
One of the best ways to set up your call center team for success in the environment described is by investing in a system with computer telephony integration (CTI). CTI is an important category of call center software: It enables phone and computer systems to work together for the benefit of your agents and your customers.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to choose the right CTI system for your company, such as:
What Is CTI?
Common Functionality of CTI
Benefits of CTI
CTI Implementation Options
Integration Considerations
What Is CTI?
CTI, or computer telephony integration, is also known as “computer-telephone integration” or “computer telephony.” These terms may sound intimidating, but their basic meaning is straightforward: CTI is technology that lets you use a computer to initiate, manage and enhance your phone calls.
CTI is often used as a jargon term for describing integrations between a phone system and a customer relationship management (CRM) system that has already been deployed. These integrations add features to enhance both systems and help agents better handle interactions.
An example of how they do this is “screen pops”—a window that pops up on an agent's computer screen when they have an incoming phone call. That window displays information about the caller, e.g., address and interaction history, which is pulled from the call center’s existing CRM program.
This phone system-computer coordination is made possible through CTI. Though it’s most common for CTI to be used for CRM integrations, it is also good for other types of integrations.
For instance, many organizations now use CTI to allow their accounting software to interface with their phone system. Agents can call customers with unpaid invoices directly from their accounting software through functionality called “click-to-dial” (more details on this below).
To recap: CTI software acts as a bridge for the exchange of data and functionalities between a company’s phone system and other existing programs, such as CRM or accounting solutions.
Common Functionality of CTI
Vendors offer a variety of functional breadth and depth in their CTI solutions. Here are some of the most common capabilities:
| Screen pops | In addition to what we’ve already described, screen pops can indicate the priority level of an interaction with a caller based on customer history data from your CRM program. They can also use a customer’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system answers to display the purpose of a call (e.g., sales or support). |
| Click-to-dial | This function adds outbound dialing capabilities to the databases of contacts you'd find in a CRM or accounting system. Agents can skip manual dialing and simply click a phone number on their computer screen to place a call. |
| Caller authentication | CTI software screens incoming calls and uses the phone number to find a match in your CRM system. It can confirm the caller’s identity before the call even starts. |
| Phone controls | Users can manage their phone controls through the computer instead of dialing buttons manually. These include the ability to answer, hang-up, conference, forward and transfer calls. |
| Logging and notes | Basic information is automatically logged in the CRM system while the call is in progress, such as the time/date of the call and agent handling it. Agents can also add manual notes directly into the CRM or accounting program. |
| Coordinated voice/data transfer | If a call needs to be transferred from one member of your team to another, this function allows all onscreen customer information (e.g., screen pops) to be transferred when the line is reassigned. |
CTI Benefits
Here are some benefits that explain how CTI can empower call center agents and companies to have more productive customer interactions:
Top Benefits of CTI Software
CTI Implementation Options
CTI can be implemented in one of two ways:
- As a best-of-breed application
- As part of a call center suite that has CTI capabilities built in, in addition to other applications (e.g., automatic call distribution or workforce scheduling)
It’s important to note that best-of-breed CTI software is a relatively niche offering. It could be a good option for companies with older phone systems who aren’t ready to buy a new one just yet, but still want to reap the benefits of CTI sooner rather than later.
The vast majority of buyers are better off with the second option: You’ll need an established phone system for calls to be able to work on your computers at all. It’s easier to implement a phone system that supports CTI from the start, rather than trying to retrofit or replace it later on.
Also worth noting: Some of the more basic CTI capabilities (e.g., click-to-dial and even screen pops, in some cases) can be achieved with a PBX system as an alternative to using CTI with a call center system.
Integration Considerations
Once you’ve decided on an implementation model, you can evaluate vendors. As we’ve explained, CTI is intended to be used with computer programs that call centers are already using, such as existing CRM or accounting systems. It’s important to ensure that any CTI vendor on your shortlist can interface with this existing software. You can usually find this information listed on vendors’ websites.