WorkGroup Telephony is a client-server, communications architecture that automates user interaction and office workflow with computer telephony. WorkGroup Telephony provides an open network architecture to the business call center for integrating computer telephony with business applications and groupware.
Control calls and conferences from the desktop
Exchange messages and data between agents during a call
Identify callers and launch outbound calls
Deliver customers directly to the knowledge station with intelligent routing
WorkGroup Telephony provides a suite of components that interact with each other and with user programs to provide peer-to-peer, connection-oriented networking. The components have high-level configuration capabilities for the creation of server-push, client/server programs targeted for common computer telephony operations.
WorkGroup Telephony uses the Sockets messaging standard to allow applications on different computers to interact with each other. Sockets work on TCP/IP networks and Netware.
WorkGroup Telephony consists of three major components:
The Remote and AgentX controls provide the capability to send information to another instance of one of these controls. The information is directed to a specific machine identified by the control providing the information. Only controls on that machine that share the same AppId as the sender will receive the data.
The concept of an Application ID (AppID) is central to proper use of the controls. An AppID is a way of identifying a communications path: it is the means by which programs identify themselves on networks where multiple AgentX-based applications are active at once.
Both of the ActiveX controls provided as part of WorkGroup Telephony (the AgentX control and the Remote control) have a property called AppID. AppIDs should not be changed at run-time, although the Remote control is able to dynamically select the machine to which it will send data
Distributing applications that use the AgentX technology requires special considerations involving the TCP/IP and licensing issues. These topics are discussed in Distributing Your Application.