Envox CT ADE 9.2 Embraces .NET and CTI

Envox Worldwide upgraded its CT ADE application development tool to include enhanced integration with .NET development environments, computer telephony integration (CTI) capabilities, support for IP-based conferencing, and support for additional IP media and SS7 boards.

Among the biggest components of the upgrade is the enhanced integration with Microsoft .NET, allowing coders to automatically register the CT ADE active X controls that previously had to be manually incorporated into the .NET framework. The 9.2 upgrade also added CTI capability integrated within the CTI development environment using the CT Connect. When working in an interactive voice response (IVR) solution, the CTI development environment enables the caller to be rerouted from the switch to an agent, freeing up the IVR port.

As far as the where the solution is in terms of industry trends, "it is in front of the curve, following a major trend that we are seeing; and it is doing it a way that is affordable and is very sensitive to their customer base and, more importantly, to their customers' customers," explains Dan Miller, senior analyst, Opus Research.

It is specifically designed for the coder, such as someone working in C++ or .NET. It is a collection of libraries and utilities that they can incorporate into their coding to accelerate the development of IVR systems. It provides integration into several speech engines, including Nuance's automated speech recognition and text-to-speech. The addition of Media Resource Control Protocol (MRCP), an interface for things like automatic speech recognition, speech synthesis (text-to-speech), and speaker verification and identification, opens it up to other speech engines, even though it is designed around the Dialogic boards, Dialogic API.

"Envox CT ADE is a rapid application development tool for interactive voice response (IVR) deployments," explains Judith Markowitz of J. Markowitz, Consultants. "The IVR of today is no longer limited to handling calls from landline public switched telephone networks (PSTN). Today's application developers must interface with a range of communication modalities, including wireless and fax and, increasingly, they are working in .NET environments. The enhancements in CT ADE 9.2 show that Envox is paying attention to these and other changes that are revolutionizing the call contact center."

Envox originally acquired the CT ADE product line from Intel. "Under Intel, there was a lot of attention on supporting boards and there wasn't the same drive to integrate the products. Since we acquired the product line, we have invested in speech support," explains John Joseph, vice president of corporate marketing, Envox Worldwide. "The other area that we have invested in is integrating the product lines together."

"One important point overall is that when we acquired the product line, we promised to catch up in a number of different areas, such as speech support; and this is a major release that gets us over the hump in terms of up-to-date support for IP, speech, and .NET compatibility," Joseph says. "This puts CT ADE back in front of the pack for development tools."

In the context of what is going on in the development environment, "we are really seeing the value in solutions being provided at the application layer and that the contribution that developers make is more and more important to fostering the growth of speech in multimodal solutions and IP environments," Miller concludes.