AnswerSoft announces Universal TAPI 2.0 service provider; Microsoft supports accelerated development of TAPI 2.0 service providers for call centers adopting Windows NT 4.0.

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1996--Plano-based AnswerSoft Inc., a leading developer of business process automation software for the call center market, Tuesday announced availability of a Universal TAPI 2.0 Service Provider (UTSP) for PBX manufacturers seeking rapid development of direct communication links between PBX systems and Windows NT server 4.0-based machines.

Hardware manufacturers now have the ability to significantly reduce the development effort required to provide Telephony Service Providers or drivers necessary to fully integrate client/server applications with PBX switches in a Windows NT 4.0/TAPI 2.0 environment.

Rapid development of these drivers will enable call centers to utilize information obtained from a telephone switch to drive the communications process across the network.

"AnswerSoft's primary focus is to provide client/server automation and data mining solutions for call centers that are triggered by a wide range of communications and IS events," stated Jeanne Bayless, president and CEO, AnswerSoft. "As we completed development work for our client applications to run in a Windows NT 4.0 environment against the TAPI 2.0 standard, it became obvious that the demand for TAPI compliant solutions running on Windows NT created intense demand for TAPI Service Providers. As a result, we are licensing our UTSP, with immediate availability, to facilitate the development of the required drivers."

"The release of TAPI 2.0 in Windows NT 4.0 has accelerated the demand for TAPI solutions, and we're pleased to be supporting AnswerSoft in the release of the Universal TAPI Service Provider," stated Paul Stanton, TAPI Program Manager, Microsoft. "Microsoft is committed to work with AnswerSoft and the industry to ensure the resulting TAPI Service Providers are fully compatible with the thousands of TAPI applications that have been deployed. The availability of the Universal TAPI Service Provider will benefit customers and the industry."

"The development effort to produce service providers is substantial because it requires hardware vendors to have a complete understanding of multithreading software techniques, TAPI 2.0 communication links and networking protocols," stated Tom Hite, vice president, software development, AnswerSoft. "As a result of the complexities involved, the development cycle time for service providers can be as long as 12 months. The UTSP insulates the vendor from these complexities resulting in significantly reduced development cycle times to about 12 weeks."

Specifically, the UTSP provides the communication layer between the TAPI 2.0 server and the switch, including the capability of queuing numerous telephony events. Additionally, the UTSP provides the mapping layers required between telephony events and the devices affected by these events. Using the UTSP, the programmer simply reads or writes to the queue, translates the events, and feeds them to the UTSP to be correctly bundled to send to the server. This process eliminates the requirement to write mapping and transition tables as well as programming switch to server communications links -- the most time consuming and complex layers within the Telephony Service Provider.

"AnswerSoft has developed its full suite of automation applications utilizing Microsoft's Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA) and is particularly well positioned to work with leading PBX manufacturers as they begin to adapt their systems to the Windows NT 4.0/TAPI 2.0 environment and address the issue of moving telephony data across the network." continued Hite.

"The availability of our UTSP tools will accelerate the development of other needed components required by our call center customers and contribute to the expanded adoption of TAPI 2.0" stated Bayless.

AnswerSoft's UTSP is available for licensing immediately.

AnswerSoft, founded in January 1993, is the leading provider of business process automation software. Its software solutions leverage the merging integration of computing and communications technologies to enable employees and customers to automate access to information and initiate action more effectively across the enterprise.

While AnswerSoft products are generally first adopted in the call center and are triggered by telephone switch (PBX) and/or voice response unit (VRU) events, the architectural model employed enables applications to be triggered by a wide range of communications and IS events, making AnswerSoft applications the most extensible and scaleable automation solutions for the enterprise.

AnswerSoft customers include companies such as American Mobile Satellite Corp., Andersen Consulting, Champion International, Celedon Trucking, Compaq Computer Corp., First USA, Outboard Marine Corp., SuperValu, and Thomson Electronics.

NOTE TO EDITORS: AnswerSoft is a registered trademark of AnswerSoft Inc. Universal Telephony Service Provider is a trademark of AnswerSoft Inc. Other trademarks used throughout this document are trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: AnswerSoft Inc., Plano

Lisa Chiranky, 972/612-5114

fax, 972/612-5198

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