Frequently Asked Questions - Telephony
| Q. | How does Speech Server hook up to my telephony infrastructure? |
| A. | Microsoft Speech Server 2004 uses standard off-the-shelf PCI-based Intel Dialogic™ telephony cards from Intel to connect to existing PBX systems. A Telephony Interface Manager (TIM), available from either Intel or Intervoice, acts as the software interface between the card and Speech Server. |
| Q. | Do I need to purchase a separate Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to work with Speech Server? |
| A. | No. Unlike other speech platforms Microsoft Speech Server 2004 provides a comprehensive set of components and features for enterprises to create and deploy speech-enabled IVR, touchtone, and multimodal applications without the need for a separate IVR system. |
| Q. | Can I build and deploy Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF)-only applications with Speech Server? |
| A. | Yes. Speech Server is a comprehensive speech platform that includes support for telephony voice-only speech applications, multimodal (mixed speech/visual) applications, and DTMF (touchtone) applications. In fact, Speech Server is a great choice if presently you only want to deploy DTMF applications without speech; then later, when you're ready to add speech or even multimodal features to your applications, everything you need is already there. |
| Q. | Which PBXs are supported by Speech Server? |
| A. | Microsoft Speech Server 2004 connects to telephone systems through third-party software called a Telephony Interface Manager (TIM) and works with most mainstream PBXs. While the requirements for a Microsoft-approved TIM include support for all PBX protocols, implementation specifics are the responsibility of the TIM vendors. Please refer to Intel and Intervoice for more information on their respective TIM's support for specific PBX systems. |
| Q. | Does Speech Server support Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)? |
| A. | Through its support for the open standards messaging formats SMEX + ECMA-323 Microsoft Speech Server 2004 can interoperate with a variety of telephony infrastructures, networks, and CTI implementations, including the most common CTI platforms. Please refer to Intel and Intervoice for more information on their respective TIM's support for specific CTI platforms. |
| Q. | Which Intel telephony cards are supported? |
| A. | Microsoft Speech Server 2004 provides support for the following telephony cards: 1) Intel Dialogic D/41JCT PCI-based DM3 Voice Processing and Analog Interface Board; 2) Intel Dialogic DMV160LP 16-Port, PCI-based DM3 Voice Processing and Analog Interface Board; 3) Intel Dialogic DMV480-2T1 (48-Port Digital [T1] interface); 4) Intel Dialogic DMV960-4T1 (96-Port Digital [T1] interface); as well as support for a 24-port digital solution from Intel. As support for additional telephony cards becomes available in the future we will update this information. |
| Q. | Is Voice over IP (VoIP) supported? |
| A. | While the number of actual implementations of VoIP in call centers and IT departments remains relatively small, industry and customer interest in the future of VoIP is significant. While support for VoIP in Speech Server is not yet available we are always working with our Telephony Interface Manager (TIM) partners to better address the future needs of our customers and will post any new information about this as it becomes available. |
