CT Connect is a software product that allows computer applications to monitor and control telephone calls. This monitoring and control is called computer-telephone integration, or CTI. CT Connect implements CTI by providing server software that supports the CTI link protocols used by a range of telephone systems, and client software that provides an application programming interface (API) for telephony functions. CT Connect is used most frequently in call center applications. Large call centers must handle huge volumes of calls, and the coordination of calls with business applications is essential. Software Function and Structure CT Connect software is not a CTI application in itself; rather, it is a software component that communicates with telephone systems, converts telephone call status and control information to a standardized form, and presents that information to third-party applications. This component approach contrasts with that of integrated offerings such as those from Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories that combine the low-level telephone interface function with higher-level application logic such as retrieving and displaying information from a data base. Software developers seeking to include telephone-related functions in their applications incorporate CT Connect software modules into their projects. The CT Connect server module must be installed on a computer that has a special CTI communication link to the telephone system. The CT Connect client module is installed on the same computer as the developer's application software. The client module presents an API for application telephone functions such as dialing a new call or generating an alert for an incoming call. The client module executes these requests by signaling them to the server module, which in turn requests the function from the telephone system. The client-server structure allows multiple applications running on multiple computers to share access to a single telephone system. CTI Standards The principal standards specification for CTI is ECMA Computer-supported Telecommunications Applications or CSTA. The CSTA standard specifies a call model (that is, how parties participate in a call and the steps a call goes through as it proceeds) and a set of messages that can be exchanged between a telephone system and a computer system. When both telephone systems and computer systems implement the CSTA standard, a customer can choose freely among competing products with confidence that they will interoperate. As described more fully below, the CT Connect development team participated in the definition of CSTA. CT Connect and its predecessor, Digital Equipment's Computer Integrated Telephony product line,