ces will be instantly available. The trend in the IVR industry is toward a dedicated server on a LAN or WAN, open architecture and server-based plat- forms. These may be supported by trained non-technical personnel. You buy standard non-proprietary hardware and buy the software separately. The Telecom Handbook * 179 INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE Such systems are becoming more common as standard- ized hardware becomes the norm. Although Fax-on-Demand is being presented separately, the trend is toward the integra- tion of IVR and Fax-on-Demand. This allows more information to be delivered to callers, giving them immediate written con- firmation of transactions. These are also being integrated with screen pops. When a caller exits the interactive system to get to a customer service representative, the representative will have the caller and transaction information on the screen in front of him as the call arrives. Furthering this trend are platform-based systems on which Voice Mail, Automated Attendant, Interactive Voice Response and Fax Servers are integrated onto the LAN. This makes them accessible to all LAN users. This enables such things as tak- ing a written fax document and attaching it to a spoken message, and then sending both to the Voice Mailbox of ev- eryone using the LAN. Another trend is the broadening of the term IVR to refer to web-based applications. When the IVR menus are being set up, the same type of treed menu is also being developed for access by web-site users. The Telecom Handbook CHAPTER 9 Fax Servers What is a Fax Server? A fax server is a server (PC) on your Local Area Network that sends or receives faxes directly to or from workstations on the Local Area Network. This is usually accomplished by intro- ducing a fax server into an existing LAN. If your organization does not have a LAN, you may still implement most of the capa- bilities described in this chapter on a separate PC. The trend is for organizations to incorporate fax capability into the Local Area Network to make it more accessible 