ld in any significant way. Others tend to evolve as their development proceeds. Most require considerably more customized program- ming that is apparent at first. Many of these applications are developed for the incoming call center environment where large numbers of calls are handled for customer service or sales. Some of the types of software include: Workforce Management, helping Call Center Managers to staff properly CRM or Customer Relationship Management, enabling or- ganizations to create and maintain strong relationships with their customers through personalizing their communications with them. Convergence Applications enabling users to merge voice and data to, for example, handle voice communications and e- mail over the same desktop or wireless device. Call Accounting and Charge Back Service Bureaus With multiple telecommunications companies providing a va- riety of systems and services and with expenses on the rise, the need to manage telecommunications within the organization is increasing. There is a small group of companies who write and The Telecom Handbook & 293 UNDERSTANDING THE INDUSTRY support software to assist organizations with the management of telecommunications assets and often computer assets as well. These software systems keep track of the system configura- tions (circuit boards and spare capacity), the actual desktop devices such as telephones and PCs, the cabling, and the circuits from both the local telephone company and the long distance companies. In addition, they may track work orders SO that as changes are made to the system, all information is automatically updated. Company telephone directories are also generated from the software. They provide cost allocation and charge back capabilities for telecommunications equipment, services and calls. Directory Assistance A number of different companies using different databases now provide directory assistance. As a result, the likelihood that you will get accurate information from directory assistance is diminishing. This is the serv