Computer telephony integration is a technology that allows actions on a telephone and a computer to be linked together, or integrated. Due to today`s advances in technology, this term also refers to email, internet, and fax that are linked together with computer systems. Computer telephony integration makes it easier for you to operate things involving your phone on your computer conveniently. There are many functions that can be performed using computer telephony integration.

Some of the functions are call information display, automatic dialing, phone control from your computer, data transfers, phone control center, and call control. All of these features are important to many business people, who receive many calls and need to monitor them from their computer. Computer telephony integration can even have voice recognition and authentication of a phone number in order to identify a caller from your computer. It further advances telephone technology to perform numerous tasks on a computer that would not have been possible before.

There are two possible forms of computer telephony integration. These two forms are first-party call control and third-party call control. The difference between the two is that first-party call control operates as if a computer was linked directly to the phone. On the other hand, third-party call control is a little more complicated, and requires a server to handle the connection between the computer and the phone. Any computer that connects to the server will be able to control any phone connected to the system. The phone does not need to be physically linked to the computer, it only needs to be connected through the network.

Many companies have helped to create and distribute software and products for computer telephony integration. Some of them are Alcatel-Lucent, IBM, and Digital Equipment Corporation. Alcatel-Lucent and IBM helped to develop the standard which would evolve into computer telephony integration. Digital Equipment Corporation, which was bought by Intel, made computer telephony integration software. On the hardware side of things, Dialogic produced interface boards for networks linking the computer and the phone together.