Hidden market models: a bystander's view of progress ~computer telephony integration\

The author regards computer telephony integration (CTI) as the functional integration of telephone switches with computers. Its extension into the world of voice automation is a natural one and most integrated systems are formed from the trio: telephone system, computer system and interactive voice response system. Extending into the messaging world has not been so smooth, and still has some way to go, but it is happening. All of this, together with a lashing of image and video to create a truly multimedia mixture, leads to computer mediated communications, the future of CTI.