The EMA system: a CTI based e-mail alerting service

The integration of Internet services and telephony services is a new area for the development of telecommunications services. One example is an e-mail alerting service that uses the telephony network for e-mail notification. The EMA system is a computer telephony integration (CTI) application that checks a user's mailbox on the mail server and informs him/her over the phone when new e-mail arrives, eliminating the need for permanent Internet connection. The EMA system has a Web-based interface, enabling the user to configure service parameters. The EMA system is developed as a distributed and concurrent application. It consists of seven modules: the console, Web interface, Web handler, controller, voice machine, database, and mail checker, using communication solutions based on component object model (COM) technology. This article describes the structure of the EMA system, its implementation, and advantages for users.