Replacement technology for TAPI?

Question

Is there a replacement technology for TAPI that supports third-party call control (3pcc)?

I want to provide the following 3pcc functionalities in an application:

1. Outgoing call:

   • User clicks at a button in the application.
   • The user's phone goes off hook, and the callee's phone rings.
   • The callee's phone shows the phone number of the callee, not the phone number used for the application.
   • When the callee picks up the phone, the connection is established.

2. Incoming call:

   • When user's phone rings, the caller's number and the called number are sent to the application.
   • The application evaluates the numbers and shows e.g. a customer record.

In the past, I would have done this with TAPI, but it seems that Microsoft does not actively develop TAPI any more (even though TAPI is supported with all current Windows versions, up to Windows 7). Therefore, I am searching for a technology that is more likely supported in the future by the majority of telephony system providers.

I am aware of CSTA, which could be used to do this, but this also is a pretty old technology and not very widespread (it has 100 times less Google hits than TAPI, for example).

I am also aware of SIP, which does not have direct support for 3pcc features, but there are ways to work around this:

• For outgoing calls: use application's SIP endpoint to connect to the two phones first, then connect them by making a kind of "conference call".

• For incoming calls: use SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFY and dialog event package.

Problem is that the procedure for outgoing calls is very clumsy, and the called phone would not display the correct phone number (i.e. the caller's number) when ringing. Furthermore, SIP is not a single standard, but a collection of many different RFCs, and it seems that telephony system manufacturers only implement parts of those RFCs, and there usually is no good documentation which parts are implemented.

So, my question is: is there any other telephony integration standard that supports third-party call control, and that can be considered as a widely supported standard in the foreseeable future?

Answer 1

I'd suggest you consider CSTA3.

ECMA CSTA3 is a comprehensive standard for 3rd party telephony call control far superior to TAPI in detail and implemented by several vendors. A web service definition exists for CSTA.

See ECMA CSTA 3

I can highly recommend the standard but would suggest you carefully consider if the target vendor supports the CSTA standard as you require.

Answer 2

The answer to the OP is yes. A couple years ago I was trying to do TAPI work and had all of the same issues as everyone else. Rather than using local hardware and drivers, I found cloud services which do everything requested in the OP. I won't mention a specific service unless someone PM's me. But my recommendation is to go off the standard path, and stop beating your head against the TAPI wall. HTH

Answer 3

stop beating your head against the TAPI wall That would be nice. PM's are however not possible here TonyG. I would love hear about your cloud service experiences. Without getting specific, do you really mean call control over my desk phone is possible from the cloud?

Answer 4

Try Esna Ilink For Cisco Or Esna Ilink Pro. This product is Platform Independent and will work with any thing including TAPI and CSTA.