Computer telephony integration (CTI) links phone calls to the applications agents work in, usually a CRM or a helpdesk. Agents no longer dial on a handset and then hunt for the customer in another window: the phone and the software work as one.
Typical CTI features:
- Click-to-call: start a call from a phone number in the CRM.
- Screen pop: the caller's record opens when a call rings or connects.
- Automatic logging: each call is saved on the customer's timeline with its duration, outcome and notes.
- On-screen call control: answer, hold, transfer and hang up from the application.
CTI saves a few seconds on every call, but its real value is context: agents see who is calling, their history and any open issues. Reporting becomes reliable too, because the system logs calls instead of agents doing it by hand.
There are two ways to get CTI: connect a separate phone system to a CRM through an integration, or use a platform where telephony and CRM are one product. OVOKY takes the second route. The softphone, the contact record and the call disposition sit in the same browser tab in the agent workspace, and the API connects OVOKY to other systems.