Toshiba Enters Communication Server-Based Telephone Market With Introduction of New Toshiba Strata CS - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Cambridge Telcom Report, March 13, 2000

Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (TAIS TSD) Tuesday announced that it is entering the communications server-based telephone market with the introduction of the Toshiba Strata CS, a software-driven communications server that brings advanced telephony features to the desktop computer.

Making its debut at the Computer Telephony Expo, Strata CS is designed for small to mid-sized businesses that will benefit from computer-telephony integration.

"Toshiba's Strata CS is a natural evolution of our Strata business telephone product line, bringing a communication server-based system to companies who want to integrate their PC and telephone systems," said Dave Mandeville, vice president marketing. "Strata CS provides an affordable communications server solution with the backing of Toshiba, a market leader in the computer industry, also known for the reliability and flexibility of its telephone systems."

Control Voice Mail and Multi-line Calls from a PC via the LAN Operating on a single open architecture-based server, Strata CS is a software-driven business communication system that provides users with control of their calls and voice mail directly from the desktop PC. By integrating multi-line calls and voice mail via the Local Area Network (LAN), users can easily communicate using the PC, maximizing their ability to access and share information.

In addition to standard analog, T1, E1, and ISDN PRI trunks, the Strata CS provides an internal Voice over IP Gateway that allows for VoIP communications between multiple sites. This feature allows remote sites to communicate to a home office or between multiple locations.

Multi-line Graphical Call and Voice Mail Control from the Desktop PC Strata CS provides full graphical desktop control for handling both real time calls and voice mail messaging. It provides the ability for users to check voice mail, receive calls, and make calls. Its multi-line call control enables multiple call handling, music/audio and ring-back reminder, call transfer, call conferencing, call park, call waiting, do not disturb mode, and universal call pickup.

Call and message screening capabilities include: caller ID, PIN and voice-prompt identification, caller announcement, live message screening, ability to grab-back from voice mail or paging, and the ability to take a call, transfer the call or send it to voice mail, all at the touch of a key.

Voice mail functionality from the PC includes send/reply/retrieve/forward/save/delete/undelete functions, auto message callback, multiple personal greetings, message time/date stamps, password security, and ability to export to .WAV files.

Integration with Email and Voice Mail Communications Strata CS enables users to manage their email and voice mail communication in tandem with their telecommunications by providing message notification with caller ID information and .WAV file voice mail attachments. All of these functions can be handled locally or remotely by utilizing the Strata CS Web Client.

Built-in Auto Attendant Handles Call Processing A built-in, multi-level auto attendant provides automated answering, dial-by-name internal and external calling, customizable greetings and menus, time-out routing to operator or voice mail, fax detection and routing, and the ability for multiple attendants to be programmed and customized per trunk.

Automatic Call Distribution Facilitates Call Centers Strata CS provides automatic call distribution, giving the ability to route calls to agents in a choice of formats: simultaneously, round robin or top down. It queues calls in the order received, provides a GUI display of calls waiting, and keeps a call log database. In addition, it enables custom hold messages to be recorded and played.

Strata CS Reporter The optional Strata CS Call Center Reporter enables users to generate a variety of useful reports about telephone traffic, including call volume and trunk usage reports. Users can assess the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) center, since the Call Center Reporter can also generate reports on agent efficiency, average caller hold time, and more.

Contact Management Maximizes Telephone-PC Integration Strata CS provides contact management, including one-click calling, caller ID association with PC files, dialing and screen-pop integration, and call logging, annotating and reporting functionality. Its ability to interface with MS Outlook, Goldmine, ACT!, and Eudora Pro allow customized company and personal phone directories to keep users organized and efficient.

Seamless Call Management Integration Makes Strata CS IVR-Ready The Strata CS IVR Plug-in software development kit allows users to create custom interactive voice response applications that can accept and process calls, play and record voice prompts, collect digits, process caller ID, and perform database lookups. These plug-ins appear as "virtual extensions" to Strata CS.

Friendly Interface Makes Strata CS Easy to Use A friendly user interface makes Strata CS easy to use even with a standard telephone. A voice-guided telephone user interface keeps it simple and guides the user through set-up, management and daily tasks. Even the most novice users can take advantage of Strata CS computer-telephone integration with a minimum of training.