TAPI Applications

TAPI is a Microsoft software application interface for integrating-telephony-services into Windows-based PC applications. Cisco CME provides telephony services via a TAPI Service Provider (TSP) interface to applications.

The TSP allows TAPI-based applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to provide call control to the IP phones connected to Cisco CME. Other TAPI-based applications are available in the industry, such as automatic dialers. You can use these applications to control an IP phone to make and receive calls via a computer or to trigger database lookups based on caller ID.

The following sections describe TAPI in more detail, including the following topics:

• The Cisco CME TAPI Light implementation and capabilities
• Cisco CME TSP functions
• Cisco CRM Communications Connector

Cisco CME TAPI Light

Cisco CME offers a TAPI Light capability, which is not a full TAPI implementation but a selection of the applicable components for Cisco CME. The implementation consists of two parts: one part resides on the Windows platform, and the other part resides in Cisco CME's Cisco IOS software.

The interface between the TSP in the Windows application and Cisco CME uses SCCP over TCP. Cisco CME listens on a standard TCP port, while the TAPI client authenticates to Cisco CME by providing a username and password unique for each IP phone on Cisco CME. The Windows application's TSP must have the same username, password, and port number configured to be able to connect successfully with Cisco CME and exert phone and call control. The username and password authentication provides a layer of security to Cisco CME to enable authorized application development.

Example 12-1 shows the configuration of the username and password associated with the IP phone on Cisco CME. This information must be quoted by the TAPI application during login to be able to control the phone. The telephony-service ip source-address command specifies the port number used for communication between Cisco CME and the TAPI application.

Example 12-1. IP Phone Configuration

router#show running-config telephony-service ip source-address 172.19.153.129 port 2000 ! ephone-dn 1 number 3001 description User1 name User1 call-forward busy 3105 call-forward noan 3105 timeout 10 ! ephone 1 username "User 1" password user1 mac-address 0009.B7F7.5793 speed-dial 4 3100 label "AA" button 1:1

You can verify IP phone TAPI application login status with the show ephone login Cisco CME command.

Cisco CME TSP Functions

The Cisco CME TSP provides the following functions:

• It allows multiple addresses on a single line.
• It makes calls using address book dialing from applications.
• It answers or rejects calls.
• It holds calls using screen pop-ups.
• It provides caller ID information to applications.
• It places calls on hold and switches between active calls.
• It transfers calls.

When using TAPI applications with Cisco CME, consider the following restrictions:

• Media or voice termination is not supported. Media or voice traffic is sent to the phone. The TAPI application has access only to signaling events.
• TAPI clients can operate on only one phone line at a time.
• Multiple users and call handling of multiple calls on a single client are not supported.
• Java TAPI (JTAPI) is not supported.

Cisco has partnered with independent TAPI developers to provide support for TAPI development.

Table 12-1 lists the TAPI and TSP functions supported in the Cisco CME TSP.

Cisco CRM Communications Connector

The Cisco CRM Communications Connector (CCC) integrates Cisco CME with the Microsoft Business Solution Customer Relationship Management (Microsoft CRM) application. Cisco CCC provides an easy-to-use IP phone application using Microsoft Outlook or Internet Explorer as the PC client software for managing tasks and contacts.

Cisco CCC offers the following application capabilities:

• Screen pop Opens a contact record and creates a new phone call activity record as a call arrives. Creates screen pops from click-to-dial calls as well as from manually dialed outbound calls.
• Click-to-dial Allows the user to click a field on the PC screen and have the PC automatically dial a number. This feature is available from a Microsoft CRM contact record on your desktop.
• Call duration tracking Tracks the duration of a phone call and associates it with the phone activity record.
• Call information capture Captures incoming and outgoing call information, including calling number, called number, and call start and end times.
• Customer record creation Creates a new CRM customer record when a new customer call arrives.

Two pieces of software must be installed to activate the CRM application: one on the Microsoft CRM Server (Cisco CCC server software), and the other on each CRM client PC (Cisco CCC client software). In addition, the Cisco CME TSP driver is installed on each client. The Microsoft CRM Client can use Microsoft Outlook or an HTML interface as the client software.

For further information on Cisco and Microsoft solutions, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/ciscomicrosoftsmb.

For information on the CRM Express Solution Specialization, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/specialization.

For more information on the installation of Cisco CCC, go to Cisco.com, and search for "Cisco CRM Communications Connector for Cisco CallManager Express."