"The Pentium* processor provided us with the right price and performance. It is an architecture with staying power."
-- Andrew Kun, Senior Manager of Technology

Nortel's OPEN IVR (interactive voice response) is positioned on the cutting edge of client-server architecture. The system offers automated speech recognition, interactive fax, fax-on-demand, fax broadcasting, text-to-speech conversion, multilingual support, SQL database connectivity, Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI) technology... and more. It's all provided in a scalable system, designed to allow easy expansion from as few as four to as many as 288 ports.

Nortel Meridian IVR Release 2 provides full integration of voice and fax applications, fax administration, multilingual support, CTI and call center integration.

Both systems offer the point and click convenience of a graphical user interface (GUI) applications editor. It's also little wonder that both systems were built on the foundation of industry-standard Intel architecture, based on the 100 MHz Intel Pentium® processor and Intel486™ processor. The Nortel OPEN IVR system runs on the SCO UNIX ODT 3.0 operating system and is available in a wide variety of hardware models and configuration options, including expandable application server, tower and rackmount designs.

Nortel's Andrew Kun explains the decision to use Intel architecture.

"The design decision process involved a number of steps, taking into account a broad range of requirements for functionality, price and performance. Scalability and stability were very important factors.

"In selecting a hardware platform, we wanted access to the broadest range of modern technology.... In addition, the operating system and system bus needed to be both modern and robust.

"Intel architecture platforms are the most widely available, with proven support for our operating system as well as ISA and PCI buses.

"Intel gave us the widest range of offerings. Selecting a widely-used technology with a large number of participating vendors offered us access to many ready-made tools, technologies and products.

"We were able to shorten the development cycle for a number of reasons, including the ability to incorporate already well-developed technologies."