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The Call Center Buyers’ Guide 1999–2000 was a vendor directory dated July 1, 1999, not a product review or comparative test. It grouped call-center technology suppliers and related service providers by category, with company contact details. Its entries are useful as a snapshot of the market around 2000, but not as a reliable source for current phone numbers, websites, ownership, or product availability.
What the 1999–2000 guide was
Published on July 1, 1999, the guide covered the 1999–2000 buying period. The archival copies are credited to The Editors by EE Times and to EDN by the EDN copy. EE Times archive · EDN archive
Its format was a categorized directory: readers could look up companies by the kind of system or service they offered and find contact information. It did not rank suppliers or report prices, benchmark results, feature scores, or test findings. A listing therefore shows that a company appeared under a category in this historical directory; it does not establish that its products were better than competitors’ or remain available today.
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What categories did it cover?
The listings ranged from core telephony systems and software to specialist services. These examples show the breadth of the directory, not an exhaustive list of every entry.
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Telephony systems and software
- Automatic call distribution (ACD): examples include @Xess Communications, AltiGen Communications, Ameritech Call Center Solutions Group, Aspect Telecommunications, Mitel, and Nortel Networks.
- Call-center management software: Applix, Apropos Technology, Aspect Telecommunications, Clarify, and Computer Generated Solutions are among the listed companies.
- Computer-telephony middleware: entries include Aspect Telecommunications, Brooktrout Technology, Call Interactive, and Xantel.
- Interactive voice response (IVR): examples include Aculab USA, Ameritech, Aspect Telecommunications, and World-Link.
- Monitoring systems and call recording: the directory names ASC Telecom, Dictaphone, DynaMetric, IBM, and Storacall.
- Predictive dialers: Amcat, Ameritech, Call Center Technologies, Davox, Oracle, and Noble Systems are examples.
- Voice processing: entries include Aculab, Acxiom, Applied Voice Technology, Dialogic, Mitel, and Vocalis.
- Small call-center solutions: examples include Amtelco, Applied Voice Technology, Call Interactive, and CCS TrexCom.
Services and location assistance
- Training and consulting: listed organizations include AchieveGlobal, American Productivity & Quality Center, Call Center University, and Computer Telephony Institute.
- Site location: the guide also included organizations such as Alberta Economic Development, Manitoba Call Centre Team, Ontario Investment Service, and Quebec Ministry, reflecting the role of location assistance alongside technology purchasing.
How to use the guide as a historical reference
For historical comparison, treat each category as a way to understand how the late-1990s market was organized, rather than as a modern buying shortlist. A careful reading distinguishes the type of entry and its context:
- Match the category to the function. ACD, IVR, dialer, recording, management software, middleware, and voice processing describe different parts of a call-center environment; a name under one heading is not evidence that it supplied every part.
- Separate vendors from services. A product company, a consultant or training provider, and a site-location organization serve different purchasing needs and should not be compared as equivalent suppliers.
- Note deployment labels where present. If an entry identifies a PC-based system or another telephony arrangement, retain that distinction when comparing historical offerings. The directory’s category placement alone does not establish a deployment model.
- Keep geography in view. Company locations and regional site-assistance organizations matter to interpreting the list, but a directory entry does not establish present-day regional coverage.
What the directory cannot tell you
The guide does not supply prices, product specifications in a standardized format, performance benchmarks, feature scores, or comparative test results. It cannot support a conclusion about which listed company offered the best system. Nor should its contact details or company and product names be assumed to be current: phone numbers, web addresses, ownership, and product status are historical record fields that need independent verification before practical use.
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- Used Book in Good Condition
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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