Since decades customer conversations had been managed on the phone. However, with CRM systems like Salesforce being used by businesses for managing their operations, CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) has become a key enabler that has bridged the gap between telephony systems and Salesforce. This has enabled agents to receive, place and log calls from within the CRM. So, the common question that arises is whether Salesforce offers a CTI solution of its own or is a third-party App required?

The answer is Salesforce does not provide an in-built or native CTI solution. Rather, it offers a framework that allows an external telephony system to integrate with Salesforce. This framework is known as Salesforce open CTI. In this set up, Salesforce offers the necessary infrastructure for integrating CRM with telephony while CTI offers the actual features and functionalities for calling. One such robust App is GirikCTI that can be leveraged by organizations to link Salesforce with their telephony systems.

While Salesforce doesn’t provide a complete, out-of-the-box CTI solution, it offers robust tools, APIs, and frameworks that make integration with telephony systems possible. The Salesforce Open CTI framework serves as the foundation for connecting Salesforce with telephony and enables developers and telephony providers to create integrations that directly function within the CRM interface across both Lightning and Classic Experience. Though, open CTI provides the required integration framework, it isn’t a standalone telephony product. You’ll still need an external CTI to power the actual calling functionality.

Service Cloud Voice marked Salesforce’s first important step toward a native contact center telephony solution. It brings together digital channels, voice and CRM data within a unified interface. This provides agents a single and detailed view of every customer interaction.

However, Service Cloud Voice still relies on external telephony or Bring Your Own Telephony (BYOT) partners. Salesforce functions as the transposition layer—combining transcripts, call data and analytics—instead of acting as the telephony provider itself.

If your organization doesn’t use Service Cloud Voice or chooses the flexibility to join in its existing telephony system, a third-party CTI solution from the Salesforce AppExchange is the way to go. These applications encompass Salesforce’s built-in capabilities and connect with leading telephony providers.

Benefits of Utilizing Third-Party CTI Apps

• Plug-and-Play Integration:Most CTI apps present on the AppExchange are prebuilt. This makes them quick to deploy and configure, often without the requirement for wide-ranging custom development.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility:These integrations function across both the experiences. This ensures a hassle-free user experience on every device.
• Advanced Functionality:Most third-party CTI solutions offer way more than basic calling features such as call analytics, and more.
• Scalability and Customization: Organizations can opt for a CTI provider that matches their team size, functioning regions, and compliance needs such as HIPAA and more.
• Continuous Support and Augmentations:Top vendors update their apps on a regular basis to remain compatible with the latest releases. This ensures performance stability and easy access to new features.

In other words, third-party CTI solutions bring scalability, flexibility and innovation. This makes them perfect for businesses that seek more control over their telephony experience.

To wrap up, we can say that Salesforce doesn’t provide an in-built CTI system of its own. Rather, it offers a framework via Open CTI and Service Cloud Voice—that allows businesses to connect their current telephony platform or choose from a range of third-party CTI solutions present on the Salesforce AppExchange.

Besides offering flexibility, this model empowers companies of all sizes to opt for the telephony solution that aligns with their needs and customer experience objectives. So, if your aim is to allow seamless calling within Salesforce, augment productivity, and draw real-time insights from every customer conversation, integrating A trusted Salesforce CTI App can be the best approach.