A Historical Perspective on Telemessaging

By Wayne Scaggs
March 2005

The essence of a telemessaging system is the tight relationship between the caller, the data obtained from the caller (by an agent or automated module), and the delivery of that data quickly and accurately.  This process started shortly after the telephone was invented and has been perfected with modern technology.  Telemessaging systems have had to keep pace with the growth of the demand for more and faster messaging.

The industry survived several crises that foretold the end of telemessaging; the first occurred when DID was implemented.  Before that was the predicted demise of the industry when answering machines and later voice mail seemed destined to eliminate the need for live agents.  Next came cell phones with voice mail included, another threat that never materialized.

But message-taking systems continued to fill an important need.  Why?  Because they could allow messaging taking to be done better, faster, more reliably, and with greater accuracy than anything else.  That need will continue into the foreseeable future.

Wayne Scaggs is president of Alston Tascom, Inc., which offers an end-to-end contact center solution using digital telephony.  For further information contact Alston Tascom at 909-548-7300, info@alstontascom.com or www.alstontascom.com.

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