The SCAI Standard

The ANSI Switch-Computer Applications Interface (SCAI) is now a US Standard. When work began in 1987 as a result of initiatives by Northern Telecom, SCAI was only a vision and concept. Now, after five years of work and hundreds of contributions from computer and switch manufacturers, Bell Operating Companies, and other organizations such as National ISDN Users Forum (NIUF) and Information industry Liaison Committee (IILC), SCAI has passed balloting and become a standard. The vision of a common protocol between a switch and a computer for gaining visibility and coordination of calls has become a reality. With the standard, computer application developers can now create applications that will work consistently with switching platforms in both public and private environments. The savings in development costs by using a common protocol with the different hardware platforms will stimulate and broaden the market, create more opportunities for entrepreneurs, and translate into more creative applications addressing private business, government, and public institution needs. This article looks at SCAI, its architecture, functionality, protocol, and future direction