Call-center terminology involves several acronyms you might not be familiar with. Use this glossary to become familiar with the most popular terms in this industry.

Automatic call distributor (ACD): A computer that routes calls to available agents.

Competency-based routing: Routing technology that redirects calls and interactions based on both the needs of the customer as well as the knowledge and aptitude of the responding agent.

Computer telephony integration (CTI): The merger of computer and telephone technologies to provide one integrated vehicle for voice and data.

Customer relationship management (CRM): A set of services that help identify customers to agents to improve the quality of the customer experience.

Extensible Markup Language (XML): An industry specification designed to support the exchange of information included in textual documents, spreadsheets, address books, financial transactions, and other structured documents no matter the source.

Interaction routing: A general term used to describe the routing of calls, e-mails, instant messages, faxes, and Web content to appropriate agents.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR): A computer that uses prompts such as "to order a new service, press one" or touch-tone and voice responses to answer client requests or route calls to appropriate destinations.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX): A telephony switch that accepts calls and routes them within an organization.

Public switched telephone network (PSTN): The public telephone network used to transmit calls from one location to another.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP): An industry standard for the initiation of interactive communication sessions between users.

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP): Industry standard protocol that supports the exchange of information in a distributed and decentralized environment.

Speech Application Language Tags (SALT): Industry-standard specification for the integrated development of voice-enabled applications through XML. SALT supports both voice-only and multimodal application development.

Synchronized Call and Screen Transfer (SCST): A system that displays pertinent information on the agent's screen automatically when a communication is initiated, whether it be through a call, an e-mail, or an instant message. This may also include the capture of pertinent information from an interrupted IVR session.

Universal Discovery, Description, and Integration (UDDI): Industry specification for the publication and localization of Web services.

Virtual call center: A call center that includes multiple locations that might be geographically distributed to provide multiple time-zone support and is supported by a routing technology that redirects calls based on agent availability no matter their location.

Workforce Management System (WFMS): A system that supports the optimal distribution and management of call-center personnel.