Stratus Computer Inc, Marlborough, Massachusetts and Voicetek Corp are jointly marketing an intelligent voice network system called the IVP/2000. Stratus says that the new system is designed for those industries that offer voice mail or processing services, advanced intercept services, and telephone marketing and banking. It combines the duplexed fault-tolerant Stratus XA2000 with Voicetek’s VTK-300 voice computer via RS-232 links. The voice computer can be linked to telephones by several means of communications, including high-speed T-1 lines, loop start and ground start lines, DID, and E&M trunks. Supporting up to 64 analogue trunks or two T-1 digital interfaces, it will provide real-time call processing, speech processing, and message storage. Information requested by users will be stored and updated in real-time on the XA2000. If more than more than 64 ports are required, the IVP/2000 can be integrated with a digital matrix switch which routes calls via high-bandwidth communications links like X25, T-1, and ISDN. Voicetek’s applications development software package, the VTK/Appsgen, is being developed to provide an application interface between the two systems, and the first release of the new combination will include an applications generator and tool kit. Both the IVP/2000 and the VTK-300 can be integrated with other host systems via several communication interfaces and protocols, and if processing needs exceed the capacity of a single XA 2000, systems can be connected over local or wide area networks. The IVP/2000 is available now in the US, the applications software interface in the first quarter 1990. An enhanced version of the software supporting distributed applications on multiple systems, and an IVP/2000 running under Unix will be released in the second half of next year. IBM, which offers the Stratus XA2000s as System/88s, has a separate agreement with Voicetek, and will resell the new system and support the development of interface software to its other machines for the System/88.
