Telecom Technical Abstracts     Comparison of Call Distribution Products  Taken from The Irwin Handbook of Telecommunications 3rd Edition © Pantel, Inc., 1989, 1992, and 1997 WebEditor Note: This table compares the multi-faceted and usually external Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) to the Uniform Call Distribution System (UCD) which is a standard (internal) feature of many PBXs that provides some, but not all, of the call-handling capabilities and improvements of the most basic ACD system. Feature ACD UCD Basis for Distributing Calls to Agents    Based on time.  Usually the next call is sent to the least busy agent.    Based on sequence.  Usually top-down or circular hunt.      Statistical Information      Provides real-time information on supervisor's terminal plus standard and custom-printed reports. Limited to line utilization and other basic reports.      Call Overflow Between Groups      Programmable overflow based on variables such as time, priority, workload, etc.    Does not overflow.        Telephone System Integration         Furnished as stand-alone  or part of a PBX, hybrid or key system.    Furnished as part of a PBX, hybrid or key system.        Back to Tech Info INDEX