by Bill Lenzotti
I was part of Conversant from 1990-1997. My first project was the application for Checkfree Corp. in Westerville. This was one of the original bill payment systems that did not require the client to write checks. This system was not as user friendly as the online bill payment systems of today, but it was fun to be part of the forefront of this innovation.
I spent a lot of time with Conversant as part of the Intuity Audix team. Part of those duties was to work on smaller teams on Intuity Lodging (voice messaging for hotel guests) and the Fax Attendant (using a computer to receive multiple faxes simultaneously, which an old-style FAX machine could not do). This technology is still in use.
I also got to work on tool development. I worked on the Intuity Load Generator (ILG), which allowed us to create about 30 simultaneous inbound calls to the AUDIX system and leave messages. It was fun working with the Cornerstone platform team as I was using the IRAPI library with that tool.
I also got to help develop the Enhanced Migration software, which was used during an upgrade of the old Audix hardware to Intuity Audix. The tool essentially recorded voice mail messages that were on the old Audix platform and used IRAPI to add the message to the user’s new mailbox on new Audix system. It was a brute force solution that took several hours to complete, even when transferring about 25 users’ data simultaneously.
My work took me to some interesting places. I performed a product upgrade for Intuity Lodging at an Embassy Suites hotel in Atlanta, and performed the first Enhanced Migration in the bowels of a Dayton-Hudson Department store warehouse in St. Paul, Minnesota. Perhaps the most interesting trip was when I did an Intuity Lodging presentation and demonstration for potential customers at a Lucent facility in New Jersey. During my morning equipment setup, I briefly shared the room with a guest speaker who was there for that location’s Diversity Day. The person was NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who at 7’2”, remains the tallest person that I have ever met. I think we were both nervous about our assignments that day.
Lot of great times, a lot of great people. And in spite of what they say, it was nice to see how the sausage was made!
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