Anyone who's labored over telephony applications in the past knows these kinds of capabilities are something like a Holy Grail, and can't help but marvel at the aplomb with which this standard promises to deliver functionality that's been darn difficult if not virtually impossible in the past. In a nutshell, by defining an API and a set of protocols, CSTA makes it possible to monitor and control calls and devices on a communications network. This includes various media and environments, so that IP, switched networks, and mobile calling devices can all operate in the same (virtual) environment.

What CSTA does is to integrate with (and abstract from) various well-known technologies so that voice over IP, including SIP/H.323, and various networking technologies can be used, yet function as parts of a single, coherent environment. A less breathless view of CSTA is as a useful grab-bag of related features and components. As such CSTA includes numerous call control features, call associated features, logical and physical device features, snapshot and monitoring features, and voice services. CSTA does not require that conforming implementations implement all of these features, but does specify profiles for basic telephony, routing, voice browser use, and SIP phone profiles.