The internet has clearly revolutionized so much in our lives—our information-gathering (education, particularly self education), our banking, our shopping, our work environment and our IVR systems, especially with the cloud.

One of the most pronounced changes has come (and will continue to come) in the realm of communications and all its offshoots.

Click to Call (CTC) is one of those offshoots. It’s not exactly like VoIP, but it’s in the same ballpark. CTC is a combination of IVR technology with a supporting web application, as well as billing and user management functions, among others.

Basically, organizations that offer CTC will have a button on their website that customers can click to have someone at the organization give them a call. They just enter their phone number and get a call.

It’s similar to the live chat options that have popped up all over online retail sites in the last couple years. Having used live chats myself before, I think that they’re pretty handy.

If you’re in the middle of a purchase and can’t decide between two items or have a question about an item, you can click the Live Chat button (they usually have a picture of someone along with it, although it’s not who you end up talking to, of course) and the website launches an instant messaging chat between you and a customer-service rep.

CTC is a variation of that, or an extension of it. Instead of engaging in an instant message chat that lives on an organization’s website, you provide them with contact information and proceed over the phone.

I guess more than anything else it’s just a quicker way to get in touch with the organization. Most retail sites have a number right there on the front page, but you may have to dig around a bit on other sites. Some sites don’t list numbers because they don’t want people calling them. (I’m guessing most of those sites aren’t into CTC either.)

CTC is just another way the internet is making our world quicker and easier.