Currently running a small enterprise and we are receiving a lot of calls from clients; We currently have a Java EE-Based Information System installed and have two telephone lines with their corressponding extensions. I want to be able to somehow record, associate caller ID data with incoming calls and control other landline related functionalities from within the computer.
I do not know where to start, both in terms of hardware and software.
You are looking for a 'Computer telephony Integration' or CTI solution. There are many examples and options, including the Java based api, JTAPI or 'Java Telephony API'.
The options available to you will depend on how your telephone lines are set up - if you have a PABX which supports JTAPI or a similar CTI api or protocol then you will probably be able to relatively easily achieve the type of call control you are looking for.
If your two lines are simply standard simple phones connected directly into the wall socket then you will probably need to get some sort of PABX, although you could possibly build a PABX into a server of your own using line cards and an Asterix type server.
Some useful links to get you started:
