Two efforts that are underway in the telecommunications industry to identify applications that directly relate to end-customer needs and to demonstrate the benefits of these applications are described. They are the North American ISDN Users' Forum (NIUF), sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the TriVista studies, sponsored by AT&T. Three user-initiated applications that have already been approved by the NIUF are described, namely, sales information management, customer service, and telemarketing. A history of the TriVista project is presented, including an overview of its methodologies and its major results to date. Three application areas identified by TriVista that have shown considerable market appeal are discussed in some detail. They are office automation, MIS help desk, and security. >