Speech Technology eWeekly - June 01, 2003

Features

Survey Supports Impact of Customer Service Call Centers on Business Success

Results of a global consumer survey, announced by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, illustrate the high level of frustration consumers feel when dealing with poorly operated customer service call centers.

Voice-enabled Applications on the Rise; Entering IT Mainstream

The market for enterprise and telco-grade voice processing infrastructure will grow from $250 million in 2002 to $600 million in 2007, according to a newly issued report from Zelos Group.

Q & A

Anthony McKay and Bill Burgar, Co-Founders of Telephonetics

Anthony McKay and Bill Burgar are co-founders of Telephonetics, a provider of digital computer telephony and speech recognition business solutions. In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, McKay and Burgar explain some of the company's product offerings, as well as two of the company's deployments in the United Kingdom.

Roger D. Dudley and Thomas A. Murdock of Fonix

Founded in 1993, Fonix provides natural communication solutions that enable intuitive access to technology. Roger D. Dudley and Thomas A. Murdock discuss Fonix's current economic impact, its latest product releases and outlook for the future.

Ken Jackowitz, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, NetByTel; and William Sokol, Director of Strategy & Marketing, SYKES

A recent partnership between SYKES and NetByTel's began offering a full line of solutions as co-branded products. In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, Ken Jackowitz, senior vice president and chief customer officer for NetByTel, and William Sokol, director of Strategy and Marketing at SYKES, explain what this new agreement entails and what it means to SYKES' customers.

The Human Factor

What is Usability Testing?

Looking around the industry, it is apparent that "usability testing" means a number of different things to a number of different people. While there are consistencies in methods and techniques among many speech industry usability analysts, there is no obvious consensus as to the purpose of usability testing or on any particular way to conduct usability tests.

Talking Tech

Beyond Voice Quality

Text-to-speech (TTS) technology leaves many application designers at a crossroad. Although TTS technology is deployable - and it frequently sounds great - it still makes mistakes. What's more, it makes some mistakes that seem painfully obvious to us.

Voice Value

Listen Up! Big Brother is Talking to You

Listen up! The government is talking to you and being helpful in the process. This might sound strange to anyone who has sat on hold waiting for a government agency representative.

Speech Technology News

The Medical Learning Co. Chooses NeoSpeech TTS

The Medical Learning Co. has selected NeoSpeech's Text-to-Speech product, VoiceText, for its SynPatient patient simulator.

BEA Systems and SandCherry Announce Speech-enabled Service-deployment Solution

ATLANTA, GA - SandCherry Inc. announced a joint solution with BEA Systems Inc. designed to extend service deployments in the telecommunications industry.

Edify Appoints President and CEO

SANTA CLARA, CA - Edify Corporation announced that Mitch Mandich has been named president and CEO of the company.

20/20 Speech and Codeway Deliver Speech-driven Data Collection Software

LONDON, UK - 20/20 Speech has teamed up with Codeway to make speechtechnologies available as an affordable option for automated datacollection.

Dialogic Communications Corporation Announces Joint Reseller Partnership with Phonetic Systems

Industry leaders team-up to expand communication solutions.

Salesforce.com and Genesys to Provide Expanded Interoperability

NEW YORK, NY - Salesforce.com and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. has announced an alliance to support integration between salesforce.com S3 and Genesys contact center software.

Genesys and Oracle Team to Deliver Integrated Offering

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. announced thatOracle Corp. has joined the Genesys Interacts Program as a strategic member.

Convedia Announced the Addition of ASR and TTS Features

ATLANTA, GA - Convedia Corporation announced the addition of advanced speech recognition (ASR) and text-to-speech (TTS) features to its family of IP Media Servers.

Sakrament Announced the Beta Release of TTS for U.K. English

MINSK, BELARUS - Sakrament company has announced the beta release of UK English version of its TTS products.

iVoice Receives Patent Award for Speech-enabled Telephone Dialer

MATAWAN, NJ - iVoice Inc. announcedit has received United States Patent 6,563,911 forSpeech-Enabled Automatic Telephone Dialer.

PIKA Technologies rolls out Linux Software Support

OTTAWA, CANADA - PIKA voice cards and SDK support Red Hat Linux 7.3.

VOICE.TRUST and SpeechWorks Partnership

MAINZ and MUNICH, GERMANY and BOSTON, MA - German-based VOICE.TRUST AG announced a partnership with SpeechWorks International Inc.

Project Sponsored by NASA Langley to use Neospeech's Speech Engine

FREMONT, CA - NeoSpeech announced that ODU Center for Advanced Engineering Environments at NASA Langley has selected its Text-to-Speech product, VoiceText, as a key component for a learning environment under development.

Fast-Talk Communications Names President and CEO, CFO

ATLANTA, GA - Ray Naeini and Jon Ezrine tasked with Fast-Talk's further development of solutions for intelligence gathering and surveillance.

InternetSpeech and NFB Team to Bring Full Web Access to the Blind

LOUISVILLE, KY - Service to allow blind Internet access for first time.

NMS Communications Introduces Solution Developer's Program

FRAMINGHAM, MA - NMS Communications is rolling out an enhanced program for telecommunications application developers to deploy advanced voice and data solutions.

SpeechStudio and Acoustic Magic Partner on Voice Control of Computers

SpeechStudio and Acoustic Magic have agreed to work together on products to accelerate hands-free computing.

Genesys Introduces Voice Callback

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. introduced Genesys Voice Callback, an offering that provides customers the option to receive a callback instead of waiting on hold for a customer service agent.

Credit Lyonnais Implements Speech-enabled Trading Service

PARIS, FRANCE and BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. and NetCentrex announced the availability of a speech-enabled trading service offered by Crédit Lyonnais.

Language and Computing Launches New Divisions

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Language and Computing (L&C) NV has recently announced the formation of two new divisions that will be responsible for further strengthening L&C's relations with the pharmaceutical industry and government agencies respectively.

Philips and Dolbey Announce Partnership and the Release of Fusion Text

VIENNA, AUSTRIA and CINCINNATI, OH - Royal Philips Electronics and Dolbey has announced a partnership agreement regarding the integration of Philips' speech recognition technology SpeechMagic in Dolbey's Fusion Text.

California Casualty Management Company Selects Verint Intelligent

MELVILLE, NY - National auto and home insurer will use actionable intelligence to generate positive customer experiences.

Babel Delivers 'Plug & Play' Speech Solution for Rapid Deployment

MONS, BELGIUM - Babel Technologies S.A. introduced a combined speech technology hardware and software solution, the VoxBox.

VoiceXML Forum to Offer Developer Certification Program

Testing will be available at nearly 5,000 centers by October 2003.

Convergys Completes Acquisition of Avaya Global Employee Service

CINCINNATI, OH - Convergys Corporation has completed its acquisition of Avaya Inc.'s global employee service operations.

Nortel Networks to Offer IVR Platform for Medium-Sized Enterprises

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - Nortel Networks has announced a new self-service platform that is designed to give medium-sized contact centers and small service providers carrier-class solution for Integrated Voice Response applications.

InfoTech Says Nortel Networks Tops in U.S. Contact Center Shipments for 2002

NORWICH, VT - Leader in total call center agent positions shipped to the United States.

Al Jazeera Net Provides Portal Service Via Phone in the United Arab Emirates

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Service to provide vast selection of news.

SandCherry Announces VoiceXML Browser

AppRun VXML offers enterprises and service providers an inexpensive component for realizing the benefits of VXML-based solutions without compromising performance or reliability.

Alston Tascom to Offer Speech Recognition Applications

CHINO, CA and SAN DIEGO, CA - Alston Tascom Inc. announced the selection of LumenVox's Speech Recognition Engine (SRE) as the platform of choice for enhancing speech-based applications.

LocusDialog Partners with Data-Com Telecommunications

MONTREAL, CANADA - LocusDialog announces an agreement withData-Com Telecommunications to market and nationally distribute its LocusDialogSTS suite of speech telephony applications.

PIKA Technologies Selected by Defne Communications

OTTAWA, CANADA and ISTANBUL, TURKEY - Defne Communications uses PIKA digital- and analog-interface cards to voice-enable their solutions.

Loquendo Technology Powers JoeKnowsIt Online Training Offering

TURIN, ITALY - JoeKnowsIt will utilize Loquendo's text-to-Speech software.

Argos Improves Distribution System with VoiceLogistics

PRINCETON, NJ and BRUGGE, BELGIUM - Voxware, Inc. announced that Argos Ltd. has implemented a pilot of its VoiceLogistics technology in one of its distribution centers in Basildon, United Kingdom.

Sun ONE Application Server 7 Enhances SoftServer Platform's Capability

BOULDER, CO - SandCherry Inc. has completed the integration of Sun ONE Application Server 7 with SandCherry's SoftServer platform.

MacSpeech Announces Step Forward in Speech Recognition for Apple's Mac OS X Operating System

SALEM, NH - MacSpeech, Inc. has announced the Australian / New Zealand version of iListen 1.6.

Tell-Eureka Announces Support for VoiceXML 2.0 Standard

Tell-Eureka announced that its LevelOne Virtual CSR voice self-service solution supports the VoiceXML 2.0 standard.

Elix Automates Information Services

MONTREAL, CANADA - Elix announced its new information services solution offering.

LumenVox Becomes Speech Recognition Provider to Parallax Technologies

Parallax Technologies will use LumenVox's speech technologies to keep prices at affordable levels for its clients.

OSSI to Incorporate NeoSpeech's Text-to-Speech Product

FREMONT, CA - NeoSpeech announced that Open Software Solutions Inc. (OSSI) has selected NeoSpeech's flagship Text-to-Speech product, VoiceText for incorporation into its Mobile Computing application (MCT).

SALT Forum Advances Mobile Content Delivery with Enhancements

BOSTON, MA - The SALT Forum has announced that it has published a SALT profile for the World Wide Web Consortium's Scalable Vector Graphics markup language.

Novauris Announces the Extension of its Novel Recognition Technology

CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND and ORLANDO, FL - System can now handle speech from both fixed and mobile telephone lines.

MG Rover Group Implements Genesys for IT Help Desk

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. announced that MG Rover Group has implemented Genesys Express for its IT help desk interactions with company employees.

govONE Solutions Acquires Frank Solutions

govONE Solutions, an eONE Global operating company, has acquired the assets of Frank Solutions.

Babel's Text-to-Speech Technology PocketBabil Now Available for Symbian

MONS, BELGIUM - Operating system will allow application designers to move from customized platforms towasd a standard and open platform featuring synthetic speech.

LinKFactory Ontology Development Tool Selected for Use in Patient Safety Network Project

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Language and Computing, Inc.'s LinKFactory advanced ontology development and management tool selected for use in developing the National Patient Safety Network.

Microvocal selects BrightSpeech

MONS, BELGIUM - Babel Technologies S.A. technology has announced that Microvocal has integrated Babel's BrightSpeech Text-to-Speech (TTS) solution in its automated reading kiosk.

SandCherry Intensifies Focus on Mobility Solutions

BOULDER, CO - SandCherry Inc. announced the appointment of Michael Sajor as vice president of Mobility Solutions.

Tell-Eureka Launches LevelOne Customer Care

NEW YORK, NY - Tell-Eureka Corporation launched LevelOne Virtual CSR, a next-generation customer care solution.

MacSpeech Announces Upgrade to iListen 1.6

SALEM, NH - MacSpeech Inc. announced an upgrade to it's flagship product, iListen 1.6.

Amtrak Passengers Use SpeechWorks Solution to Purchase Tickets

Julie, the voice of Amtrak's automated speech system, is now able to handle credit card transactions from train passengers over the phone.

SRS Labs and Dspfactory Unveil Low-power Single-chip DSP Solution

SANTA ANA, CA - SRS Labs Inc. and Dspfactory Ltd. has announced a strategic partnership to deliver a complete DSP solution including voice enhancement technologies for digital communications devices.

HTK and BBC Develop New TTS Capability

IPSWICH, UNITED KINGDOM - HTK Limited, UK, has developed a speech synthesis capability to deliver the BBC preferred pronunciation of foreign words and names.

Journyx Announces Release of Version 5.5 Software

AUSTIN, TX - Includes new time & money saving features for capturing real-time project cost/cost center information.

SandCherry Announces VoiceXML Browser

BOULDER, CO - SandCherry Inc. announced the availability of AppRun VXML.

VOXit Mailer Approved for HP Software Choice Program

READING, UK - Domain Dynamics has announced theapproval and availability of its VOXit Mailer software product on the HP SoftwareChoice Program.

Vodafone Selects SpeechWorks and Brand & Grober Communications

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. announced that Vodafone UK is now offering a new application for its visually impaired customers using SpeechWorks technology.

SPIRIT Announces 10 kHz Wideband Speech Codec for Multimedia Applications

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SPIRIT has released a new ICELP 10kHz wideband speech codec for speech compression/decompression.

Clarity Introduces CVC-BLUE

TROY, MI - Clarity LLC recently introduced CVC-BLUE, a noise and echo suppression software designed specifically for voice applications featuring Bluetooth wireless technology.

Cepstral Announces Long-Term Agreement with DynaVox Systems

PITTSBURGH, PA - Cepstral LLC announced it has signed a long-term agreement with DynaVox Systems LLC.

SpeechWorks Introduces SpeechPAKs 1.0 for Healthcare

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. introduced SpeechPAKs (Packaged Application Kits) 1.0 for Healthcare.

Avis Chooses Interactive Agent Using Elan Sayso

TOULOUSE, FRANCE - Lola, an interactive agent designed by Cantoche, to play a key speaking part on Avis' on-line car rental Microsite.

DA Group and Rhetorical Add Shock Element to Marketing Campaign

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - DA Group (DA) has pulled together voice and visual character technology to create a brand personality for Jim Beam Brands.

Study Shows Speech Satisfies a Broad Consumer Market

MENLO PARK, CA - Harris Interactive survey shows consumer adoption and satisfaction with voice-driven systems.

VoiceObjects AG Appoints Managing Director UK and Regional Director Europe

COLOGNE, GERMANY and LONDON, UK - VoiceObjects AG has announced the appointment of Bob Morgen as its new regional manager Europe and managing director for the UK.

Aculab's Offers Interface to the InfoTalk-Recognizer 8.0

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM - Digital network access and speech processing features of Prosody to help developers.

Customer Experience Benchmark Enables Companies to Rank Contact Center Performance

Convergys and BenchmarkPortal announced the availability of a benchmark to measure customer experience.

Neospeech Announces Reseller Agreement with Babel Technologies

FREMONT, CA - NeoSpeech has announced that it has entered into a reseller agreement with Babel Technologies S.A.

VOCALCOM Introduces Smart Customer Interaction

VOCALCOM has introduced Hermes Pro.

Fortegra and SandCherry Team to Deliver Speech-Enabled Customer Service Solutions

LYNCHBURG, VA and BOULDER, CO - Fortegra Inc. announcedthat the company has joined forces with SandCherry Inc. to providespeech-enabled customer self-service and workforce managementsolutions.

Microvocal Selects Bright Speech for Europe's First Reading Kiosks

MONS, BELGIUM - Babel Technologies S.A. announced Microvocal has integrated Babel's revolutionary BrightSpeech Text-to-Speech (TTS) solution in its automated reading kiosk.

New Dell Line of IVR Appliances from Vocomo

CUPERTINO, CA - Vocomo presents an all new Dell line of IVR appliances based on the Vocomo Voice Response platform.

SPIRIT Introduces Acoustic Echo Cancellation for Mobile Environment

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SPIRIT has broadened its advanced Acoustic Echo cancellation product portfolio with Mobile Acoustic Echo Cancellation software solution designed to work in mobile devices.

Vocomo to Release Ultra-Compact IVR Platform

CUPERTINO, CA - VVR/4 CUBE is based on VoiceXML 2.0 and contains advanced speech capabilities.

Brooktrout Partners with WRSystems and Diaphonics

ATLANTA, GA - Brooktrout Technology Inc. announced that WRSystems Ltd. has deployed a national test site based on Spike Server.

Vesta Partners with Tell-Eureka to Enhance its Customer Care Solutions

NEW YORK -Tell-Eureka and Vesta Corporation has announced a partnership to deliver voice self-service customer support solutions to Vesta's prepaid wireless customers.

Webley Announces Internet-Based, Voice-Activated Audio Conferencing Service

BANNOCKBURN, IL - Webley Systems Inc. introduced an Internet-based audio conferencing service using speech recognition technology.