Speech Technology eWeekly - August 01, 2003

Features

Datamonitor Report Predicts The Global Voice Business Market Will Grow to 3.1 Billion in 2008

Speech technology is poised for further success and revenue growth, according to Datamonitor's "Voice Business Value Chain II" report.

Q & A

Dick Rosinski, Executive Director of Professional Services, Nortel Networks

Nortel Networks recently added a new member to its arsenal of self-service platforms, the Media Processing Server (MPS) 500, set for release next month. Dick Rosinski, executive director, professional services at Nortel Networks, talks about the MPS 500, as well as Nortel's partners and its customer's outlook on speech.

Ed Verney, Director of Interactive Media Platforms, Hewlett-Packard

Ed Verney, director of HP's Interactive Media Platforms, OpenCall Business Unit, visited with NewsBlast fresh of the announcement of HP's acquisition of PipeBeach. Verney shares his thoughts concerning the acquisition, HP's competition and the overall speech industry.

Larry Miller, President and CEO, and Steve Pollock, Executive Vice President, TuVox

TuVox's Larry Miller, president and CEO, and Steven Pollock, executive vice president and co-founder, visited recently with NewsBlast. Miller recently returned to the speech industry, joining TuVox last month. Pollock helped found TuVox in 2000. Each shares his thoughts on TuVox, the challenges of call center management and the upcoming Speech Solutions CHALLENGE.

Mitch Mandich, President and CEO, Edify

Mitch Mandich came to Edify as president and CEO this summer following successful tenures with Apple, NeXT, Pyramid Technology, and Tandem Computers. Mandich shares his thoughts on Edify's position in the speech industry and its upcoming participation in the Speech Solutions CHALLENGE.

Talking Tech

Out of the Iron Age: Redefining Success

Gone are the days of big deals meaning big discounts for IVR ports. The new definition of success is how many calls can be resolved and how fast the next app goes into production.

Speech Technology News

Nuance Voice Platform Utilized by Datria for Field Productivity Voice Application

MENLO PARK, CA, and ENGLEWOOD, CO - Ticket Management 2.0, a packaged VoiceXML standards-free field service application, will be available in September.

Comverse Media Server 3.0 Available for Deployment

WOODBURY, NY - Fully supporting of VoiceXML 2.0, the Comverse Media Server 3.0 will allow for increased flexibility on an open platform.

Fluency Voice Technology to Acquire Vocalis Limited

LONDON, ENGLAND - Combined companies plan to focus on applications and delivering full technology solutions to its clients.

Voxpilot's Pan-European Platform Hosts Touring Club Switzerland Traffic Information System

OLTEN, DUBLIN - Developed by Sigma, service allows motorists access to traffic information in German, French and Italian.

InternetSpeech Receives its First Patent on Voice Internet

Patent on netECHO is named "System and Method for Audio-Only Internet Browsing Using a Standard Telephone."

TuVox Joins Genesys Interacts Partner Program

LOS ALTOS, CA - As a premier member, TuVox hopes to accelerate the development and market adoption of speech applications for customer service and support.

Aculab and Pronexus Team to Offer High Density Bundle

MILTON KEYNEY, ENGLAND, and OTTAWA, CANADA - Partnership hopes to accomplish rapid time to market while providing value for application developers.

Wizzard Software Expands Tools and Engines Division

PITTSBURGH, PA - New branch office in Deerfield Beach, Fla., will handle sales and marketing efforts for Voice Tools line of products.

Clarity Technologies Makes Impact at 24 Hours of Le Mans

Clarity provides CVC Technology to General Motors racing team's Corvettes to assist with removal of background noise from driver's microphones during competition.

Convergys and DIRECTV Extend Customer Service Contract Through 2006

CINCINNATI, OH - Agreement includes the option to add Advanced Speech Recognition and Convergys Interactive Alerts to existing service.

Clear Voice Solutions Appoints John Michael Schweri Director of Sales and Marketing

NASHVILLE, TN - Schweri accepts the challenge of marketing voice prompts for IVR and VoIP systems.

Angel.com Provides Business to Business Speech Solution for the Travel and Expense Industry

MCLEAN, VA - Outtask's voice-enabled travel and expense solutions launched, developed on Angel.com's Voice Site platform.

Philips SpeechMagic Speech Recognition System Being Used in German Hospitals

VIENNA, AUSTRIA - Upgrade of digital dictation system to speech recognition for the purpose of generating medical reports indicates advancement in medical sector.

ATA Retail Services Selects NeoSpeech Text-to-Speech

FREMONT, CA - VoiceText implemented in order to allow ATA's field labor force to work more efficiently and gain access to shipping information.

Envox Worldwide and Phonetic Systems Enter into Strategic Alliance

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN; WESTBOROUGH, MA and BILLERICA MA - Relationship to include technology licensing, market and customer development and professional services.

ScanSoft Teams With Microsoft to Enable Paperless Medical Records

PEABODY, MA - ScanSoft EMR Assistant combines PaperPort Pro Office, Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical and speech-enabled healthcare forms with the Microsoft Office System.

Syntellect Joins Microsoft Speech Partner Program

PHOENIX, AZ - As a member, Syntellect will develop speech technology products and solutions based on the Microsoft Speech Server.

NMS Communications Expands European Presence

FRAMINGHAM, MA - By signing GANYMED Computer, NMS Communications platforms and services will reach Central Europe and Italy.

Royal Philips Electronics and WinScribe Announce Global Distribution Partnership Agreement

VIENNA, AUSTRIA, and AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - WinScribe will exclusively integrate Philips SpeechMagic in its digital dictation solutions.

LumenVox Releases Speech Recognition Engine v3.5 Beta for Linux

SAN DIEGO, CA - New offering supports Spanish language and is available as a free 30-day trial.

SandCherry Announces Voice Solutions With BEA WebLogic Platform 8.1

BOULDER, CO - SandCherry's AppDev VXML and SoftServer Platform leveraged by BEA WebLogic Enterprise Platform.

HP Acquires PipeBeach to Strengthen Leadership in VoiceXML Interactive Voice Market

PALO ALTO, CA - Acquisition could lead to integration of PipeBeach's VoiceXML-based products into HP's OpenCall suite.

LocusDialog Announces Availability of Speech Enabled Auto-Attendant and Call Routing Application

MONTREAL, CANADA - Initially released on VoiceXML, OpenDialog can run alongside other VoiceXML applications.

Kirusa and Elan Speech Partner to Deliver Multimodal Solutions

EDISON, NJ, and TOULOUSE, FRANCE - Partnership will make it possible to deploy Kirusa's multimodal solutions in several European language.

Loquendo and IT Deusto Sign Value Added Reseller Agreement

TURIN, ITALY - Loquendo's synthetic speech and automatic speech recognition technology will be implemented in a range of voice portal applications.

MacSpeech Releases Maintenance Update to iListen 1.6.2

Free update adds support for USB digital desktop microphones and digital voice recorders.

NeoSpeech's Text-to-Speech Product Selected by VoiceShot for Notification Services

FREMONT, CA - VoiceText will power VoiceShots interactive voice alert and notification services for Web sites.

Clarity Technologies, Trilogy Electronics and Dspfactory Team to Provide Drop-in Solution

uCAFE solution designed to eliminate noise when integrated in communication products.

VoiceGenie Selects Brooktrout's Speech Processing Board for Developer Workshop

NEEDHAM, MA - Web site will allow developers to design, develop and test speech applications for free.

Free World Dialup and Voxeo Announce Solutions for Session Initiation Protocol Phones

ORLANDO, FL, and MELVILLE, NY - Developer and member connectivity partnership to provide free platform for creating new communications services.

Voice Signal's Voice-Activated Phonebook Ships With New Samsung Wireless Camera Phone

WOBURN, MA - The Samsung SPH-a600 began shipping August 4 to Sprint retail stores across the U.S.

Versay Solutions Releases Versay Survey 1.0

CHICAGO, IL - Versay Survey 1.0 successfully deployed for Dominion Energy, completing 330 surveys during projects six week duration.

Elix's IVR Enables Banorte to Reduce Abandoned Calls

MONTREAL, CANADA - Mexican bank increases its self-service capability and handles many more banking service calls.

Rhetorical Organizes 'Text-to-Speech World' to Highlight the Power of Text-to-Speech Software

EDINBUGH, SCOTLAND - Event is slated to take place September 4 and 5 in Edinburgh.

ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7 Software to Bundle with Sony Recorders

PEABODY, MA - Two Sony portable digital voice recorders will be packaged with ScanSoft's speech recognition software.

Phonetic Systems, Rhetorical Systems Partner to Deploy TTS in Voice Search Engine Applications

BILLERICA, MA, and EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - rVoice text-to-speech engine to integrate natural sounding voice into Phonetic Systems' applications.

Social Security Administration Selects ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking to Streamline Manual Processes

PEABODY, MA - SSA and ScanSoft enter into Blanket Purchase Agreement to reduce administrative costs of acquiring commercial items.

Eckoh Technologies To Provide Telephony-based Voting Capabilities for Interactive TV Program

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, ENGLAND - Restoration, a landmark interactive program on airing on the BBC, encourages voters to choose the historic building they wish to be restored.

David Gerth Joins ScanSoft as Chief Financial Officer

PEABODY, MA - Appointment made in an attempt to help ScanSoft refine its business model, improve profitability and enhance shareholder value.

Omvia Voice Framework from Intervoice Leveraged by Wells Fargo

Credit card division completes deployment of speech recognition technology, improving the Wells Fargo customer experience while attaining cost reductions.

Vocalocity Announces GUI-Based Development Tool App Center 2.0

CHICAGO, IL - App Center 2.0 allows developers to create VoiceXML and SALT applications.

Kirusa Teams With Nuance to Deliver a Suite of Multimodal Solutions

EDISON, NJ - Multimotal solutions will enable wireless carriers and service providers to offer applications with integrated voice and visual interfaces.

Forward Thinking

Ergonomics of the Voice

Ergonomics is not simply good computing practice for individuals, it's also good business.