August 01, 2007
Industry News
j2 Global Communications expanded coverage for its Onebox, Onebox Receptionist, and eVoice Receptionist product lines to Austria, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Hong Kong.
Autonomy expanded its advanced call and computer screen recording security features to enable enterprise customer contact centers recording strategies to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards.
LumenVox released new Voice Activity Detection (VAD) technology that improves the LumenVox Speech Engine's ability to decipher a human voice from any other sound, such as music, background noise, car noise, and traffic.
SpeechCycle's LevelOne Video Automated Agent now provides troubleshooting and corrective action for callers with OpenCable Platform-certified set-top boxes.
Customer-service provider CSG Systems International will acquire Omaha, Neb.-based interactive-messaging-service provider Prairie Voice Services for approximately $39 million.
Akcelerant Software and SoundBite Communications yesterday announced a strategic alliance that will incorporate SoundBite's automated voice messaging solution into the Akcelerant Framework workflow and business process automation suite for the financial services industry.
8x8 yesterday expanded the market for its Packet8 Virtual Office hosted iPBX phone service with a new, fully integrated hosted call center solution designed specifically for small to medium-sized businesses with call center operations of less than 100 seats.
Industry View
Free services expand as technology moves out of the niche.
News Feature
SAN FRANCISCO -- Credigy, a receivables management services company, became the latest customer to employ LiveVox's Voice Portal 2.0 platform.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Imagine answering your cell phone to hear your Scotch Moss plant telling you in a fake Glaswegian accent that it needs a drink. This scenario is not far from reality with a group of postgraduate students at New York University developing a way for over-watered or dry plants to phone for help.
SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- MovieTickets.com has extended its online services to the phone, offering domestic movie-goers the option to hear movie showtimes and purchase advance tickets. Apptera will automate the new phone-based service and provide a unique advertising platform.
BUDAPEST -- Skymol Corp. yesterday announced that Start Utazás, a Hungarian online travel portal with approximately 500,000 visitors and 4 million page views every month, has launched the industry's first proactive live voice, video, and text chat capability developed exclusively for sales and customer service.
Q & A
As the speech industry continues to advance, customers are learning to accept IVR technology, Hayden says in an exclusive interview with Speech Technology magazine.