Avaya Selects IBM WebSphere Voice Server and WebSphere Application Server to Support Voice Portal; and IBM's Partners Donate Reusable Dialog Components to the Apache Software Foundation
NEW YORK - Avaya has selected IBM WebSphere Voice Server and IBM WebSphere Application Server as the initial speech and middleware platforms for Avaya Voice Portal, Avaya's new Web services-based speech self service platform. The combination allows customers to integrate enterprise applications with their contact centers through a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework.
The solution is the result of an expanded alliance between the two companies. This announcement builds on current Avaya Interactive Response and WebSphere Voice Server integrated solutions and joint go-to-market activities.
IBM WebSphere Application Server is the foundation of IBM's speech architecture, and IBM WebSphere Voice Server provides integration into a Java-based enterprise application framework. With the increasing use of Web services based on open standards, IBM is aligned with other Avaya J2EE Web services initiatives such as IP telephony and messaging, complementing existing services technology. IBM and Avaya support open standards including J2EE/Eclipse, MRCP, VoiceXML, CCXML, H.323 and SIP. Avaya is a member of IBM's SOA Partner Community.
Additionally, Avaya and IBM have been working together to provide a tighter integration of application development tools and development environments through the Eclipse 3.1 platform. Avaya's new Eclipse-based development tool - the Dialog Designer - works with IBM WebSphere Eclipse-based tooling, providing commonality and skills re-use for customers and application developers. IBM's WebSphere Voice Toolkit components and the Avaya Dialog Designer help Avaya customers develop, debug, and deploy VoiceXML applications for Avaya Self Service solutions.
Three IBM partners, Audium, Fluency, and Openstream have donated RDCs to the Apache Software Foundation, a community for open source software development. RDCs allow developers to plug standard pieces of speech code into their own code, to help speed the development of speech applications for new uses.
The active community around RDCs has led the Apache Software Foundation to approve moving the RDC project to full project status.
In fall of 2004, IBM launched the Reusable Dialog Component (RDC) initiative where, IBM, supported by its business partners, contributed Reusable Dialog Components to the open-source community via Apache and Eclipse. Based on Java, with tools built on Eclipse, this initiative is aimed at giving speech developers the benefits of open standards that mainstream developers of other kinds of applications have been enjoying.