Business Icon Tom Peters Tells SpeechTEK West Delegates "It's Time for Aggressive Innovation"

SAN FRANCISCO - Management guru Tom Peters told a capacity crowd last week that only the constant pursuit of innovation can insure long term success.  "Think bigger, bigger, bigger," Peters told attendees at Wednesday's SpeechTEK West and Service Automation Expo keynote.

Speaking specifically of speech technology he said, "This is a time of revolution and yours are the tools of the revolution."  Peters said that speech technology has the unique ability to create, "gasp worthy" experiences that should be the goal of every organization.

Bill Meisel, president of TMA Associates, said that combining SpeechTEK West with his Telephony Voice User Interface conference and the AVIOS Advanced Technology Symposium contributed to this year's success.  "Combining my Telephony Voice User Interface conference and SpeechTEK West, after the success of the earlier combination of SpeechTEK with the AVIOS Conference, gave attendees and vendors a single point of focus to highlight the opportunities for companies' taking advantage of speech technology," said Meisel.  "The quality of the talks was outstanding, and the energy and momentum were palpable."

The closing day of SpeechTEK West and Service Automation Expo began on a high note with registration on the verge of doubling 2004.  Peters headlined a blue ribbon roster of analysts, experts and company executives meeting at the San Francisco Marriott to discuss the latest innovations and technologies using speech technologies and automation to improve business practices and customer relations management.

The Los Angeles Times has called Peters "the father of the post-modern corporation."  His books have been staples for executives and managers for decades.  "In Search of Excellence," which he co-authored with Bob Waterman, was named by NPR as on of the "top three business books of all time."  "Liberation Management," published in 1992 was been called the "management book of the decade."

Hundreds of SpeechTEK West and Service Automation Expo attendees took advantage of the opportunity to demo the "tools of the revolution" during the two-day exhibition of products and solutions.  "Speech and automation technology companies are doing a great job bringing innovative solutions into the mainstream," says John Kelly, editor-in-chief of Speech Technology Magazine and principal sponsor of the events.  "You can feel their energy and enthusiasm as you walk around the show floor."

Sponsors of SpeechTEK West 2005 included gold sponsors: ScanSoft and Brooktrout Technology; silver sponsors: IBM and Aculab; and bronze sponsors: Genesys, Avaya, Vocent and LumenVox.