March 2007

Magazine Features

Heightened Level of Alert

As more risks become associated with VoIP, companies that did not take security into account before will need to start

Hosted Speech: Trend or Foe?

A roundtable discussion with members of the hosted speech community reveals the benefits and concerns with a hosted speech solution

On Good Speaking Terms

When dealing with a machine, it shouldn't sound too much like a human

Would You Do This?

Vendors are betting that you will as they move toward a one-call-to all unified communications strategy

Deployments

IVR Fuels Additional Sales at an Auto Dealer

Automated call solution has led to $70,000 in additional service department revenue

Speech as a Fan Favorite

Prerecorded marketing boosts an NBA team's game attendance

Vodafone Spain Drives Customer Satisfaction with Speech

Survey results make the customer call center the talk of nearly 179 million people

Editor's Letter

Unify with Protection

Forward Thinking

Policies and Technologies for Improving the Customer Experience

The customer experience isn't about completion rates and ROI; it's about achieving an intended task easily, efficiently, and even enjoyably

Human Factor

Aligning Customer and Company Goals Through VUI

Reducing the cost of customer service should come second to keeping the customer happy

Industry View

Banking on Voice Biometrics

Regulations are enforcing stricter authentication for financial institutions, generating more opportunity for voice biometrics

Voice Value

A Case in Proof

As technologies evolve, proving authenticity of voice recordings will become increasingly difficult.

Speech Solutions

Speech-Enabled Transcription/Dictation

A report that used to take eight hours to complete can be done in about 15 minutes<

FYI

Autonomy Helps Contact Centers Smarten Up

By extending the capabilities of its etalk Contact Center portfolio, Autonomy is taking a new approach to contact center management

Cellphone Users Prefer Live Agents to ARS

Customer service issues that are handled by a computer automated response system (ARS) on the telephone generate significantly lower customer care ratings than those handled by a live agent, according to the J.D. Power & Associates Wireless Customer Care Performance Study released Jan. 25.

Opus CAT Scan Gives Good Prognosis for Self-Service

In the latest version of its Conversational Access Technologies (CAT) report, Opus Research notes that speech-enabled self-service is growing faster than other IT spending.

Speech Comes Standard in Microsoft Vista

Microsoft released its Windows Vista operating system on Jan. 30, calling it the most significant product launch in the company's 32-year history. At the same time, it also released its Office 2007 product suite—one of the key components of Microsoft's unified communications offering that is expected to ship this summer (see story on page 14).

VoIM Use Grows, But Must Overcome Hurdles

While increased use of instant messaging (IM) in the enterprise, along with the proliferation of features like file sharing and white-boarding, make voice over IM (VoIM) an attractive option, VoIM service providers must tackle ease-of-use and interoperability issues before the technology will become more widespread, according to a new report by Light Reading's Enterprise VoIP Insider.