Speech Technology eWeekly - April 01, 2005

Q & A

Sanjay Popli, Senior Director of Marketing, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories

"I think we'll see contact center technology continue to move toward being a core business application, but we'll see the term 'contact center' morph as contact center walls collapse, functionality is outsourced, and the creation of virtualized customer service functions grow," said Sanjay Popli, senior director of marketing at Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories.

Jeffrey Rayport, co-author of Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces with Customers

Jeffrey Rayport, co-author of Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces with Customers, explains, "As illustrated by the appropriate use of speech recognition that combination - bringing down the cost of serving customers while at the same time pleasing those customers with better performance - should be the goal of every company."

Talking Tech

Gearing up for the Grid: Speech with No Strings Attached!

According to Sumit Badal, senior staff software engineer with Nortel, "the Grid is coming - and so is unconstrained speech recognition."

Speech Technology News

San Diego Land Use & Environmental Group Selects Self-Service Voice Applications from Gold Systems

BOULDER, Colo. - The San Diego Land Use & Environmental Group (LUEG) has deployed a series of self-service speech automation applications from Gold Systems®.

Aculab Appoints New VP of Sales

MILTON KEYNES, U.K. - Michael Donoghue has joined Aculab as VP of Sales

Nexus IS, Interstar and Cisco Team Up to Deliver Unified Messaging Offering

MONTREAL - Interstar Technologies and Nexus IS have teamed up to provide a unified messaging solution that combines email, voice and fax messaging for VoIP networks.

MacSpeech Releases ScriptPak for Excel 2004

SALEM, N.H. - MacSpeech released a new ScriptPak for Microsoft Excel 2004.

InService America Extends Deployment of Witness Systems Software

ATLANTA - InService America, a relationship management provider, has extended deployment of Witness Systems' software.

PIKA Technologies Launches LinuxOnDemand Program for Developers of Voice and Fax Solutions

OTTAWA, Canada - PIKA Technologies released a program that will make available versions of their SDK (API and drivers) that run on an expanded number of Linux distributions/kernels (distros).

Loquendo Expands DACH Region Operations

TURIN, Italy - Loquendo opened a new office in Munich to meet increasing demand in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

NSC Opens New Offices in Germany and Its Products Now Support the German Language

RISHON LEZION - Natural Speech Communication Ltd. (NSC) has opened new offices in Germany and the company's products now support the German language.

Empirix Receives Two Siebel Systems Validations

Empirix's integrations between its Hammer Service Assurance for Siebel and e-Load products and Siebel business applications version 7.7 have been validated.

Kingston Communications Chooses Telephonetics as Its Technology Supplier

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD - Kingston Communications has implemented Telephonetics' ContactPortal® to assist staff with internal and external telephone communications.

Telewest Communications Wins Contact Center Association Excellence Award for Service Based on Genesys Solution

WOKINGHAM - Telewest Communications has won the Contact Center Association Excellence Award for best contact center in the United Kingdom for the telecoms, technology and utilities sectors.

AVST Introduces CallXpress Speech Server

Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) introduced CallXpress Speech Server based on a new version of its speech module, SenecaR 4.5.

Knowledge Adventure Selects Fonix VoiceIn Speech Interface

SALT LAKE CITY - Knowledge Adventure® will integrate Fonix VoiceIn for the PC into upcoming products aimed at providing innovative and entertaining learning opportunities for children.

TuVox Names New VP of Engineering

LOS ALTOS, Calif. - TuVox named Jeff Langston to the position of vice president of engineering.

Sensory Joins MontaVista Partnering Program

Sensory has joined the MontaVista Partner Program.

NSC Releases Version 3.8 of Its Hardware-based Speech Recognition Engine

RISHON LEZION, Israel - Natural Speech Communication Ltd. (NSC) released version 3.8 of its hardware-based speech recognition engine.

Voice Tech Aids Astronauts

From The Examiner - NASA used Nuance Communications Inc.'s (NUAN) voice recognition software to create "Clarissa," a computer assistant designed to guide the astronauts step-by-step through any number of tasks, including those related to life support systems and medical exams.

Simon & Schuster U.K. Select iVoice

MATAWAN, N.J. - Simon & Schuster installed an iVoice Speech Enabled Auto Attendant at their United Kingdom location.

Witness Systems Launches End-to-End Workforce Optimization Solution

ATLANTA - Witness Systems unveiled an end-to-end solution for optimizing workforce performance.

Predict Ability Plus Partners with Brooktrout

BOSTON, NARCA - Predict Ability Plus now supports Brooktrout's TR1000™ speech boards on its Performer TrueCTI Predictive Dialing System.

SpeechWorkers S.A.E. Launch Arabic/English Speech Self Service Solution for Couriers Companies' Call Centers in the Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - SpeechWorkers S.A.E will release Arabic/English Speech enabled call center value-added speech solution using speech recognition on a VoiceXML platform and text-to-speech (TTS) during Gitex Saudi Arabia 2005, April 24 -28 in Riyadh.

Vail Systems and Datria Partner to Host Voice Applications for Field Service Management

DEERFIELD, Ill. and ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Vail Systems and Datria announced a partnership in which Vail will host Datria's field service applications.

Wizzard Software Hires New Chief Financial Officer

PITTSBURGH - Wizzard Software has hired William F. McLay as chief financial officer for the company.

CallMiner Announces TrendMiner, Version 5.0

FORT MYERS, Fla. - CallMiner Inc. released TrendMiner 5.0, a speech analytics tool.

Harcourt Offers Automated Language Test

SAN ANTONIO - Ordinate Corp., a subsidiary of test publisher Harcourt Assessment, Inc., now offers technology-enabled spoken-language proficiency tests to customers in the education, government and corporate sectors.

MacSpeech Releases Update to Italian Version of iListen

SALEM, N.H. - MacSpeech released an update to the Italian version of their iListen program.

'Make It Easier to Vote Or Lose the Election,' Warns VoxGen

VoxGen has developed a demonstration of a tele-voting system to display the potential of the voting phone line.

Empirix Launches New OneSight Telephony Monitors for Concerto, Intervoice and Nuance Environments

BEDFORD, Mass. - Empirix® Inc. released a new telephony monitors for its OneSight® for contact centers, an application management solution.

Cambium Learning To Acquire Kurzweil Educational Systems

BALTIMORE and NATICK, Mass. - Cambium Learning™, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Kurzweil Educational Systems®, Inc.

Aspect Communications Wins Product Development Leadership Award for Aspect Uniphi Suite

LONDON - Aspect Communications Corporation has won the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Product Development Leadership Award for its contribution to the contact center market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

VoiceObjects to Integrate ScanSoft OpenSpeech Dialog Modules and Extend Partnership Agreement

PEABODY, Mass. & GHENT, Belgium - VoiceObjects will integrate ScanSoft's OpenSpeech® DialogModules (OSDMs) into the latest release of VoiceObjects X5. The companies also agreed to expand joint sales and marketing activities.

CXM Partners with LumenVox

HOUSTON, Texas and SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Co-nexus, Inc., who develops CXM, integrated LumenVox's Speech Recognition Engine (SRE) into their production line.

Voxpilot and UbiCall Partner to Deliver VoiceXML-based Speech Recognition Solutions

CHATILLION, France, and MONS, Belgium - Voxpilot and UbiCall have joined forces to offer a solution to automate companies or government agencies' office-receptions and call centers.

Voice Web Solution's Voice Web Studio Surpasses 30,000 Downloads

SEATTLE - Voice Web Studio has been downloaded over 30,000 times.

AUSTAR Steers Customers Toward Entertainment with Speech

MENLO PARK, Calif. - Australia's AUSTAR selected Nuance along with Australian voice services partner, VerifyMe, who have teamed to voice-enable the satellite TV service provider's customer service center and enhance the experience of customers calling the company's Box Office near-video-on-demand service.

PIKA Technologies' Media Processing Building Blocks Selected by Empirix for Hammer Test Platforms

OTTAWA, Canada - Empirix Inc. has chosen PIKA Technologies' media processing building blocks to enable voice services in its Hammer FX-TDM test systems.

Datria Introduces Scouting & Inspection and Storm Recovery

Datria released Datria Scouting & Inspection, a packaged voice self-service application for mobile field employees, and Datria Storm Recovery, a voice self-service application for mobile field employees.

Prairie Systems Releases Upgraded Critical Communications Offering

Prairie Systems released the 2005 upgrade of its Critical Communications product.

iVoice Receives Notice of Allowance of Patent Award for 'TAPI Interface Based, Speech Enabled Automatic Telephone Dialer Using Names'

MATAWAN, N.J. - iVoice, Inc. has received notice of allowance for its fourth speech-recognition patent, "TAPI Interface Based, Speech Enabled Automatic Telephone Dialer Using Names."

Angel.com Releases Site Builder 2005 Update

MCLEAN, Va. - Angel.com updated Site Builder 2005, the company's Web-based toolkit that allows users to create speech-enabled phone applications.

Envox Worldwide Launches Envox 6.1 Communications Development Platform

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. - Envox Worldwide released Envox 6.1, the latest version of its communications development platform.

VoiceXMLSALTGrammars.com Launches Speech Search Engine

SEATTLE - VoiceXMLSALTGrammars.com is a speech search engine about VoiceXML, SALT and Grammar related technologies.

Cyberitas Enterprises Selects Wizzard Software's AT&T Natural Voices Server Edition

PITTSBURGH - Cyberitas Enterprises, LLC selected AT&T Natural Voices Server Edition to add text-to-speech capabilities to their client's consumer Web site, a national real estate company.

Cisco and IBM to Deliver New Speech-Enabled Self-Service Solutions

SOMERS, N.Y. - IBM and Cisco jointly plan to deliver speech-enabled self-service solutions that combine IBM's WebSphere Voice Server product and Cisco's Customer Voice Portal to contact centers.

Healthcare Organizations Turn to Avaya Mobility Solutions to Improve Patient Care and Operations

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Sierra View District Hospital of Porterville, Calif., Children's Hospital of Central California, and Condell Medical Center of Libertyville, Ill. are three hospitals using Avaya enterprise mobility solutions.

Prairie Systems' Releases 2005 Version of Interactive Collections Solution

OMAHA, Neb. - Prairie Systems, Inc. unveiled the 2005 release of their Interactive Collections solution.

MacSpeech Releases Update to German Version of iListen

MacSpeech released an update to the German version of their iListen program

SpeechWorkers S.A.E. and Communications Solutions Company (CSC) Launch Value-added Services for Saudi ISP's

CAIRO, Egypt and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - SpeechWorkers will release new value-added speech technologies services for Saudi Internet service providers during Gitex 2005 Saudi Arabia, April 24-28 in Riyadh.

Verizon Wireless Customer Satisfaction Edges out T-Mobile in the Latest VocaLabs SectorPulse Report

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - In Vocal Laboratories' most recent quarterly SectorPulse report which measures the quality of customer care, Verizon Wireless received top scores in Caller Satisfaction.

Voxeo Achieves VoiceXML 2.0 Platform Certification

ORLANDO, Florida - Voxeo Corporation's VoiceCenter v6.0 IVR platform has been awarded VoiceXML Forum Platform Certification.

Genesys and Viecore, Enhance Partner Services

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories and Viecore have broadened their existing partnership.

Yell Selects Voice Automation from Nuance

MENLO PARK, Calif. - Yell Group PLC, an online and offline directory operator, has chosen the Nuance Voice Platform™ as the basis for its voice-enabled customer service systems.

AT&T and Wizzard Extend Worldwide Distribution Agreement

The current licensing/distribution relationship between Wizzard and AT&T, allowing Wizzard worldwide distribution of AT&T's Natural Voices text-to-speech engine, has been extended for an additional five-years.

MacSpeech Certifies Voice Tracker Array Microphone

MacSpeech, Inc. has certified the Voice Tracker& array microphone from Acoustic Magic for use with its product, iListen.

PIKA Technologies Launches Enhanced VoIP Portfolio and Initiatives in Host Media Processing

PIKA Technologies will release an integrated SIP stack for VoIP signaling to developers this June. The company also unveiled its host media processing (HMP) technology, which is slated for initial release later this year.

SWK Technologies Deploys iVoice's Auto Speech Attendant

SWK Technologies has installed the iVoice Speech Enabled Auto Attendant.

Pronexus VeoDesign Receives Application Certification from Microsoft

Pronexus VeoDesign has been certified for use on Speech Server.