Excell Agent Services, a historic innovator in wholesale directory assistance, is being purchased by Texas-based OSC, a provider of directory assistance and CRM services.
Advisories
VoIP Keeps Things Interesting at eBay
Skype provides the Internet’s largest auction house with a proven, scalable platform for Voice over IP (VoIP). Links with PayPal for billing and application development and automated speech hosting resources (Tellme, Voxeo and VoxPilot) signal a small-business package that could rival any toll free carrier’s enhanced services offerings.
Reflections on SpeechTek 2005: The Dialectic of Speech
We’re seeing a fundamental reconstruction of the speech community’s value proposition. A new contsruct is developing between enterprise ‘Buyers,’ looking for solutions that leverage their investment in Web-based, self-service resources and a community of ‘Vendors’ that are banding together to provide solutions atop a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA).
Austar Box Office Uses Speaker Verification for Video On Demand
Australian satellite entertainment distributor AUSTAR deploys Nuance Verifier software in conjunction with ‘calling line identification’ and a unique ‘hash code’ to simplify and shorten the process of ordering movies and other televised entertainment on demand.
Supercomm 2005: Elevating the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)
With lower-layer issues getting resolved with heightened QoS and “carrier-grade†broadband Ethernet, the business case is getting stronger for ‘VoIP Enhanced Services.’
Promises, Promises: Genesys, Microsoft, Verizon
Genesys is ready to introduce a “Global Communications Manager†running on a Microsoft “Real-Time Collaboration†platform. And both Genesys and Microsoft plan to use Verizon Business Systems as a go-to-market channel for a SIP-based version of the Genesys 7 software suite. These moves put Genesys in a precarious position.
ScanSoft and Nuance: The Roll-up Continues
The merger of ScanSoft and Nuance represents a positive step for the industry, extending the prospects of two industry stalwarts in the face of stepped up competition from Microsoft and IBM for share of the market for network and embedded speech.
vCustomer buys MCI’s Operator Services Resources
>>vCustomer buys MCI’s Operator Services Resources >>April 25, 2005 Architectural execution: Medium Market value: High Ecosystem implications: High Analyst: Avery Glasser Proofpoints are available to registered users only. Please click here to login.
Local Matters links Aptas, YPSolutions.com and ISx
The resulting company has over 140 employees and a global footprint of 40 international customers, ranging from Yellow Pages publishers and directory assistance service providers to local Internet search specialists.
AOL and Level 3 Expand Residential VoIP Offerings
“AOL Internet Phone Service†includes standard calling features (Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, etc.) as well as call management via a Web screen (the AOL “Dashboardâ€), voice services (AOLbyPhone, AOL Call Alert, AOL Voicemail), and E911 capabilities.