Sensationalism makes headlines, but what is lost in the coverage is that Russia’s largest bank has been testing and is ready to deploy an ATM-like kiosk that will be able to scan passports, record voices, capture fingerprints, perform a 3D facial recognition scan as part of a registration process. The ability to use this data to prevent future fraudulent access went almost unnoticed.

As for the use of speech processing technology from SpeechPro (aka Speech Technology Center or STC), Anna Belash, who heads Marketing Communications at the company explained in a post, that the existing prototype is using speech recognition and text-to-speech synthesis along with speaker recognition to provide a way for individuals to use their voice to navigate through the process of using the ATM. As she said, “it’s a kind of speech-enabled IVR.”

The ATM will employ speaker recognition and authentication if needed “to ensure higher security level while accessing to confidential data.” In other words, the unique deployment for Sberbank – combining speech recognition, speaker recognition and emotion detection is not designed to be spooky or invasive. “It is just one more step forward the creation of humanlike systems that speak to the clients, understand and recognize a speaker.”

What’s different is the incorporation of emotion detection in the enrollment process, which is probably a very good idea if enrollments are going to be conducted without human assistance or supervision. The machine will be able to talk with the prospective enrollee (and later on the client) in plain Russian, and will be able to autenticate his or her unique voiceprint while, at the same time, test voice levels for signs of nervousness, anger, or deceit.

The potential scale of this deployment is impressive. According to the newspaper reports, Sberbank has the largest branch network in Russia with more than 19,100 retail outlets in 3,800 cities. It operates a network of about 28,000 ATMs and 17,000 payment terminals.

The video showcases a number of ways that a speech-enabled IVR (interactive voice response) system can be integrated into a positive user experience. The rapid identification of a caller, coupled with quick discovery of the purpose of a call, is just the beginning. The initial triage (problem diagnosis and remediation) was all done without the assistance of live agents. Later, when “Kurt” called back for follow up, he was transferred to a customer service rep who obviously had access to his personal information and details of the current trouble ticket.

This type of use case – indeed the introduction of RightNow’s Voice Experience Manager – marks an important development for enterprise customers who struggle to strike a balance between the reality that a large percentage of customer care interactions are still carried out over the telephone and the equally valid reality that “the customer is always on!” (meaning that the next interaction may take place over email, text message, online chat or blog post).

The Voice Experience Management Suite ultimately takes advantage of RightNow’s cloud-based architecture which, according to RightNow, houses over 6,000 pre-fabricated voice applications. The infrastructure is built on a VoiceObjects management platform (now part of Voxeo). These core capabilities are packaged by RightNow as its “Personalization Engine.” It is driven by RightNow’s foundational CX (customer experience) platform and is the mechanism that enables the voice response system to provide dynamically generated information for each caller.

The automated system feels very responsive because it keys off of previous inputs (through a variety of channels) as well as indicated preferences and interaction history.
The “intelligent transfer” is an illustration of RightNow’s newly released “Dynamic Agent Desktop.” It is the product of a partnership with SimpliCTI Inc and integrates with the Cisco UCCE and Avaya Elite call center solutions.

Advisories are available to registered users only.

For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).

Advisories are available to registered users only.

For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).

Featured Research Reports are available to registered users only.

For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).

Click Here to View the Report Summary

The acquisition underscores the importance of Recombinant Communications as a growth strategy for West Corporation in developing both hosted and on-premise IVR deployment options and managing complex installations with the additive platform offered by Holly. As it stands now, West Corporation was already one of Holly’s largest installations in North America so the merging of the voice platforms should be relatively seamless.

We’ll follow with more information about the acquisition.

Speech Recognition – Getting It Right

Webcast on-demand

Effective change management and staff engagement in a risk averse environment. How the Australian Department of Defence introduced an open menu voice recognition system which didn’t upset the customer whilst dramatically reducing queue times and reducing average handle time by 15%.

Speakers:

• Dan Miller – Senior Analyst, Opus Research
• Luke Johnston – Business Integration Coordinator, Australian Defence Service Centre

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 — 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PDT
Sign Up Below!

The proliferation of smartphones, e-commerce Web sites and social networks has cultivated a new generation of highly connected “anywhere customers” who are taking command of “how, when and why” they are interacting with their selected vendors and service providers.

In this webcast, Dan Miller with Opus Research and Zor Gorelov, CEO with SpeechCycle, will showcase:

• Changing patterns in self-service and assisted service as customers take command
• Strategies for customer care architectures that leverage internal resources and provide consistently good experiences
• Best practices for enriching the customer experience across multiple media and modalities
• New forms of customer dialogs that blend automated speech, visual components, live agents and text as appropriate.

Attendees of the webcast will receive a free white paper (“Reaching the Anywhere Customer”) published by Opus Research detailing the new roles for contact centers in customer interactions.

Speech Recognition – Getting It Right

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 — 4 p.m. PDT
Sign Up Below!

Effective change management and staff engagement in a risk averse environment. How the Australian Department of Defence introduced an open menu voice recognition system which didn’t upset the customer whilst dramatically reducing queue times and reducing average handle time by 15%.

Speakers:

• Dan Miller – Senior Analyst, Opus Research
• Luke Johnston – Business Integration Coordinator, Australian Defence Service Centre

Featured Research Reports are available to registered users only.

For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).

Click Here to View the Report Summary