Recent Posts - page 155

  • EU Funded LUNA Project Receives More Funding

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    We’re three years into the LUNA Project, designed to bring better man-to-machine communications to Italy, France and Poland. As described in this article in the European Research Headlines Web the LUNA project has received government grants amountoing to EUR 2.61 million in funding, all aimed at providing a more pleasant customer experience when people have to talk to machines over the telephone.

  • VoiceVault Readies Voice Offerings for Texas State Government Agencies

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    VoiceVault, in a partnership with Austin Biometrics, has completed negotiations with the state of Texas to offer voice biometrics solutions to any state government agency. According to the agreement, VoiceVault has been awarded a GoDIRect contract paving the way for any Texas government agency the ability to order product offerings.

    The offerings, which are billed as-a-service, include VoiceTrack, a phone-based time-and-attendance solution; password reset capabilities; caller authentication and VoiceVault’s Advanced Electronic Signatures service. Under the new agreement, according to VoiceVault VP of North America Julia Webb, the company’s voice biometrics services could be used by state agencies as payment verification for everything from recording taxes, benefits, and other payment solutions. According to Webb, the state of Texas government had become aware of and interested in voice biometrics to support home-based detention.

    Webb also mentioned the continuing roll-out of its voice signature service for Wellpoint is now being deployed in 17 states, with Texas and California next on the list. Internal monitoring by VoiceVault, says Webb, is showing a rate of 1000-1,500 voice signatures being added every day. The voice signature service is intended to help insurance providers reduce costs in lowering agent time and expediting the process to complete applications.

  • What was that Microsoft Mobile Speech App? Oh, yeah! Recite

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    On the eve for the GSMA Mobile World Congress, Microsoft has made a “speech search” application called Microsoft Recite available for smartphones running the Windows Mobile 6.0 and higher. Among speech-enabled mobile search applications, Microsoft Recite is neither fish nor fowl, and whether it’s a pure red meat application could be up for debate.

  • Aspect to World: “UC Changes Everything”

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    I listened to a replay of Aspect’s Sr. Vice President of Strategy Mike Sheridan’s Webinar for industry analysts. Aside from imparting surprisingly good news about revenues in the final quarter, the biggest take-away was Aspect’s unswerving commitment to Unified Communications in general and Microsoft’s flavor of UC specifically. The former means that Aspect expects to transcend the confines of the contact center and go enterprise-wide. The latter signals that its approach is deeply integrated with Microsoft’s .Net architecture as well as sales of Exchange Server, Active Directory and (oh yeah!) Office Communications Server 2007 R2, which includes OCS Voice for SIP-based call handling and the vestiges of Microsoft SpeechServer, called its “Developer Edition.”

  • Voice Activating GSMA Mobile World Congress

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    Next week, Opus Research expects voice-activated services assume a more prominent role at the GSMA Mobile World Congress. Then again, I feel like we say this every year. Then, when it’s all over, I write the obligatory survey of the exhibitors, presentations, products and services that make use of speech processing technologies for service delivery.

    This year will be the same in many ways. Voice services, in general, will take a back seat to some of the more high-profile, glamorous and lucrative services. These include SMS-texting, downloading ringtones, gaming, navigation and ultimately watching (or sharing) video entertainment. But that backseat analogy is quite inaccurate. Voice as an input modality is taking on an increasingly important role in front of the most popular services. In short, if it works on a wireless phone, it is easier to access by speaking. Let’s not forget that, although they increasingly act like computers, personal navigation systems, MP3 Players, game consoles, and wireless handsets are, at base, phones.

    Blame it on iPhone and Blackberry
    The multiplicity of applications and services made available through iPhones, G1’s and other touch-screen smartphones are made possible by simplifying the process of product ordering and service initiation. The addictive nature of the “Crackberry” is due in some part to the simplicity of retrieving and originating both business and personal email. Frequent users are likely to do more with their phones. They will add new services, download more content or media and, most importantly, stay loyal to their carrier.

    Voice-activation, by simplifying order entry and service initiation on the majority of wireless devices, should be in the driver’s seat, not the backseat of any mobile conference. In the post below, using Nuance Voice Control 2.0 as an example, I further dramatize my point.

  • Nuance Voice Control 2.0: Bringing Conversational Access to Feature Phones

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    Featured Research
    Speech-enabled services abound for owners of high-end “smartphones,” but the newest version of Nuance Voice Control delivers the promise of conversational access to owners of “feature phones.” This expands the reach of conversational access to 80% of the subscriber base.

  • Mixed Messages from Virtual Launch of Microsoft OCS2007 R2

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    Featured Research
    The Virtual Launch Event that Microsoft held for Office Communications Server 2007 R2 was a technical triumph. Without leaving their desks or home offices, attendees could see case studies and visit virtual trade show booths. Plus, Microsoft got its mixed message across: PBXs, IVRs and their equivalents are “dead ends.” But PBX makers and routing specialists remain key partners.

  • Managed Service Options for Customer Care: Achieving Cost Savings, Flexibility and “Constant Improvement”

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    In challenging financial times, customer care professionals have more incentive than ever to look to third parties to support phone-based self-service and assisted services. The reasons remain remarkably consistent through good times and bad. Quite simply, companies want to control costs without sacrificing the quality of care they extend to their clients, customers or prospects.

  • Nuance Licenses Speech Code from IBM: Impacts on the Speech Engine Landscape

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    When Nuance licensed selected speech processing patents and support services from IBM Labs, it marked a new phase for speech-enabled solutions. Nuance will target delivery of server-side and embedded product innovations in a couple of years. Meanwhile, IBM continues to market WebSphere Voice Server and Embedded to existing clients, prospects and go-to-market partners worldwide.

  • MediaPost – January 12, 2009

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    Excerpt: Some industry leaders applauded the selection of Wehrs to lead the MMA. “I think he’s very articulate, patient and a good explainer,” said Dan Miller, a senior analyst at Opus Research. He added that Wehrs technical expertise would also… Read More ›