The concept of unified communications (UC) is so overused it crowds out expansive thinking about the services that enterprises and wireless subscribers will use every day. The real deal is more accurately called “contextual communications,” and refers to intelligent handling and support of communications, interactions and transactions in the most appropriate manner based on analysis of each caller’s situation, including support of voice, text, graphics, video in real-time or asynchronously.
Featured Research
Voice Biometrics 2008: Meeting Implementation Challenges
Sales of voice biometric-based solutions took a trajectory that was bound to disappoint in 2007. While there continue to be solid sales of enterprise solutions (primarily password reset) across multiple verticals and business sizes, the breakthrough to mass market, customer-facing solutions has been elusive. In the coming years, stepped up security requirements, coupled with the growth of mobile data access and commerce, will propel demand for voice-based authentication solutions and services. Thus far the speed of adoption has been slowed by confusion over technical approaches and concerns about competition or compatibility with existing infrastructure and protocols.
Making a Meaningful Metaphor: The Intelligent Customer Front Door
Genesys Labs is enlisting a multiplicity of partners into its intelligent Customer Front Door™ program. The iCFD is more than a metaphor because it calls for the integration of hardware, software and professional services that amount to big business for solutions providers across the boards.
Putting Microsoft and Aspect’s Venture in Context
The rebranding of Aspect’s core product line (as UC for the Contact Center) along with an investment from Microsoft invites skepticism. IP-based contact centers are multi-vendor domains. Microsoft expects its prospects to toss out old gear to move to an Aspect-based solution, it is bound to be disappointed.
Mobile Voice’s Next Chapter
Yahoo’s $20 million investment in Vlingo and the rollout of a speech-enabled flavor of Yahoo One Search 2.0 signal an important epiphany for mobile service providers. They have confidence that mobile subscribers will readily embrace reliable speech recognition as the fastest, safest, most convenient way to find, interact, and transact with their favorite applications.
UC’s Impact on Contact Centers and Self-Service
No blockbuster announcements were made at last month’s VoiceCon event in Orlando, FL. This reflects the maturity of the Unified Communications (UC) marketplace where key components of hardware and software have achieved commodity, building-block status.
Grading Free DA: A Qualitative Analysis of the Major Free Directory Assistance Providers
Today’s Free DA offerings are the most visible (or audible) entry points for mass market local mobile search. In this advisory, we assess the offerings of AT&T, Google, Jingle and Microsoft to see how well they fulfill the promise of delivering valuable, current local information to people on-the-go.
People Power: Agent-Assisted Speech Services
The metric for success for customer care voice self-services should not be based on automation rates but rather on task completion. And whether it’s for directory assistance, voicemail transcription or voice self-service applications, it has become increasingly clear that human beings will always have a role to play in the call workflow.
Managed Services Build Worldwide Momentum
It takes a recession, technological uncertainties and a weak dollar to convince global enterprises to take a closer look at hosted and managed services providers. A tipping point has apparently been reached across a broad spectrum of software firms. In this advisory, Opus Research takes a closer look at three very different solutions with Genesys Labs (subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent), Voxify and SpinVox.
CAT in 2008: Transition Without Disruption
In a year that has the scent of recession, enterprise investment in Conversational Access Technologies (CAT) will be more closely linked to business objectives than ever. This puts a premium on packaging and marketing efforts that improve users’ experience by leveraging existing self-service resources and fostering strong relationships with integrators, developers and managed service providers.