Comverse And Nuance Join To Deliver Personalized Voice Portal Solutions To Service Providers Worldwide
WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2001--
Comverse's Tel@GO(TM) Voice Portal Integrates Nuance's Speech Recognition For A Complete Carrier-Grade Solution In Multiple Languages
Comverse Network Systems, a division of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), and the world's leading supplier of software and systems enabling network-based enhanced services, today announced a strategic agreement with Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leader in voice interface software, to offer carrier-grade voice portal system solutions to service providers worldwide. Comverse will integrate Nuance speech recognition software into Comverse's Tel@GO(TM) voice portal solution. The combined offering will enable service providers to foster customer loyalty and generate additional revenues by offering the next generation of voice-activated enhanced services to subscribers.
Key to the business relationship is the experience and depth of expertise that Comverse and Nuance have in integrating advanced speech recognition hardware and software products into a total voice portal solution. Comverse's Tel@GO voice portal solution enables individuals to use their voice to browse the Web for personalized news, sports, weather, stock quotes, Internet radio, and other information; access Internet-based services; place voice-activated calls to contacts in their personal address book; and create, retrieve and manage voice and e-mail messages. Nuance 7.0 is Nuance's flagship speech recognition product, delivering the recognition accuracy, scalability and robustness required in network service applications.
According to Ronald Croen, president and CEO of Nuance, "Working with a global leader such as Comverse allows us to extend our offering more broadly in the carrier marketplace. Comverse's experience, and our advanced technology and multiple language support, allows us to extend comprehensive solutions to the growing voice portal and voice Web marketplace."
Tel@GO voice portal provides natural language understanding capability, core voice portal applications, user personalization, and network integration, management and operations, all delivered on Comverse's carrier-grade platform. Nuance 7.0 provides a scalable, highly accurate speech recognition server capable of handling a very large vocabulary that is also ideal for use in noisy environments. In a command like "Check my stock portfolio," Tel@GO voice portal and Nuance 7.0 work together to recognize, understand, and act upon a user's spoken word in the context it is given while simultaneously incorporating the user's personal preferences.
"Our relationship with Nuance is a decisive step in our strategy to provide scalable and personalized voice portal solutions to network service providers worldwide," said Zeev Bregman Chief Executive Officer of Comverse Network Systems. "Today's highly competitive wireless environment is driving carriers to intensify the pace of deploying voice-activated services. We have fine-tuned our offering in market trials, adopting an open standards-based platform and best-of-breed approach that gives our customers access to the most innovative voice portal technology available today."
The agreement with Nuance covers the entire Comverse voice-controlled enhanced services systems portfolio. In addition to the Tel@GO mailto:Tel@GO voice portal solution, Comverse will integrate Nuance speech recognition software into the Progeny(TM) voice application hosting system. Progeny is a network-based solution that allows service providers to host enterprise portals for corporate customers on a shared service platform.
About Nuance
Nuance develops, markets and supports a voice interface software platform that makes the information and services of enterprises, telecommunications networks and the Internet accessible from any telephone. Every day, millions of people interact with Nuance systems at blue chip companies like BeVocal, Lycos, Merrill Lynch, Nomura Securities, Sprint PCS, and Tellme Networks. Nuance is also driving the creation of the Voice Web and delivering software for V-Commerce (voice-enabled e-commerce) services and applications. Nuance is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., with global sales offices and partners supporting solutions in multiple languages around the world. For more information about Nuance, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.
About Comverse Network Systems
Comverse Network Systems is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling enhanced services for wireless and wireline communications service providers with over 350 communications customers in more than 100 countries. Comverse Network Systems' software and systems enable a wide range of multimedia enhanced services, which generate revenue, provide competitive differentiation, and increase customer acquisition and retention. The services include: call answering; Internet-based unified messaging (voice, fax, and email in a single mailbox); mailbox-to-mailbox messaging; device-independent, policy-driven mobile Internet platforms; wireless data and person-to-person short messaging services; voice-controlled web portal and other natural-speech recognition-based services; prepaid wireless services; interactive voice response; one-touch call return; and other personal communications services. For additional information, visit Comverse Network Systems' web site at comversens.com.
About Comverse Technology, Inc.
Comverse Technology, Inc., headquartered in Woodbury, New York, designs, develops, manufactures and markets computer and telecommunications systems and software for communications and information processing applications. In addition to its Network Systems Division, Comverse's operations include: Comverse Infosys, which provides: multiple channel, multimedia digital recording, logging, and quality monitoring systems marketed to call centers, financial institutions and other organizations, and multiple channel, multimedia digital monitoring systems marketed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies; and Ulticom, which is a leading provider of network signaling software for wireless, wireline, and Internet communication services. Comverse Technology is an S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 Index company. Visit Comverse Technology's web site at comverse.com.
All product and company names mentioned herein may be registered trademarks or trademarks of Comverse Network Systems or the respective referenced company(s).
CONTACT:
Investor/Business Press: Comverse Technology, Inc.
Paul D. Baker, 516/677-7226
or
Industry Press: Comverse Network Systems
Barbara Krafte, 781/224-8626
KEYWORD: NEW YORK
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