General Magic Becomes IBM Solution Provider and Resells IBM Voice Products
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov 15, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- General Magic (Nasdaq: GMGC chart, msgs), a pioneer in voice infrastructure software, today announced that it has signed an agreement with IBM to resell its Voice products. General Magic will integrate its server-side magicTalk(R) Enterprise platform with the WebSphere Voice Server and WebSphere Voice Response for IBM customers, as well as offer voice application hosting services at its state-of-the-art enterprise-class Network Operations Center in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The magicTalk Enterprise Platform is a full suite of voice infrastructure software that combines VoiceXML with J2EE-architected, server-side component frameworks to enable Java developers worldwide to develop and deploy a voice channel to existing and new enterprise applications. magicTalk is designed to ease the development of voice applications, from the voice dialog with the user, to the integration with backend enterprise systems. All of the magicTalk component layers are driven by the existing application server infrastructure within an enterprise.
As an IBM Business Partner and member of PartnerWorld, General Magic lists and markets its products in the Global Solutions Directory. The Global Solutions Directory is IBM's online directory of applications, tools and services from IBM and IBM Business Partners.
IBM's WebSphere Voice Server is software that resides on a Web server and lets people access the Web and corporate databases simply by speaking commands into a phone. WebSphere Voice Response is the latest version of IBM's widely used Interactive Voice Response (IVR) middleware that allows customer's applications to accept both voice and touchtone keypad response.
"This is a significant company milestone for General Magic as we continue the evolution of our magicTalk product strategy. The expansion of our voice infrastructure software to include WebSphere Voice Server 2.0 enables us to further focus on enterprise customers and call centers. Together, the two companies are working to address critical voice market needs and drive explosive growth of the enterprise voice market," said Kathie Layton, chief executive officer and president of General Magic.
"Voice-enabled business applications are poised to become a key part of mobile e-business," said Nigel Beck, director, IBM Voice Systems. "Voice technology is already being used in business applications, solving real business issues today. General Magic's magicTalk Platform, along with IBM's WebSphere Voice Response and WebSphere Voice Server, complement each other to provide an interactive voice connection into the back end infrastructure of enterprise customers."
About General Magic
General Magic is a leading voice infrastructure company that provides enterprise-grade software and supporting voice dialog design and hosting services that enable companies to quickly and efficiently provide anytime, anywhere access to information and services over the telephone. General Magic's VoiceXML & J2EE-based solutions enable enterprises to easily integrate voice access into enterprise applications using a broad selection of speech recognition technologies and telephony interfaces. These solutions make voice a strategic tool in helping businesses improve the customer experience, reduce transaction costs, and provide high quality, voice branded access to content and services. General Magic is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. For additional information, visit www.generalmagic.com.
IBM's PartnerWorld
PartnerWorld is IBM's worldwide marketing and enablement program for Business Partners. It is designed to support Partners to access a universe of benefits to increase sales, heighten market share, penetrate new markets, and expand overall business. For more information, visit ibm.com.
Note to Editors: IBM, DirectTalk, ViaVoice, and WebSphere are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp.
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