Just a little news to keep everyone in the Christmas spirit!
Monday December 15, 10:53 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
Voice Processing Industry Exhibits Dynamic Growth According To
Ladenburg Thalmann Analyst
NEW YORK, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Considered a cottage industry in the mid-1980s, the voice processing industry has
become a rapidly growing, multi-billion-dollar economic sector in the 90s, according to a report by research analyst Donald
Newman, CFA, at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
The report, ''Speaking of Growth - Trends and Prospects for the Voice Processing Industry,'' describes various subsets of the
industry which are growing at annual rates ranging from 10% to 25% compounded. ''Prospects for the automated call
processing (ACP) sector look particularly promising as a result of a landmark agreement on February 16, 1997 by more than
60 countries which opened the telecommunications market to all competitors,'' said Newman.
According to the analyst, the steady decline in communications prices in response to a growing number of competitors is
forcing telecoms to remain competitive by offering services such as Voice Messaging. This industry has become the largest
subset of the ACP universe accounting for 33% of the domestic voice processing market. Growth has also been enhanced by
the revenue generated through automatic call answering versus no revenue through uncompleted calls. The voice messaging
market is expected to grow at a rate of 16%, compounded annually, reaching $3.1 billion by the year 2000. A company in this
category rating a Buy recommendation is Comverse Technology, Inc.
A second subset that most people use, but few could identify by name is Interactive Voice Response (IVR). IVR systems
enable individuals to use a self-help facility such as touch-tone telephone keys to access an organization's computer database,
such as their bank or credit card account. Through the year 2000 the compound annual growth rate for IVR is estimated to be
17%, and will reach $2 billion in revenues. Unfortunately, none of the companies in Newman's universe have capitalized on this
growth recently.
A third subset with which most of us have had contact is Call Center technology, consisting of both Outbound (OCP) and
Inbound (ICP) Call Processing. Domestic OCP, a.k.a. telemarketing equipment, sales are expected to reach $620 million by
2000 with an estimated CAGR of 13%. Most ICP calls are accessed through the ubiquitous ''800'' number. In this country,
ICP sales are expected to grow at a rate of l4% and reach $l.l billion by the year 2000. Melita International Corporation
[Nasdaq:MELI - news] is rated a Buy in this category.
A fourth subset outlined by the Ladenburg Thalmann analyst is Computer Telephony Integration. CTI's function is to meld
telecommunications with a corporation's internal workflow to respond quickly to customer needs. It will provide ''unified
messaging,'' or access and control of all types of messaging: voice mail, fax and electronic mail. At an estimated 35% CAGR,
CTI's growth rate is almost double all other voice processing applications. By the year 2000, CTI expenditures are expected
to reach $1.7 billion. Applied Voice Technology is rated a Buy in this category.
A separate category within the CTI subset, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), is now becoming commercially acceptable
due to newer, more powerful, low cost digital single processors. An outstanding ASR company is Lernout & Hauspie Speech
Products which is rated a Buy.
To obtain a copy of the Speaking of Growth report, contact Donald Newman, CFA at Ladenburg Thalmann, telephone:
212-409-2342.
Established in 1876, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange. A full-service
investment bank, it is primarily engaged in corporate investment banking institutional sales and trading research, individual
private client sales and asset management. Based in New York City, Ladenburg Thalmann also has offices in Boston,
Cleveland, Boca Raton, Fort Myers and Las Vegas.
SOURCE: Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. |
