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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Intervoice Announces Suite of 10 Process-Based Applications for VoiceXML and SALT Environments
DALLAS, As part of its strategy to provide voice solutions that assist enterprises and carriers to exceed end- user expectations through the use of speech technologies, Intervoice, Inc. (Nasdaq: INTV - News), the world leader in converged voice and data solutions, today announced the general availability of its Omvia Voice Express applications suite which supports both leading industry standards Speech Application Language Tags (SALT) and Voice Extensible Mark-up Language (VoiceXML). Transforming critical business processes into conversations, the 10 available and flexible Omvia Voice Express applications enable small to large enterprises and carriers to connect people and information while reducing upfront development costs, deployment timeframes and the complexity associated with application development.
Developed with customer service delivery processes that address business problems, Intervoice identified four horizontal process areas where voice technology is best suited: general information management, customer acquisition, billing and customer care. The General Information Module allows customers to browse through products and services of interest while enabling them to generate information requests for future purchase considerations. The Customer Acquisition Module enables customers to order the product or service of their choice while also allowing their order to be fulfilled and confirmed. With the Billing Module, end users are provided with a method to pay for goods and services through the generation, collection and confirmation of relevant billing information. Finally, in the event a customer needs service, the Customer Care Module provides service requests, service scheduling, service confirmation, returns/exchanges and account information requests.
"With the launch of its Omvia Voice Express suite of process-based packaged speech applications, Intervoice makes it easier for enterprises with high customer touch points to deploy speech-based applications for self- service," said SV Purushothaman, Enterprise Communications Analyst with Frost & Sullivan. "Intervoice is executing a strategy shift to better serve small to medium businesses where lower total cost of ownership and customization are paramount. The value proposition of this offering lies in its ease of customization despite being an 'out of the box' solution, not to mention the inherent flexibility to support industry-leading standards such as VXML and SALT. With the introduction of such packaged applications at affordable prices, Intervoice is empowering enterprises to savor the advantages of speech technology in conjunction with a faster return on investment," added Purushothaman.
"Intervoice is helping customers and developers overcome several of the most challenging aspects of implementing speech applications, and by doing so will make it easier and more cost-effective for different types of companies to roll out these applications," said Blair Pleasant, President and Principal Analyst of COMMfusion.
"Enterprises and their customers are experiencing the need to do more with less," said Ron Nieman, Senior Vice President of Professional Services. "Through our approach, Omvia Voice Express Applications are suited to just about any industry and offer flexibility, convenience, increased efficiencies and affordability while providing enhanced customer service."
Depending on the need for the application, platform and target audience, Omvia Voice Express applications from Intervoice can be used as application templates, turn-key solutions, applications as a service (ASP), configurable applications and developer applications. By having this flexibility, companies can harness the power of early adoption by the developer community while taking advantage of voice applications that suit the needs of both the large enterprises and service providers as well as those of small-to-medium sized businesses.
The comprehensive Omvia Voice Express application portfolio includes:
General Information Management Module
-- Omvia Communicator -- Offers callers fast and efficient access to
other people, places and information resources from any telephone
device at anytime, using simple natural voice commands that combine
the most advanced Voice Activated Dialing functionality available in
the industry. Communicator is built on a proven architecture that
fully supports advanced speech recognition, provides standard
interfaces to the telephony network, and provides a speech-activated
interface to name dialing and corporate and shared address books.
-- Omvia Locator -- Provides advanced, speech-enabled locational
services by city, state, or zip code. Additionally, Omvia Locator
with Cross Street Finder makes finding a retail outlet, kiosk, or
other services easier through speech-enabled cross-street
identification. The Locator module provides generic,
easy-to-configure location-based functionality that can be
customized to meet a wide range of organizational requirements. The
solution can be deployed, for example, to help customers find a
store or a branch office from a caller-specified location such as
cross streets. Locator makes giving consumers directions to any
business simpler and less costly.
-- Omvia Rate Quote -- Offers "fast quotes" to give callers instant
access to popular interest rates. The application captures
information such as property value, loan amount, property type, loan
type and term to provide custom quotes to callers and provides a
library of mortgage questions that can be easily selected by the
financial institution. Omvia Rate Quote also allows callers to
perform complex calculations with quick navigation.
-- Omvia Name & Address Capture -- Accurately captures first, middle
and last names, zip code, city, state, street number, street name
and apartment number. Name & Address Capture shortens call
durations using reverse phone number lookup functionality based on a
10-digit phone number of Automatic Number Identification (ANI) and
provides integrated third-party address verification and notifies
callers of invalid primary and secondary address information.
-- Omvia Notification -- Available as a service, Omvia Notification,
provides reliable and cost-efficient, voice-enabled emergency event
notifications that combine sophisticated monitoring and detection
with advanced push technology to virtually any wireline, wireless,
Internet-enabled or communication device, including voice
telephones, pager, email, PDA, SMS-text messages or a combination of
devices. (see related press release, June 8, 2004.)
Customer Acquisition Module
-- Omvia Funds Transfer -- Advises callers about account eligibility,
balance minimums, transaction limits, and insufficient funds. The
application verifies transfer information before the transaction is
completed, allows callers to change particular pieces of transfer
information without restarting the transaction and supports
transfers from external financial institutions. Funds Transfer also
automatically provides account balances after transfer is completed.
Billing Module
-- Omvia Account Payment -- For credit card holders, callers can pay
the current balance, last statement balance, minimum payment or
custom amount. For mortgages and loans, callers can choose the
monthly payment or a greater custom account. The application
supports mortgage and loan payoffs, payments from external financial
institutions and the setup of recurring automatic payments and
scheduled payments to ease the payment process.
Customer Care Module
-- Omvia Survey -- Allows businesses to gauge customer satisfaction and
conduct televoting initiatives through voice automation. Once a
survey or televoting process is created, Survey answers inbound
calls and queries callers for responses. Companies have the ability
to capture recorded customer comments for further analysis. The
user interface uses text-to-speech or pre-recorded prompts and
records callers' verbal comments. Multiple surveys can run
simultaneously and the caller will be directed to specific ones
based on DNIS or by a Survey Identifier related to their specific
caller account.
-- Omvia Identifier -- Delivers an efficient, cost-effective way to
meet the needs of clients who lose, forget or need to change their
password or Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN and
Password Reset application from Intervoice can be deployed to allow
callers and subscribers to quickly and securely manage these key
self-service system identifiers. Identifier provides a
comprehensive reset solution, including a consistent Voice User
Interface (VUI), caller authentication, and back-end Reset
functionalities that are easily customized for use in a wide range
of industries. The Identifier solution allows callers to log in and
be identified and authenticated, to change their PIN or password,
and then to enforce that change within the automated system, giving
companies powerful flexibility in managing customer ID changes.
-- Omvia Account Information -- Allows callers to retrieve transaction
history, balances and status of a specific check while providing
filters for reviewing transaction history based on date ranges and
transaction types. The application also includes optional warnings
for account balance minimums and activity thresholds.
Intervoice has made speech easy through the definition of industry- specific grammars and reusable application objects that are used as the building blocks of Omvia Voice Express. Through this approach, Intervoice is able to rapidly provide the many industry segments with specific voice solutions that meet end-users' needs.
The Intervoice implementation approach is a four-step process that enables enterprises to select an Omvia Voice Express application of choice, configure it to their needs via tools supporting both .NET and J2EE environments, and choose voice response technologies, through support of the Omvia Voice Framework that supports both .NET and J2EE environments and technologies such as:
Microsoft Speech Server 2004, including support for the Intervoice Telephony Interface Manager (TIM) and Intel TIM,
Intervoice Media Server for Voice XML and -- Intervoice Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) options for call
center deployments.
Additionally, Omvia Voice Express was designed to ensure that enterprises are not "locked in" to technology so that companies can choose an infrastructure, such as those provided by industry leaders like HP and Dell. Powered by Microsoft SQL Server, Omvia Voice Express applications can provide enterprises with valuable operational and business insight. Detailed call logs and out-of-box reports help managers analyze system usage, efficiency and performance.
Applications can be accessed by calling 1-866 TRY-INTV.
Intervoice solutions employ data object modeling and an advanced application control environment, which simplify the integration of back-end systems and protect existing infrastructure investments. These applications also feature a modular construction that allows developers to add or remove functionality without reworking the entire system. Intervoice speech applications incorporate the reporting and business intelligence features needed to measure system performance, caller usage and behavior. All Omvia Voice Express applications are delivered with full documentation, help, technical support and upgrades.
Intervoice offers the Agility Quick Start package of services to support the customer's implementation of the Omvia Voice Express applications. The Quick Start package leverages the Professional Services Agility Suite, a portfolio of services designed to address fundamental business processes as well as how to build, implement and optimize speech applications to best suit the customer's needs and leverage their return on investment (ROI).
Because the user interface design of an application is critical to its success, the Omvia Voice Express applications have been tested at Intervoice's state-of-the-art usability laboratory under the direction of Dr. Susan Hura. Intervoice is a leader in the industry with our Voice User Interface (VUI) Design and Usability Testing offerings. These offerings help ensure that our customers' brand and image are enhanced through their customers' calling experience.
About Intervoice
With more than 20 years of experience, Intervoice, Inc. creates measurable business value by applying innovative speech technology to optimize voice automation solutions. Intervoice provides developers, enterprises and carriers with the platform, software and services necessary to enable an interactive dialogue with technology, resulting in improved operational efficiencies, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Omvia®, the open, standards-based Intervoice product suite, consists of advanced messaging, portal, IVR and payment applications. The Omvia Voice Framework is the most open voice solution on the market, allowing unparalleled scalability and flexibility within a traditional, VXML or SALT environment. Intervoice has sold more than 23,000 systems worldwide including Ameritrade, Amtrak, Citibank, MasterCard, O2, Rogers Wireless, SBC, Travelocity, Verizon and Vodafone. A Microsoft Certified Partner, Intervoice is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Europe, the Middle East, South America, Africa and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit http://www.intervoice.com .
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