Avaya to Provide Automated Speech Applications for SpeechTEK 2006
o Event Uses Avaya's Self-Service Assistant Showcasing the Possibilities Enabled by Intelligent Communications and Speech Automation
o Avaya Customer International Speedway to Highlight How Speech Self-Service Technology Can Drive Customer Satisfaction, Sales
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., July 26 // -- Attendees at the SpeechTEK 2006 conference and exhibition will get a close look at how businesses can drive more intelligent communications using speech applications that tap the benefits of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). For this year's event, attendees will use a new Web services-based conference assistant with speech access that has been developed specifically for the show by Avaya (NYSE:AV) and Interactive Northwest (INI), a premier member of the Avaya DeveloperConnection program.
This year's SpeechTEK event is August 7-10, 2006 at the Marriott Marquis in New York, N.Y. The automated conference assistant developed by Avaya and INI for SpeechTEK uses Web services to deliver many conveniences to attendees including:
o Voice-automated access to the conference agenda from any phone.
o Speech-activated directions to vendor booths.
o Maps pushed to the display screens of Avaya VPN phones located
throughout the conference venue.
o A text-message reminder to highlight significant presentations and
events.
o A speech-driven post-conference survey to measure satisfaction.
"The Conference Assistant Application developed for SpeechTEK showcases what is possible when businesses use IP-based speech technology in a service-oriented network," said Eileen Rudden, vice president and general manager, communications applications division, Avaya. "Companies can serve specific business needs by deploying more intelligent services, and features that deliver the critical information people need to make faster decisions and get results."
The application for SpeechTEK was developed by INI, a leading interactive voice response development firm and a Premier member of the Avaya DeveloperConnection program. They developed the solution using the Avaya Dialog Designer speech application tool kit, which provides a VoiceXML-compatible Avaya Voice Portal platform that speech-enables Web services across highly distributed enterprises. Avaya and INI also deployed similar speech-based conference solutions for other events sponsored by Computerworld and the International Association of Avaya Users (InAAU).
International Speedway Uses Avaya Speech Applications to Grow Sales
The latest Avaya speech self-service technologies will soon help enhance customer service and drive event-related sales for International Speedway Corporation (ISC), a leading promoter of NASCAR events and other motorsport activities.
ISC uses applications from the Avaya Customer Interaction Suite to serve the millions of fans who attend their events each year at its premier motorsports facilities nationwide, including the world famous Daytona International Speedway, home of the Daytona 500®. The company already uses Avaya outbound customer contact applications, and plans to introduce speech applications to further personalize customer communications.
Using Avaya Interactive Response technology and an auto-dialer from Avaya DeveloperConnection premiere member Viecore, Inc., ISC records messages to fans from leading NASCAR drivers -- promoting ticket availability and upgrades, hospitality packages and other event-related opportunities. Using information that agents have gathered over time, ISC can personalize outbound messages in the voice of a customer's favorite driver. Message prompts allow customers to transfer directly to the ISC call center where an agent can finalize a transaction -- a capability that will be speech-enabled in its next phase.
"With the outbound program currently in place, we have seen an increase in event-related sales at our contact centers," said Tom Canello, contact center director, ISC. "Hearing a driver's voice has definitely made a difference, and the automated system is very efficient. The fan purchase experience will be further enhanced with the integration of Avaya's speech self-service."
Panels and Presentations Address What's Possible with Speech
Canello and Avaya executives will participate in panels and presentations during SpeechTEK 2006 that will highlight best practices and what's possible when speech is combined with a service-oriented architecture, Web services and intelligent communications. Those presentations include:
* SOA or SOL. Are Service Providers Necessary? Tom Hanson, senior product
manager, CRM self-service solutions, Avaya. August 7, 1:30 p.m.
* Retail: How to Sell More Using Speech Technologies. Tom Canello, Avaya
customer and call center director, International Speedway. August 7,
1:30 p.m.
* Strategic and Management Insights: Trends Impacting Speech
Technologies. Michael Perry, director, voice self-service solutions, Avaya. August 8, 11:00 a.m.
* Avaya Hands-On Demo: Training for Speech Application Development Tools.
Erik Johnson, senior engineer, enterprise communications applications,
Avaya. August 8, 1:30 p.m.
* Deploying Speech Applications: VoIP and Speech. Moderated by Ted Bray,
practice leader, speech recognition and IVR, Avaya. August 8, 2:00 p.m.
* Tools and Techniques: Service-Oriented Architecture. Ted Bray, practice
leader, speech recognition and IVR, Avaya. August 8, 4:00 p.m.
* Keynote Panel. Eileen Rudden, vice president and general manager,
communications applications, Avaya. August 9, 8:30 a.m.
* Avaya Workshop: Streamlining Business with Intelligent Communications.
Kristi Mathus, executive briefer, Avaya. August 9, 10:30 a.m.
* Consumer Electronics & Multimodal: Improving Speech Applications via
Video. Dave Skiba, research scientist, multimedia technologies, Avaya.
August 9, 3:45 p.m.
* SpeechTEK University: SOA Tutorial with Avaya and IBM. Ted Bray,
practice leader, speech recognition and IVR, Avaya. August 9,
8:30 a.m.-12.
Avaya to Demonstrate Speech Solutions at Booth #603
Avaya will use its booth at SpeechTEK (#603) to showcase a broad range of speech-enabled applications, development tools and services, including:
* Avaya Voice Portal, a software platform that supports a service-oriented
architecture and provides a faster, easier way to speech-enable Web
services across highly distributed enterprises.
* Avaya Dialog Designer, an application development tool that gives
businesses a cost-effective way to speed development of self-service
applications in both a traditional telephony and Web services
environment.
* Avaya Unified Communication Center, a mobility solution that helps
workers quickly access important communications tools and information
(including e-mail, voicemail and contacts) via any telephone using
simple and intuitive speech commands.
* Avaya Global Services, an organization of skilled consultants and
technologists offering the comprehensive support businesses need to
evolve to speech-driven self-service and to integrate speech into their
contact center operations.
About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500(R). Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony systems and communications software applications and services.
Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications -- and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services -- Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information visit the Avaya website: www.avaya.com/.
Source: Avaya Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Jonathan Varman, +1-908-953-6432, jvarman@avaya.com; or Investor, Matt Booher, +1-908-953-7500, mbooher@avaya.com, both of Avaya Inc.
Web site: http://www.avaya.com/
