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March 1, 2001
VocalPoint Technologies announced it has partnered with SpeechWorks
International to deliver voice applications. VocalPoint Technologies
offers unique products and services that provide immediate
voice access to HTML Web content and applications from any
phone. Under the agreement, VocalPoint will integrate SpeechWorks'
text-to-speech engine, Speechify, into its proprietary VoiceBrowser
technology, allowing VocalPoint to rapidly deliver voice solutions
to Global 2000 companies.
Businesses face growing customer demand for immediate and
simple access to information and services. While companies
have invested billions of dollars in developing Web sites
to deliver content, products and services, the reality is
that the phone, not the Web, is ubiquitous. VocalPoint's voice
browsing technology automatically converts HTML content to
voice, quickly extending existing corporate Web assets into
phone services with minimal development requirements. Using
the Speechify engine, VocalPoint's VoiceBrowser retrieves
existing Web content, synthesizes the text in real-time and
delivers it in an easy-to-understand audio format over any
phone. Callers can listen to information that changes regularly
such as e-mail and weather reports, in a pleasant-sounding
voice.
Speechify, a product of the strategic partnership between
SpeechWorks and AT&T, capitalizes on 30 years of AT&T
Labs research developing human sounding speech with sophisticated
language analysis capability. The result is a next-generation
text-to-speech engine that sets the standard for natural voice
tone and intelligibility.
"VocalPoint Technologies is dedicated to helping companies
provide their customers, partners and employees with immediate,
easy access to critical information and services," said
Kurt Losert, CEO of VocalPoint Technologies. "VocalPoint's
VoiceBrowser enables organizations to quickly build voice
solutions directly from HTML content with no rewriting of
content and minimal up-front investment. SpeechWorks' industry
leading text-to-speech technology strengthens our business
offering, and is part of a longer-term partnership to continue
to provide the best voice solutions to our customers in the
future."
"We're pleased to team with VocalPoint Technologies
to improve the efficiency and profitability of Global 2000
companies and carriers," said Steve Chambers, vice president
of worldwide marketing for SpeechWorks. "SpeechWorks
and Speechify are enabling businesses around the world to
offer flexible, scalable and cost-efficient voice solutions."
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