For Immediate Release
Susan Barich
Director of Business Development
Silicon Valley World Internet Center
650-462-9800
barich@worldinternetcenter.com
VOICE TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS GATHER AT WORLD INTERNET
CENTER
Leading technologists meet on neutral ground
to map out the next hot voice-driven enterprise applications.
Palo Alto, CA—September 25, 2000 -- The best minds in voice
and speech-related technologies convened at the Silicon Valley World
Internet Center (http://www.worldinternetcenter.com)
last week to brainstorm voice-driven enterprise applications for
the next 12-18-month market.
In the next few years, it is expected that most
people accessing the Internet (particularly globally) will not do
so using a standard PC, but through wireless phones and PDAs (personal
digital assistants). Since these new Internet devices aren't conducive
to extended typing, many believe that voice technologies will have
to be deployed.
"Today, devices are getting smaller and smaller,
but as my boss is fond of saying, 'our fingers aren't,' says Sunil
Soares, Program Director, Product Management, IBM Voice Systems.
"So, voice is the most natural way to go for companies that want
to deliver simple and faster access to information from anywhere
at anytime using any device -- no matter what the size."
Additionally, voice and speech-recognition technologies
are being aligned for large-scale systems deployment across enterprises.
The latest Think Tank Session at the Center focused on how these
technologies could be applied and utilized for cross-enterprise
applications.
Thirty high-level executives and technologists
represented leaders in the voice markets, including IBM, SAP, Hewlett-Packard,
BeVocal, Nuance Communications, TellMe Networks, VOCI Corporation,
and Speechwise Technologies.
Technologists and executives explored the user
experience to-date with voice and speech-recognition technologies
and focused on market approaches to voice-enabling enterprise applications.
Participants debated suitable applications for voice enablement
with the use of VoiceXML and other voice and speech-related technologies.
The characteristics of a "good" voice-enabled interface in contrast
to "poor" interface were discussed, as well as the strengths and
weaknesses of modularized speech objects or dialogue components,
barriers to the development of natural-language recognition, and
the economically viable characteristics of the technologies that
do work for voice applications.
What voice market developments are coming up in
the next 12-18 months? According to Bruce Grant, key practice director
of advanced technologies for Dallas-based Luminant Worldwide Corporation
(NASDAQ: LUMT), "Natural-language Understanding (NLU), which allows
for conversational interaction, will become more prevalent. PIMs
(personal information managers) will gain momentum; multi-modal
PDA's and cell phones will improve as voice drives data and data
drives voice; and voice server providers will take off."
SILICON VALLEY WORLD INTERNET CENTER
The Center, a dynamic think tank, showcase and
collaboration facility for the advancement of eMarkets and Internet-related
technologies, is currently sponsored by key companies in the Internet
revolution: Amdocs, Inc., Deutsche Telekom, Hewlett-Packard Company,
IBM Corporation, Metiom, SAP, and Sun Microsystems.
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