PHILIPS AND TELEPHONETICS ENTER PARTNERSHIP
Leading players form alliance to bring sophisticated speech recognition technology to mid-market enterprises and DECT users
(PRWEB) July 17, 2002
Leading players form alliance to bring sophisticated speech recognition technology to mid-market enterprises and DECT users
Hemel Hempstead, UK and Cambridge UK, 15th July 2002--Speech technology specialists Telephonetics have entered a three-way partnership with converged communications solutions provider Philips Business Communications (PBC) and Philips Speech Processing (PSP).
Under the partnership, Philips Speech Processing’s market-leading software-only speech recognition and natural language understanding engine SpeechPearl will be integrated into Telephonetics’ ContactPortal®. A voice activated directory aimed at the corporate market, ContactPortal® uses advanced telephony for call routing.
Philips Business Communications will then market Telephonetics’ ContactPortal® to major companies and organisations in both the public and private sectors within the UK.
The initiative will enable Philips Business Communications to include a sophisticated speech recognition system in its portfolio for the first time and will provide Telephonetics with a new route to market.
“Telephonetics have a development that we find particularly interesting - and one that we’re very keen to put to our own prospects,” said Alan Everitt, business development manager at Philips Business Communications, which will be targeting mid-market enterprises with ContactPortal®.
“Speech recognition has to be the most natural way of communicating and it’s now reaching maturity,” he added. “Not only does Telephonetics’ ContactPortal® provide companies with an ideal method of improving productivity and providing operator services electronically, it also offers a very clear return on investment.”
First launched earlier this year, Telephonetics’ ContactPortal® uses advanced speech recognition technology to answer, transfer and make telephone calls. It’s the first of its type in the UK to offer call screening and mobile working and allows staff to filter out calls from people they’d rather not speak to as well as forwarding calls to employees wherever they’re working.
Philips Business Communications’ Alan Everitt says he sees a wealth of opportunities for Telephonetics’ ContactPortal® for example among DECT users – particularly in the health and engineering sectors.
“Speech recognition technology is perfect for people on the move who don’t have access to directories or desktop facilities,” he said. “All they have to do is say the name of the person they want to speak to and they’re put straight through.
“Importantly, it can also be integrated with Philips’ own switches extremely quickly and easily.”
Commenting on the alliance, Paul Welham, Telephonetics’ director of sales and marketing, said: “We see our relationship with both parts of Philips as important to the future of our company.
“Philips have excellent technology, high brand awareness and - being European - a clear understanding of the needs not only of the European end user market place, but also the needs of specialist telephony software houses like us.”
Chris Ford, regional sales director of Philips Speech Processing, added: “This is an exciting relationship and offers Philips and Telephonetics the opportunity to maximise their collective sales capability.
“Using our latest SpeechPearl recognition software, Telephonetics have been able to develop a market leading, voice based contact solution for the mid market corporate sector. This is set to revolutionise the way people make contact with clients, colleagues and friends.”
About Telephonetics (www. telephonetics. co. uk)
Telephonetics specialises in the development of high-end digital computer telephony and speech recognition projects from conception through to specification, software creation, hardware installation and support. Its clients include large corporations, who rely on Telephonetics for its detailed and specialist knowledge of computer telephony and speech recognition.
Wholly owned and funded by the founders, Telephonetics currently controls approximately 75% of the UK multiplex cinema IVR market. It also provides bespoke developments, generic products and managed services for other industries, and has a blue chip client base that includes BT Cellnet and Avaya. Its solutions use best of breed open-systems technology from Aculab, Intel, Philips Speech Processing and Nuance.
About Philips
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 32.3 billion in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 186,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges.
News from Philips is located at www. philips. com/newscenter (http://www. philips. com/newscenter )
Media contacts:
Alexandra Gaede
Philips Speech Processing
(+49) 241 8871 - 302
Alexandra. gaede@philips. com
About Philips Business Communications
Philips Business Communications is a leading supplier of converged communication solutions to major companies and organisations in both the public and private sectors within the UK. We add value to our customers through delivering an extensive portfolio of best of breed products and services, which include:
Contact Centres and associated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, IP Telephony, voice and data networking, voice processing and Integrated Voice Response (IVR), Unified Messaging, command and control systems, cordless and mobile telephony and networking services.
For further information please contact:
Sue Friday
Texbridge Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 1634 666693
Email: mailto:sue@texbridge. co. uk
Http://www. sopho. philips. co. uk (http://www. sopho. philips. co. uk)
Richard Ferguson
Philips Business Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 468753
Email: mailto:richard. ferguson@philips. com
For further information on Telephonetics, please contact:
Paul Welham
Sales & Marketing Director
Telephonetics - "Making Sound Business Sense"
Www. telephonetics. co. uk
Tel: +44 (0)1442 242 242
Mailto:PaulW@TELEPHONETICS. CO. UK
Or Tracey Williams, PR Consultant: +44 (0) 1225 723237
Mailto:twpr@compuserve. com
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