Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Speech Server is a comprehensive IVR platform for powerful speech-enabled self-service applications. The platform consists of a server with built-in speech recognition and speech synthesis software that can be used for speech-based solutions, plus a most comprehensive speech application toolkit available in the industry.
Speech Server is an open, software-only platform that supports .NET programming languages and voice Web standards like VoiceXML and SALT, and it leverages Visual Studio 2005, which is familiar to one of the largest developer communities in the world.
It is based on the Microsoft future-ready VoIP foundation that supports the convergence of the data and telephony worlds. Part of the strong Microsoft unified communications portfolio of products, this security-enhanced, scalable, robust, and proven platform is widely deployed across many leading enterprises that span many different applications.
Speech Server is the only platform that does not charge a premium for deploying speech technology, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for organizations that want to use speech technology in their business solutions. It offers an unparalleled return on investment through its comprehensive tool sets and low entry costs to get started. Based on the .NET platform, Speech Server applications easily integrate with various back ends using ADO.NET or Web Services.
Speech Server takes advantage of the existing Windows operations, administration, and management infrastructure, making it an ideal choice for organizations that have existing Microsoft server assets. For organizations that do not already own other Microsoft server assets, Speech Server comes with easy-to-use tools that lower the total cost of ownership. Speech Server also includes powerful reporting and business analytics tools that can give clear insight into how your solutions are performing and where to drive process improvements.
State of the art Microsoft speech technology enables you to create powerful business solutions that lead to cost savings and increased customer satisfaction and retention through better service to your customers and increased call center productivity. Innovative technology like Conversational Understanding increases speech application robustness by dealing with incorrect phrases, hesitation from callers, or even understanding when callers are correcting themselves.
Speech technology is becoming more widely adopted by enterprises, and is being used for both for inbound as well as outbound solutions in both call centers or in-house applications.
On top of all this, the rich Microsoft partner ecosystem for unified communications can help you get started today!