Message #75 From:
NewsBot Date: October 31, 2006 06:57:00 AM
WIZD News The Asher Group Chooses Wizzard Software to Provide TTS Capabilities for Commercial Telephony Systems
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wizzard Software
(OTCBB:WIZD) announced today that the Asher
Group has chosen AT&T Natural Voices Server Edition for two of their
commercial telephony systems. Asher Group is a full service
telecommunications Application Service Provider. They design, build, and
optionally host applications that require any combination of web, IVR,
and mobile interfaces. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, their
client list includes Eastman Kodak, the American Red Cross and Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
“We did a comparison of several Text to Speech
engines, including some very well-known, high profile competitors,”
said Sam Asher, President of The Asher Group. “The
AT&T engine's prosody was as good as or better than any other engine.
Moreover, it was able to process speech lightening fast, far better than
even the most expensive competitor. It is hands down the best value
around for TTS.”
“It has been a pleasure to work with Wizzard
on this project. I look forward to future opportunities to work together,”
Asher added.
Hyper-Reach,
the Asher Group’s Broadcast Notification
System, was created to simplify the outbound calling process.
Hyper-Reach gives users to the ability to easily create a calling
campaign through a web site portal. The user simply enters the desired
message and selects the target audience, and the campaign is then
initiated.
This calling service is used by several chapters of the American Red
Cross to notify volunteers that their services are needed. The chapters
usually have a large bank of volunteers because only a small percentage
of them are available at any given time that a disaster strikes. Powered
by the AT&T Natural Voices Server Edition, the system will call the
entire bank of volunteers, notify them of the need, and then flag those
volunteers who are available for that particular request for aid.
The Asher Group is also using AT&T Natural Voices for their real estate
lead generation system, Media Capture.
The Media Capture System enables a broker to create a description of a
property which may then be 'read' to a caller in clear, natural sounding
English or Spanish using AT&T’s TTS
technology.
To create the listing, the real estate broker loads any number of
properties, including descriptions, prices and locations of each, into
the system. Each property is then assigned an identification number, and
the property information is made accessible through a call-in system for
potential buyers.
At the same time that the property description is read to the caller, a
search is performed in a nation-wide database to find the caller's name
& address. The caller information is immediately sent as a text message
to the broker, along with the property ID for which the caller inquired.
Appointment scheduling is also an option for the caller.
While some of the descriptions will later use a professional voice
talent to record the description, in many cases the TTS is so accurate
that the listing doesn't need to be recorded with a professional
speaker, creating a quick and cost-effective alternative to voice-over
work.
“We are pleased to provide The Asher Group
with the speech technology they require to make their call systems a
success,” said Danielle Lewis, Marketing
Director for Wizzard Software. “We believe
our customers choose Wizzard Software because they are looking for
competitive port pricing and high-quality TTS for their telephony
systems.”
Founded in 1996, Wizzard Software has become a leader in the speech
technology application development market. Wizzard architects solutions
to business problems using its expertise in consulting, speech
development tools and building speech based applications for the Desktop
and Internet. Wizzard has achieved global recognition because of its
expertise with voice communication whether it is via computer or
telephone. Wizzard's successes have led to expanding speech technology
opportunities in both the government and commercial sectors including
several healthcare industry products and services. For more information,
visit www.wizzardsoftware.com.
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