This article originally appeared in the Aug. 2011 issue Customer Interaction Solutions

Speech technology is evolving as a tool for ensuring smooth, efficient, and effective communication between customer and vendor. As customers are finding new and increasingly more convenient channels – with convenience determined by each individual – customer service organizations are faced with adapting to these new customer behaviors. That means diversifying technology to accommodate the growing use of mobile devices and integration of multimodal communications into their customer facing technologies. But perhaps more than anything, customers demand quick, simple resolution to interactions, which means vendors must ensure – in both inbound and outbound channels – they have the latest, most functional and user-friendly speech interfaces as part of their technology deployments.

Fortunately, the vendors offering such solutions also recognize the growing demand for powerful and versatile advanced speech recognition and analytics technology, and are meeting that demand with their latest upgrades and new products, designed for easy customer engagement and speedy resolution. A key consideration is automation, which not only reduces cost, but often results in the most efficient resolution and maximum ROI – though the ability to quickly move from automated to agent-based interaction is also a necessity.

Customer Interaction Solutions has always encouraged and recognized technology innovation, seeking to highlight those technologies that drive increased customer satisfaction through efficient customer communication. In this issue, we present the winners of the 2011 Speech Technology Excellence Awards, recognizing vendors that have proven their commitment to the speech industry and are driving the evolution of speech applications.