[October 22, 2003] Announcement of Strategic Relationship Metaphor Solutions Announces Strategic Relationship with Microsoft in its Speech Partner Program Metaphor’s Packaged Speech IVR Applications Now Work with Microsoft Speech Server WELLESLEY, MA, October 20, 2003 – Metaphor Solutions, a leading innovator in packaged speech IVR (Interactive Voice Response) applications, has been selected by Microsoft as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) in its Speech Partner Program (SPP). As a result of this relationship, Metaphor’s inexpensive, packaged speech applications will be running on Microsoft Speech Server, which is based on the open industry standard Speech Application Language Tags (SALT). The combined capabilities of Microsoft and Metaphor will result in a quantum reduction in the cost and complexity of implementing automated speech solutions. This enables the widespread adoption of speech solutions by small to medium enterprises. Metaphor Solution’s packaged speech applications provide significant value to call centers by cutting the costs of customer service over the phone through automation and providing a pleasant, consistent and easy-to-use conversational dialog with callers. Examples of automated dialogs in customer service applications include pin reset, order status, phone surveys, mortgage qualification, prescription refill and phone shopping. Microsoft’s Director of Marketing for its Speech Technologies team, James Mastan, said, “With the help of Metaphor’s packaged applications, Microsoft can realize its vision of speech becoming a mainstream, pervasive technology. Our speech platform, combined with Metaphor’s packaged application solutions, will benefit the market by providing wider access to cutting-edge technology solutions that deliver significant business value.” Michael Kuperstein, CEO of Metaphor Solutions, said, “We’re very pleased to work with Microsoft in realizing our shared vision of mass adoption of speech IVR solutions. Microsoft’s ability to educate the market and accelerate the adoption of new technologies, like speech, is unsurpassed in our industry. With both Microsoft and Metaphor focusing on small and medium enterprises, this relationship will allow us to reach more companies with low-priced, high value speech solutions that can be implemented quickly.” Metaphor Solutions is able to provide packaged speech applications from technology that the company created called the Metaphor Conversation Manager (MCM). MCM is the fastest and most flexible speech IVR application generator in the industry. During a speech application, it interfaces with callers, data sources and live agents. The caller interface is achieved through the Microsoft Speech Server by generating industry standard SALT scripts that the server processes. This server then interfaces with the telephone network to reach the caller. Microsoft Speech Server is the most recent addition to the Windows Server System family of products. It is a platform designed to enable the delivery of enterprise-grade, mission-critical speech technology solutions for both telephony (voice-only) and multimodal (speech/visual) applications. About Metaphor Solutions – “Packaging Speech Solutions for Customer Service” Metaphor Solutions, Inc. offers packaged speech IVR (Interactive Voice Response) solutions to call centers and enterprises with the most human-like caller experience at the lowest cost of deployment. The company has the most number of packaged speech applications in the industry. The company delivers this through its patent-pending Metaphor Conversation Manager (MCM) that allows the fastest and most flexible speech IVR application development. This in turn allows small and medium enterprises to enjoy the large labor savings and superior caller experience of speech IVR with significant reductions in the cost, risk, complexity, and time to market. The company’s packaged speech IVR applications run on standard voice gateways based on VoiceXML and SALT. Metaphor markets its applications directly as well as through a network of partners and resellers. Deployments can be hosted or installed on-premise. Callers can dial into Metaphor’s inventory of speech applications and experience them live using the published numbers on the company website at www.metaphorsol.com. # # # CONTACT: Michael Kuperstein Metaphor Solutions 781-239-0137 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]