Faster processing, better noise reduction techniques and more sophisticated speaker differentiation are enabling voice recognition technologies to realize their long-awaited potential. With worldwide software revenues expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2007, this emerging industry owes much of its growth to advances from the critical triad of automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS) and speaker verification (SV) technologies that represent its cornerstones.

Promising applications for these technologies are expanding dramatically. Virtually every enterprise sector is looking to speech-enabled features to help implement its business models. Brokerages, airlines, and banks are increasingly adding voice recognition functionality to not only enhance their telephone-based customer contacts but also to alleviate security concerns. Personal digital assistant (PDA) manufacturers are hoping to increase the "stickiness" of their products by adding speech-enabled Internet browsing. Help desk providers are adding voice recognition capabilities to their help lines to educate users and alleviate call queues.

Objectives Of The Study And Its Contribution

While voice recognition technologies promise to address the pent-up demand for automated customer care solutions, realizing that promise will require changes to customer preferences as well as to the economic climate. Whether obtaining stock quotes from a landline telephone call, driving directions from a cell phone call, or accessing the Internet from a personal digital assistant, consumers are not only increasing their expectations about the content quality, but also about the quality of the experience.

Traditional habits persist. No matter how compelling the content or efficient the transaction, many consumers still prefer to talk to a live operator. They also carry the baggage of past unsuccessful experiences with speech recognition applications that were implemented by early industry adopters.

Additionally, choosing voice recognition solutions represents a significant IT investment. In the aftermath of the worldwide economic downturn of 2001, many companies feel compelled to keep discretionary spending to a minimum. They find it hard to justify spending those dollars on technologies that are often considered more strategic than obligatory to their survival.

Yet feedback from call centers that have already embraced speech-enabled processes provides compelling evidence that properly integrated voice recognition applications can help companies realize cost savings of as much as 80%. Given the continued adoption of wireless devices and the increasing demand for unlimited access to information, it is a good bet that many enterprising companies will choose voice recognition solutions for competitive advantage even when the short-term economic landscape remains murky.

This report analyzes in depth voice recognition technologies and the market and applications they serve. It addresses such questions as:

• Who is using these technologies?
• What benefits do they accrue from using them?
• At what price points do they buy them?
• Which markets will reap the most benefits from their adoption?
• Which issues must be addressed to generate a successful return-on-investment?