Something in changing the Future of Telephony, a Revolution is coming…

Asterisk, The Open Source PBX created by Mark Spencer from Digium has enjoyed rapid growth over the past 10 years. As a result, the company has been able to challenge larger, more established competitors to claim more of the market. With Asterisk software, companies can adopt corporate phone systems that are designed to be easier to customize and cost a fraction of traditional proprietary systems.

This is only the beginning of the change and it’s first time that Digium is reported by Gartner.  All Asterisk’s ecosystem members know that Asterisk is growing fast in the market, like other open source projects (firefox, apache, linux…) have already done.

Source: http://mediaproducts.gartner.com/reprints/microsoft/vol6/article15/article15.html

A decade of ICT growth driven by mobile technologies

Acording to ITU World Telecommunication: Mobile cellular has been the most rapidly adopted technology in history. Today it is the most popular and widespread personal technology on the planet, with an estimated 4.6 billion subscriptions globally by the end of 2009.

67% of people in the World have a mobile phone, this is the real critical mass to think more about speech self-service applications today… Growth of mobile phones users is twice faster than Internet fixed and mobile broadband users.

Source: ITU World in 2009: ICT Facts and Figures

According to opusresearch; Phone-based self-service has taken on new meaning as phones morph into multi-functional wireless devices and contact center functions are distributed throughout the globe. Conversational Access Technologies now involve asynchronous interaction among individuals using Web services over the phone lines. Adding the human touch to traditionally automated self-service activities gives companies the option to leverage existing staff and IT infrastructure or outsource operations to managed or hosted service providers.

By Dan Miller

This very interesting report includes a PDF summary to download.

Source: Foundations 2009: Voice Self-Service Meets Web 2.0

According to T3i Group‘s latest research, the global interactive voice response (IVR) market, which includes speech recognition, will grow to $514 million by 2013, up from an estimated $431 million this year, due in part to the growth in VoiceXML (VXML) technology.

The market for IVR is gaining new life due to a resurgence of self-service applications; the power of VXML to link Web applications to voice; and increasingly sophisticated outbound applications, including video on cellphones,” noted Ken Dolsky, Program Director for T3i Group’s InfoTrack for Converged Applications program. “Every vertical segment has some unique opportunities, and vendors are providing both solutions and guidance as to how IVR can improve the total customer experience with customer-pleasing applications to replace the stereotypical perception of IVR as only an endless loop menu.”

T3i Group segmented the analysis in this report by technology, applications and vertical industry.

Among the key findings:

* IVR  ports shipped, 95% will be VXML
95% of IVR ports shipped in 2013 will support VXML, compared with less than 75% today. VXML enables Web sites to offer the same text-based applications, such as order entry, with speech recognition.

* Top 3 IVR applications are self-services
The top three IVR applications are incoming call handling for contact centers; inbound self-service transactions; and outbound calling, such as appointment confirmations, collections reminders and repair notifications.

* Inbound calls to contact centers will annualy decrease nearly 10%
As vendors and enterprises integrate IVR into more comprehensive customer-care solutions, IVR ports shipped specifically for inbound calls to contact centers will decrease nearly 10% each year to 2013.

* Outbound IVR growth 12% annually through 2013
In comparison, IVR port growth will be driven by outbound applications at a rate of almost 12% annually through 2013.

* DTMF versus Speech Recognition evolution 1:2 by 2013
DTMF port shipments are declining, while shipments of speech ports, which recognize speech or convert text to speech, will hold an almost 2:1 advantage by 2013.

* TDM will be 10% compare to IP/SIP IVR ports
IP/SIP port shipments are growing strongly year over year; by 2013, only 10% of all IVR ports shipped will be TDM, compared with 42% today.

For more information about the InfoTrack for Converged Applications 2008 IVR Market Report, go to http://www.telecomweb.com/marketresearch

Source: http://www.telecomweb.com/aboutus/pressreleases/262963.html

Very interesting point of view from Nick Jones, member of the Gartner Blog Network about how we are not focusing on the critial elements of our effective comunication channels. Today, it’s really easy to think large screens mobile devices  are The best solution for any user’s interface but VoiceXML portals and advanced IVR services are a key factor for a smart communication evolution. Are you ready for small to be the new big? (more…)

According to the recent Forrester Enterprise And SMB Networks And Telecommunications Survey, North America And Europe, Q1 2009, 32% of the 279 network and telecommunications managers surveyed indicated they planned to upgrade their IVR in the next 12 months.

Before a decision is made, companies need to consider their options for upgrading their IVR and compare the differences between premise based and network based voice portals. Voice portals are standard based platforms that support multiple speech or touch tone applications.

Forrester’s survey indicates 22% of companies plan to add speech applications this year to improve automation of customer transactions and provide better customer service.

Look For the Solution That Best Fits Your Business

Network based services provide a means to support advanced applications from a carrier’s network. The benefits of network based services are flexible OPEX pricing and faster time to deploy new services. Forrester’s Wave on network based IVR/voice portals provides an in-depth look at major vendors offering these services and insight into their value added solutions.

Premise based solutions also support advanced VXML speech applications on native-SIP platforms. These standards-based platforms support innovative multimodal applications and provide Web service for integration with third-party cloud services. Organizations that want greater control over their application find premise based solutions better suited for their business.

By Elizabeth Herrell
Check out Elizabeth’s research

Source: http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2291&blogid=23

According to DMG Consulting, the next two years are going to be sweetbacked, money-raking years: The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Market to Grow to $2.7 Billion by 2011. It’s now a better time for IVR with Innovation, quick deployments, and cost effective products with a high-value proposition and rapid ROI; VXI* VoiceXML browser solutions are aligned with this vision.

In a press release, the consulting firm said that the recession has actually sped up the pace of IVR adoption and “infused momentum into the hosted/managed service” market-the latter being a trend that we’ve all been noticing around the office since back in January.

“Self-service IVR solutions are important for enterprises in good times and become critical when budgets are tight, because they are highly effective in automating interactions that do not require the cognitive capabilities of live agents,” says Donna Fluss, President of DMG Consulting. “Many of the hosted/managed service IVR providers have come to market with inbound and outbound offerings that are highly responsive to the economic and technical challenges of their customers and this is speeding up the pace of adoption.”

Press Release – DMG Consulting LLC
On Tuesday June 9, 2009, 8:00 am EDT
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Market to Grow to $2.7 Billion by 2011

Sources:

• http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Interactive-Voice-Response-iw-15474671.html/print
• http://www.dmgconsult.com/publications/press_releases.asp?id=31