Eleven Companies Select Acapela Text-to-speech

After a first experience for MAAF Vie insurance customers, Acapela also powers the MAAF IVR, which manages up to 20,000 calls a day.

MAAF is based on a network of over 600 local agencies and seven "Atlas" call centers (with approx. 50 operators per center). The early choice, in 2003, to use text-to-speech was designed to relieve call platforms and to automate part of the incoming calls to allow agents to spend more time on complex requests as well as to guarantee a service 24/7.

Text-to-speech enables the creation of a voice bridge between written content from a database and the customer looking for an immediate answer.

"The deployment of IVRs allows us to relieve call centers and free up time for the operators who can then concentrate on more complex issues and solve them faster, for the immediate benefit of our customers." says Erwan Joly, MAAF's Telecom project manager.

MAAF servers use text-to-speech to consult MAAF Vie account balances or the status of medical expense refunds for MAAF Santé.

The deployment of Acapela now covers other MAAF insurance activities. Text-to-speech is used to automate requests for printing and dispatching car or home insurance certificates. Customers can also access information on the nearest agency, opening hours, etc. MAAF has selected NextiraOne to deploy its IVR with Acapela text-to-speech.
 
Eight Norwegian newspapers are powered with speech by Acapela.

Since October, a toll-free number allows Norwegians to have main daily papers read out loud to them with Acapela text-to-speech.

The service, called Telefonavisa, helps users with reading difficulties to access daily news, with a toll-free number. The caller navigates the service using their voice. To hear about the latest news, he/she selects the news category to hear the summary. Then the user can decide to hear more about the selected subject or to move on to the next article.

Kari, Acapela's Norwegian voice reads aloud the latest news published on the newspapers' Web sites.

Today, eight Norwegian dailies are available: VG-Nett, Adresseavisa, Aftenbladet, Nordlys, Fedrelandsvennen, Aftenposten, Aften och Bergens Tidende. Telefonavisa, has been developed in cooperation with Norges Blindeforbund, VoiceASP and Acapela Group. Telefonavisa is free and available 24/7.

Learning Software: Clicker 5 community now shares a classroom with Acapela.

Crick Software, a UK software developer specialized in the development of literacy software, has integrated Acapela text-to-speech into its product - Clicker - a multimedia tool, helping people of all abilities to write, at any point of the curriculum.

"This completely rewritten version builds on the tried and tested success of Clicker - used in more than 30,000 schools in UK - and now integrates text-to-speech as a key technology to interface with the pupils. Acapela high quality voices actively contribute to Clicker 5 efficiency and adoption by users of all ages." says John Crick, Crick Software managing director.

With Clicker 5, the end user can click on any word in the Clicker grids to hear it before writing. Or choose to hear letters, words or sentences while typing. Text-to-speech is used to give vocal feedback to the pupils either to help them to turn words into text or to proofread what they have written.

Clicker 5 is already available in U.K. and U.S. English. Additional languages will be added in 2006.
 
Stockholm traffic information voice-tracked with Acapela text-to-speech.

Erik, the Swedish Acapela text-to-speech voice, is the voice for Trafiken.nu, a new Swedish traffic information service which was launched in early December to help drivers with traffic issues in Sweden. Deployed on the Web, the service is also available over the phone to consult the traffic situation in the Stockholm area.

Drivers can consult the traffic information on the Web site. With the service over the phone, they can access the information from anywhere. Using Acapela text-to-speech, the Trafiken.nu phone service will read aloud any information gathered from the Web site. The information is read aloud.