IBM alphaWorks Releases Voice Toolkit Preview

IBM alphaWorks is previewing a bundle of technologies for its Voice Toolkit that is intended to bridge the gap between a call center's manager and their technology needs. Since enterprises have had to depend heavily on developers with speech technology expertise, from designing the user interface and dialogue to writing the VoiceXML code and creating the associated prompts. "As businesses across all vertical markets look to manage costs in the call center they are asking for reliable development tools that can help them leverage speech technology," explained Brian Garr, IBM Pervasive's manager of speech technology. "Our Voice ToolKit moves speech up the food chain by making the development process easier and by helping companies realize a return on investment faster." The Voice Toolkit's drag-and-drop Call Flow Builder enables non-IT staff, such as business analysts, to build the application's front end interface and dialogue prior to the voice developer being involved. It is adaptable across all verticals and supports the open standards for both VoiceXML and CCXML, a mark-up language that addresses the way calls are handled in a contact center. For a preview of the Voice Toolkit, visit http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/voicetoolkit.