AVST Acquires Active Voice
Applied Voice & Speech Technologies (AVST) and NEC Corp. of America (NEC) earlier this week announced a long-term strategic technology relationship including the integration of Active Voice, a division of NEC, into AVST.
In addition to seamlessly integrating AVST's CallXpress Unified Communications (UC) platform with NEC’s IP telephony and unified communications solutions, AVST will continue to manufacture, support, and enhance specific Active Voice product offerings for NEC, its channel partners, and the independent Active Voice channel.
This relationship increases the global footprint of both companies for UC and the addition of the Active Voice division significantly increases AVST’s addressable customer base with a combined 140,000 systems sold worldwide, to date. Additionally, the integration expands AVST’s position in the UC marketplace with a broader set of product offerings, access to additional distribution channels, and expanded engineering resources for accelerated innovation. For NEC, the partnership provides integration of its advanced solutions with AVST’s CallXpress UC platform and expanded sales channel opportunities. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are honored and privileged to enter into this long-term strategic technology relationship with NEC. Extending our relationship with one of the most prestigious global UC solution providers in the market while maintaining our strong independent and interoperable product offerings is a positive step for our customers and our channel,” said Hardy Myers, president and CEO of AVST. “We are also very excited to integrate the Active Voice team and its products into AVST, thereby enabling us to extend our global reach and accelerate our position in the UC market.”
“AVST has been a technology and distribution partner of NEC for many years,” said Ram Menghani, general manager of product management at NEC. “The expanded technology relationship and the corresponding acquisition of Active Voice...reflects our strong mutual commitment to our customers and expanding NEC’s global position in the UC market. We believe that this relationship will help accelerate the customer adoption of our mutual product offerings.”