Nuance and SaskTel Sign an Agreement to Continue their Partnership

SaskTel has signed an agreement stating that they will continue their partnership with Nuance, which provides a voicemail-to-text service for SaskTel’s wireless and wireline subscribers in Canada.

Nuance’s partnership with SaskTel began four years ago in 2007, and SaskTel was one of the first companies to provide a voicemail to text service. While voicemail to text had initially begun in retail, it progressed into the carrier space and grew into a service that is now widely used, says John Pollard, vice president and general manager of voice-to-text services at Nuance. “It’s really transitioned from experimental to something mainstream, customers love it, it makes voicemail a real valued service,” says Pollard.

Not only does this service allow subscribers to convert voicemail to text that can be accessed via email or text message, it also lets users reply to messages using text or voice. Because the service also allows users to keep a visual record of messages to reference later, there are also possibilities for CRM use. “CRM is not directly built into this service as far as I know, but I’m sure there are companies that use it that way,” says Pollard. “Messages get delivered by email and can be copied and pasted into CRM.”

Pollard asserts that SaskTel’s re-signing holds much promise for the future of the partnership. “The fact that they resigned is a good testament to how they [SaskTel] feels about the relationship. It’s a good relationship, and hopefully we’ll do lots of things with them.”

“At SaskTel we take pride in our commitment to the continuous innovation of service offerings for the benefit of our customers.In 2010 alone we have invested more than $239 million in improving our network,” said Ron Styles, president and CEO of SaskTel, in a statement. “It is imperative that we continue to work with proven technology partners like Nuance to maintain our competitive advantage and serve as a global leader in delivering ‘what’s next’ services.”

Pollard also contends that the business of voicemail-to-text has exploded. “2011 is going to be an absolutely huge year,” he adds. “Most operators feel like they have to offer this service, and most are.”

“The value is quite clear,” he adds. “Never miss a call, never miss a connection; you’ll get that message as an email or a text message. It makes the value of the network that much greater"