GIA Predicts Robust Growth for Speech
Global Industry Analysts released of a comprehensive global report on the speech technology market, which it projected to exceed $30 billion by 2020, driven by growing sophistication of industrial machinery and consumer devices.
This growing sophistication represents the primary growth driver for the industry, which GIA says is quickly transcending beyond conventional corporate uses, such as, automated speech-enabled interactive voice response (IVR) systems at contact centers and medical reporting, to mass-market products, such as, personal navigation devices, personal computers, laptops, industrial machinery, automotive telematics, and mobile handsets, among others.
Robust demand for automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), and speaker verification (SV) solutions will drive future growth in the market, the firm says, adding that decades of refining technology development and product innovations have fashioned the present-day ubiquitous speech recognition systems as an indispensable part of new-age applications.
From searching addresses on mobile phones to accessing public information on the Internet, from dictating messages to computers and controlling consumer appliances to converting voicemail into email, the use of simple and natural speech commands has and will continue to gain significance, according to GIA.
Automated speech recognition represents the dominant product market. Starting out as support applications, speech recognition solutions have evolved into core applications penetrating several industries, including airlines, banks, medical transcription, warehousing, inventory management, and security brokerages. Voice recognition is fast becoming a statutory and much demanded security measure for service companies.
Penetration of speech recognition technology in consumer applications is also intensifying, with the focus resting on accuracy, efficiency, and speed, the company found. Consumer applications of the technology range from rudimentary voice-enabled alarm systems, to vocal stock quote smartphone apps and voice-based email. Commercial and consumer demand for wireless devices and unlimited information access represent major growth drivers prompting even austere businesses to host solutions on cloud-computing platforms. Rapid proliferation of gadgets and smartphones coupled with technological advancements are also promoting growth in the market. With modern fast paced, on-the-go lifestyles leading consumers to use mobile phones even in environments where both hands and eyes are engaged, demand for speech technology solutions for mobile communications is forecast to grow exponentially in the coming years. Robust sales of wearable devices are slated to create huge business opportunities for voice recognition systems.
As stated by the new market research report, the United States represents the largest market worldwide, followed by Europe. Increasing adoption of speech technology in automobiles and in-car systems, availability of innovative and sophisticated ASR systems and software, and growing inclination of enterprises towards advanced enabling technologies represent key growth drivers in these developed markets.
Asia-Pacific ranks as the fastest growing market with a compound annual growth rate of 20.5 percent through 2020. Robust economic growth, booming enterprise segment, increasing adoption of the e-governance model, expanding business process outsourcing, low current penetration levels, and the development in enterprise IT infrastructure particularly in emerging markets such as China and India, represent important growth drivers in the region.
Key players include 24/7, Acapela Group, Apple, Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Avaya, Cisco Systems, Convergys, Dimension Data, Genesta Partnership, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Honeywell Scanning & Mobility, IBM, Intel, LumenVox, Microsoft, Netcall Telecom, Nuance Communications, Sensory, Speech + Mobility, SpeechFX, Syntellect, Telisma, Voxware, and Wizzard Speech.