The emergence of advanced IVR and speech technologies such as automatic speech recognition (ASR), Text to speech (TTS), Web Services Integration, and speaker verification are providing complete automation of customer-centric business processes and is gradually dispelling apprehensions associated with the earlier IVR systems. Driven by these technological advancements, the IVR market has begun to grow steadily. Real Soft entered into this market as early as 2000 and provides solutions to contact centers and enterprises, integrating business processes with the converged communication networks. P.S.

Hariharan, Chief Technology Officer responsible for the technology leadership, business development, and overall delivery management at the Offshore Center of Excellence in India talks to The SmartTechie about his views on the key trends in the fast growing IVR space.

What are the trends in the Voice technology space?
Today, many large enterprises are replacing their first generation systems with upgraded technology such as speech, since many of their initial purchases were made at the time of making Y2K upgrades. This is because IVR and speech technologies offer a proven value proposition and are becoming an integral part of the customer service function. Interacting with a speech-based application simplifies self-service menus, generates higher levels of satisfaction and allows better experience for the customers. Currently I see three main trends in this space:

Developing personalized and dynamic menus:

Sectors like banking usually have a large list of services. An IVR for this means having an endless number of menus to navigate through, and a customer often stops midway due to the long process of getting at his desired service. Hence we have now started to develop personalized and dynamic menus that adapt to user behavior. So now a customer need not go through the traditional menu to complete his or her day-to-day transactions.