Speech Recognition Technology Moves Beyond Customer Service Applications

A growing number of companies are deploying speech recognition technology in areas of the enterprise outside the contact center, in environments where costs can be reduced and worker productivity enhanced through the use of speech.

According to recent report by independent analyst firm Datamonitor, The Future of Speech in Mobile Field Services, one of these growth areas for speech is in enterprise mobility for field services. Datamonitor expects global enterprise spend on speech-enabled mobile field force solutions to more than triple from $20 million in 2006 to $72 million by 2010. Datamonitor defines mobile field services as the combination of technology and services that enable field workers full access to enterprise data repositories at the point of service. In the context of speech-enabled field services applications, speech provides a complementary interface that enables mobile field force workers and mobile devices to complete multiple transactions in a defined workflow. For example, a utilities mobile field force worker is able to input information via speech input through his/her mobile handset in real time and in doing so create, update and close various work orders. According to the report, there are several factors that will affect the market trajectory for speech-enabled mobile field services. These include integration of speech in enterprise applications by enterprise software vendors, increased systems integrator focus on speech for service transformation and mobility enablement, and the addition of speech-enabled solutions in pure-play mobile offerings, among others which are detailed in the report. Source: www.dmreview.coma>