ShoreTel adds Siri features with SpeechBridge!

Anybody who has used Siri or Google to ask for directions while driving, understands the importance of being able to navigate through an automated attendant menu using voice commands! Natural language, speaker independent speech recognition has come very long way and can be economically integrated into every ShoreTel system deployment. One of the best kept secrets in the ShoreTel community is the availability of a low cost, high performance voice recognition solution that makes your digital automated attendant understand human speech! Folks driving along, even those stuck in a traffic jam, cannot be pressing extension numbers into their iPhone! Why not let them “speak” a name or extension number? Siri does it and so can your ShoreTel system.

SpeechBridge can hear!

Enter SpeechBridge by Incendonet of Encinitas, California! The company offers a speech recognition appliance, optimized for ShoreTel systems that can give your Automated Attendant ears! Using a SpeechBridge, callers can “Say or Press 1 for Sales;” or “Please say the name of the person you are trying to reach.” SpeechBridge easily eliminates that frustrating “spell by name” touch tone, key pad game that dumb automated attendants expect callers to play.   SpeechBridge can also integrate with your Calendar and Email systems!  The product is easy to install, and easily interfaces with back office systems like Exchange and Active Directory.

Easy to Configure!

As the name suggests SpeechBridge establishes a SIP trunk to your ShoreTel system.  Inbound calls are directed to off premise extensions, where 2-8 ports of powerful speech recognition, are available to play the normal role of an automated attendant.  Though the SpeechBridge can collect touch tone digits, it is optimized for Speech and the spoken word!  Callers can say an extension number, voice navigate a menu or speak an internal user’s name. Using SpeechBridge “sounds like” patented technology, the system will sort through names and phonetically match the sounds uttered by the most inarticulate callers!

The system has a unique Scripting and Menu editor which enables you to rapidly implement new call trees and custom IVR applications. Use the bundled system prompts or upload your own prompts! The system can be used to look up, confirm and reschedule or create calendar events like appointments. The SpeechBridge can even create transcriptions of your voice messages and send it to your email!  There are a variety of fully formed APIs that enable third party integrations for those who seek to use the appliance in custom applications.

Adoption Strategy!

When Voice Mail systems first came to market,  smart marketeers would install them free of charge with each new phone system, on a “try it, if you don’t like it we will take it out” basis.  Thirty days later, there is no way you could take away someone’s voice mail system!  We recommend you make the SpeechBridge a standard part of your ShoreTel deployments! Give them the Speech enabled Automated Attendant.Then grow recurring revenue adding the many other applications where TTS “text to speech” and SR speech recognition can be applied! Include SpeechBridge menu and directory maintenance as a “service” offering and differentiates your company’s ShoreTel implementation!

The technology is not difficult to understand, implement or maintain!  Incendonet has an excellent dealer education program, superior technical support and a growing product portfolio of speech enabled applications! If you like Siri on your iPhone, you will love SpeechBridge on your ShoreTel.  The product is certified by ShoreTel and fully supported by Incendonet!  Add Speech Recognition to your ShoreTel today, by calling Incendonet at 760-944-7698 and ask for Sales!  (Before you ask us, yes, SpeechBridge can be integrated with any VoIP PBX that supports SIP trunks!)