back to news main Callware Selects SpeechWorks Speechify 2.1 TTS Engine to Power Its Unified Messaging Platform; Callegra .UM unified messaging solution to offer small to large enterprise businesses enhanced Windows 2000 architecture leveraging the power of web services and Microsoft’s .NET SANDY, Utah, May 22, 2002 - Callware Technologies, Inc., today announced an exclusive agreement with SpeechWorks International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWX), the global leader in speech recognition and text-to-speech (TTS) technologies and services, to integrate Speechify™ 2.1 text-to-speech software into Callegra .UM, Callware’s next-generation unified messaging solution. “SpeechWorks has made tremendous advances in TTS technology with their Speechify 2.1 product. We evaluated several competing TTS products and found that Speechify offered the best voice quality while remaining very efficient, making it an ideal fit for Callware’s Callegra .UM architecture which includes both a customer-ready solution, and a worldwide development platform,” said Steve Giusti, Vice President of Sales for Callware Technologies. “The release of Callegra .UM will dramatically extend the scalability of Callware’s current Callegra line for our customer base and create additional opportunities with developers seeking to enhance their own offerings with the power of Callegra .UM functionality.” Callegra .UM is Callware Technologies’ next generation Microsoft Windows 2000 platform for unified messaging and unified communications that offers new scalability and networking capabilities that extends its profile into large and multi-site enterprises. Callegra .UM leverages Web Services, XML, Microsoft .NET, SOAP, CSTA, SQL, SAPI 5, IMAP and SIP with the latest software development tools to enable unified messaging and speech services for voice and fax to exist in Microsoft Outlook/Exchange, Lotus Domino, GroupWise, POP3 email inboxes or in Callegra .UM’s universal browser based web client. Each Callegra .UM server will support well over 144 ports and multi-site or multi server environments can communicate with a single SQL data store via the Microsoft Management Console for ease of administration. Current scalability benchmark testing has validated the ability for Callegra .UM to support several hundred thousand simultaneous users per server. Additionally, the Callegra .UM Development Platform offers complete unified messaging functionality to developers or integrators seeking to add voice and fax services to their own server or client-based applications. Through the use of XML Web Services, Callegra .UM brings the idea of communications convergence to a whole new level by providing real opportunities for all types of communication to co-exist. “SpeechWorks is excited to deliver its Speechify software to the Callegra .UM platform,” said Steve Chambers, chief marketing officer at SpeechWorks. “Callware offers a powerful solution for small to large enterprise companies that are looking to increase communications efficiencies and productivity with unified messaging. Callegra .UM also provides an ideal environment for developers to deploy sophisticated unified messaging applications via XML Web Services.” Speechify 2.1 software delivers extraordinarily natural synthesized speech, a new, custom voice and a formal program for producing new custom voices, and provides new tools that allow service providers to mix TTS and recorded prompts naturally. With new rate and volume controls, Speechify 2.1 TTS software offers increased flexibility in application development, resulting in more accurate and natural-sounding TTS. With Speechify 2.1, companies can cost-effectively deliver information over any phone or device through TTS so natural it approaches real speech. Speechify 2.1 will be available on the Callegra .UM platform which will be generally available in July 2002. Don't Miss Global Speech Day - May 21-22, 2002 Join SpeechWorks for its second annual Global Speech Day, a live and free 2-day Web event May 21-22, 2002. Global Speech Day features top business and technical minds leading the way in the deployment of and vision for speech solutions and services. This year’s international event includes presentations and interactive panels from leading companies and analyst firms such as ABN AMRO, America Online, Datamonitor, Intel, InterVoice-Brite, The Kelsey Group, Merlin Telecom, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, Wildfire, Yankee Group and many others, along with online chat, breaking news, and live audience polls. If you are interested in the speech industry and where it is headed, you won't want to miss Global Speech Day 2002. For more information and registration, visit http://prg.globalspeechday.com. About SpeechWorks Through the power of SpeechWorks technologies, the human voice is all a person needs to access instant information and conduct transactions from a phone or device. Around the world, customer service innovators such as America Online, Bell Canada, Microsoft and Yahoo! are realizing returns on SpeechWorks applications that consistently delight and serve customers 24 hours a day. With over 170 partners, SpeechWorks (Nasdaq: SPWX) delivers natural language speech recognition, speaker verification and text-to-speech (TTS) solutions to leading corporations, telecommunications providers, device manufacturers and government organizations worldwide. For a description of our products, services and unique customer programs such as SpeechWorks Here S.T.E.P.™ (Speech Technology Evaluation Process) call 617.428.4444 or visit www.speechworks.com. About Callware Technologies Callware manufacturers voice mail and unified messaging solutions that are speech enabled and are distributed through OEM partners and a worldwide network of trained resellers that provide local expertise for small, medium and enterprise-sized businesses. Since its inception in 1994, Callware has received numerous awards for its product innovations and leadership while serving customers both domestically and abroad. Located in Sandy, Utah, contact Callware at 800.888.4226, or on the web at www.callware.com SpeechWorks, Speechify and SpeechWorks Here S.T.E.P. are trademarks or registered trademarks of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2002 Callware, Callegra, Callegra .UM, CallegraDESK, CallegraFAX, CallegraTTS, CallegraVOICE, CallegraWEB, Solo VoiceMail are trademarks of Callware Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.