VoiceXML is an extension of the XML (extensible markup language) standard which, combined with speech recognition technology, enables interactive access to the Web through the telephone or a voice-driven browser.
It allows people with an ordinary telephone to access the Internet, receive and send e-mail, check sports scores, make reservations, and so forth. It also supports mixed-initiative and user-directed dialogues, which means that the user is not locked into a directed script, but can speak more naturally. The longer-term goal is to make the exchange as natural as possible, as if two humans are interacting on a topic around which both of them have an anticipated degree of knowledge.
The VoiceXML standard leverages the advances in telephony and Internet convergence, making it possible to drive sophisticated telephone solutions.
Shaun Cochrane, executive director, Intelleca Voice & Mobile.
The VoiceXML standard leverages the advances in telephony and Internet convergence, making it possible to drive sophisticated telephone solutions. The reasons for the enthusiastic uptake of speech-based solutions are not hard to find. These solutions offer a natural, friendly, conversational and interactive user experience. In addition, they offer several tangible benefits to business:
* Ease of development: No special skills are required to voice-enable Web resources with VoiceXML as it uses the voice extension to XML without requiring any changes to back-end interfaces. This means that any business unit can independently manage its voice-based developments without the need for any proprietary-based or low-level skills, or additional training. This is an easy-to-use resource that can be easily accessed and used by any business unit in a company.
* Channel-independent content dissemination: Content can, with relatively little effort and minimal reformatting of back-end content generation style-sheets, be provided for both voice and regular Web applications, using the same databases that are being used to generate Web or mobile content.
* Focus on application development: The resulting client-server model allows back-end application developers to insulate themselves from the front-end interactive voice response (IVR) hardware and software, resulting in the very important separation of content and presentation - the original reason for developing XML in general and VoiceXML in particular.
* Lower total cost of ownership: VoiceXML gateway architecture lowers total cost of ownership because it permits highly centralised applications that can be accessed by multiple channels (Internet, intranet, telephone, mobile).
* Quick time to market and flexibility to extend and enhance services: VoiceXML permits clients the flexibility to easily extend and modify existing suites of applications and incorporate additional partner services.
* Low cost of development: Using VoiceXML, existing Web-based applications, new features and enhancements can be easily voice-enabled.
* Convergence of development resources: VoiceXML allows for the convergence of telephony, mobile and Internet development resources into a single application development resource without the need to bring in specialist low-level integration skills for each channel.
* Ease of maintenance across all channels: VoiceXML`s simplicity in maintenance strongly contrasts against that of IVR systems, where changes to a Web site or back-end database require low-level integration on the IVR system to ensure these changes are uniformly applied.
* Full Web-based functionality: VoiceXML-based technologies support full Web-based functionality, including filling in forms, reading out tables, recording voice responses, filling in fields for user identification and selecting from drop-down menus. This range of functionality allows for the building of far more powerful systems than traditional IVR-based systems.
* A natural speech platform: VoiceXML inherently supports a fully interactive, conversational-style, speech interface and has inherent support for advanced speech recognition, text-to-speech and speaker verification (voice biometrics). This makes speech services very easy to develop and deploy.
* Richer telephony services: The opportunity provided by VoiceXML as the standard application development language for the voice Web, is to transform the telephone into another type of Internet access device. This provides callers with hands-free, eye-free access to information, transactional capability and other services now accessible only by computer.
When implemented by people with the right skills and experience, speech-based solutions offer a natural, friendly, conversational and interactive user experience. Simple to use and easy to understand, they can be built, deployed and maintained painlessly and inexpensively.
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