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Simply speaking, voice holds promise

Personalized wireless services must demonstrate value and ease of use to capture our imaginations.

by amol joshi
May/June 2001

The Internet fueled a boom in technology, spawning innovation around the globe, while causing the world to shrink, and markets to soar beyond everyone’s reasonable expectations. It is exciting to be part of this technological and cultural revolution.

My career in the voice industry began at Matsushita, working at the headquarters research and development lab in Osaka, Japan, following the collapse of Japan’s so-called “bubble economy.” Electronics giants such as Matsushita survived and eventually prospered by refocusing on new products that combined simplicity of design and ease of use to create value. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career.

As we witness the casualties of today’s high-tech bubble, one question is on everyone’s mind: What does it take for a high-tech company to succeed in today’s economy?

Technology must demonstrate value. For mainstream adoption, it also must be easy to use. In the wireless market, technology shines when it employs elements that are natural and personally beneficial to people. Voice applications, because of their intuitive ease of use, provide a unique opportunity to advance the way people use the phone. This is especially true for wireless users, who are busy people on the go.

A number of companies in the market today are developing personalized voice applications targeted at wireless users. One is voice dialing, which enables one to dial a number simply by speaking it into the phone. Even better is the voice-enabled address book, which contains your personal and professional contact list, input either via voice dialer or the Web. All you do is ask for a contact by name. The address book can synchronize with your personal organizer, such as a personal digital assistant or your e-mail software.

The concept is simple. Rather than fumbling with your cellular phone to locate and dial a number while driving, you simply pick up the phone and speak. Essentially, you use the phone as you’ve always used it–except voice technology replaces the dial tone with the voice dialer, and touchtone with voice tone.

Wireless carriers are interested in personalized voice technology because of the potential increase in monthly subscription fees and minutes of use.

It offers variety to consumers and differentiates carriers from competitors. Personalized services also offer stickiness–the act of capturing consumer attention and, more importantly, holding it–the bottom line of Web business success and, increasingly, wireless carriers as well.

So, how will today’s high-tech companies succeed? My answer: Technology is about people. High-tech companies must provide people– whether business users, mobile youth or consumers–with a service both valuable and easy to use. Personalized services are the key.

Naturally, it will take time to identify and develop the mainstay voice services, which will change as people’s needs change. For now, perhaps our greatest hurdle is to manage our expectations for voice technology; its potential is great but requires time to mature. Voice technology is in the early stages of its deployment, but it is here to stay. There are countless opportunities already in development and yet to be imagined.

Amol Joshi is the co-founder and vice president of marketing at BeVocal Inc.