We were looking for an opportunity to enhance our interface with our customers, and felt that SpeechWork s technology could fit that bill, says Nancy. We could have easier navigation for the multitude of functionalities in a self-serve environment. But Not Less Touchtone Nancy believes voice will eventually replace touchtone systems, but that won t happen yet. She says that First Union will eliminate touchtone only after customers are completely comfortable with the voice system. Ultimately, voice offers more self-service options.
Funds transfer between accounts for both retail and business customers.
Customizing The Program First Union has worked closely with SpeechWorks to flesh out its customized program, though its actual development is outsourced. SpeechWorks main competitor is Menlo Park-based Nuance Communications, Inc., which has customers such as American Airlines, Charles Schwab, UPS and Sears. Nancy says she met with Nuance and SpeechWorks at the same conference, and while both offer comparable products, First Union decided on SpeechWorks. We like the allegiances that they have built, Nancy says. SpeechWorks will do the user interface design and design the specification for the system, and then First Union will send it to another partner to actually develop the product, Nancy says.