Voxeo Talks

A hybrid IVR platform is one that is available as a hosted/cloud-based solution and as an on-premise deployment. Just to be clear, we are not simply talking about two distinct offerings delivered by a single vendor. We mean one platform – offered two ways.   Benefits include the ability to migrate between deployment models at any time or to take advantage of both deployment models at the same time — with no changes whatsoever to your applications. That’s exactly what our partner Tele-Works did to enable Harris Computer Systems to serve a diverse base of utility customers.

Harris Computer Systems provides Customer Information Systems, billing software and other solutions to thousands of utility customers throughout North America. Harris recognized that IVR is a key component to a successful utility’s customer service department, but required a way to serve all of their customers – from the largest to the smallest – with one consistent solution.

Tele-Works provided a Voxeo-powered solution that uniquely supports both hosted and on-premise deployments, as well as inbound and outbound calling, from a single code base. The Tele-Works solution extends across Harris’ complete utility product portfolio, giving thousands of utility customers access to quality IVR at price points that were previously unattainable.  Read the case study here.

Last minute shopping trips, family gatherings, and out-of-town visitors. All contribute to the holiday rush that puts drivers in a less-than-cheery mood. This season avoid traffic backups and other problem areas with 511.

511 is the nationally designated abbreviated dialing code for real-time travel information. Callers can get instant updates on road construction, traffic, weather conditions, and more. It’s a free service that’s currently available to more than 70% of the U.S. population. 511 leverages interactive voice response (IVR) and speech recognition to provide drivers with anytime, “hands-free” access to information. If you find yourself in a jam this holiday season or want an update before hitting the road, give 511 a call. 

Voxeo partner, PBS&J, delivers Voxeo-powered 511 systems in Virginia and North Carolina. PBS&J provides reliable 511 IVR services – even during the holidays when traffic and weather conditions trigger huge fluctuations in call volume. The Voxeo-powered solution ensures PBS&J clients have high availability, on-demand scalability, and cost-effective bursting during usage spikes. Learn more about 511, PBS&J, and Voxeo in our new case study.

For a lot of us, price and convenience have trumped carrier loyalty when it comes to air travel. Additionally, it’s not uncommon to buy a ticket from a major airline only to learn that all or part of your flight is actually operated by another carrier.

1.800.Flights simplifies travel with one-number phone access to continuously updated flight status information across 141 domestic and international airlines – covering all 432 U.S. commercial airports and 173 international airports. The company was the innovation of Seth Stolbun, who saw the opportunity to provide a speech-enabled phone interface to the leading flight status website, FlightStats.

The challenge was that Seth wasn’t a telecom expert nor did he have the telecom infrastructure to support his vision.  That’s where Voxeo’s IVR hosting service came in; eliminating the need for 1.800.Flights to invest in telecom equipment, overflow capacity for handling seasonal spikes, specialists, or speech technology licenses. Equally important, the hosting solution enabled them to get started without upfront capital expenditure. Voxeo even manages the 1.800.Flights application servers in its own fault-resilient, multi-site hosting network. 

The 1.800.Flights application was developed by Voxeo partner, ICOA. Voxeo’s adherence to open standards simplified integration with the FlightStats database of real-time flight information. ICOA to designed the user-friendly voice interface to provide a fast and pleasant experience for both frequent and first-time callers. Support for complex speech recognition grammars and a natural language interface enables callers to get the information they need simply by saying their airline and flight number, or airline departure and arrival cities and dates.

The free service is supported by sponsored voice ads that are integrated with the user interface, providing retailers with a unique, one-to-one opportunity to deliver their message to a qualified, targeted audience.

For more details on the solution, check out our 1.800.Flights case study. And don’t forget to try 1.800.Flights next time you travel.

We just had a big party for my son’s 11th birthday. When all was said and done he had close to $200 in Visa cash and gift cards from Toy R Us, BestBuy, and Target (although he gave this one to his mom, sweet boy).  Prepaid cards have become so popular that we can now walk into the local grocery or convenience store and select from at least a dozen options. Gift giving has never been easier. 

But in the midst of this growth, one payment transaction processing company struggled to quickly deploy new prepaid card programs for their clients. They turned to Voxeo and Chrysalis Software to ease the administration headaches associated with developing and managing client-specific IVR applications that give cardholders automated phone access to information such as account balances and recent transactions.

Prior to Voxeo and Chrysalis, the transaction processing company had to rely on a third party vendor who took weeks to put a custom self-service IVR application in place. We reduced that to minutes and lowered operating costs by implementing a simple web interface that put our customer in control. Equally important was the fact that Voxeo’s hosting solution provides reliability (with a 100% uptime guarantee) and the ability to cost-effectively handle bursts in traffic – like during Christmas or Teacher Appreciation Week when gift card giving is in full swing.

Read more about the solution in our new case study.