Something new is always happening in the interactive voice response (IVR) community, and we’ve got all of the latest in this rapidly evolving industry. So let’s just jump right into it then, shall we?

This week, Microsoft (News - Alert) announced that it will begin a partnership with ICSI for providing improved voice recognition technology advancements. In working with the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI), who specializes in voice technology, it is striving to take the next step in making voice recognition devices as realistic as possible. Together, these companies will work to make good on this ambitious goal. Robert Pieraccini, director of ICSI, even recently published a paper examining voice technology and its long and evolving history.

 "We get the benefit of working with the world-class people at Microsoft, but also get to work on real problems. It's very important for us to work on real problems, on real data, which we don't have and Microsoft has,” Pieraccini added.

In other news, Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) reported in “North American Mass Notification System Services Market,” that the North American mass notification system services market is continuously growing, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.9 percent from 2008 to 2013, mainly due to the utilization of advanced technologies including interactive voice response (IVR).

In light of this, Send Word Now, a provider of emergency notification and incident management services, is now offering what is officially deemed as the mass notification industry’s first fully integrated, next-generation IVR Designer, aimed to improve mass communication. This new IVR Designer tool enables users to completely customize customer call flow and user experience, as well as offer a new and innovative way to control the interaction between employees and customers via voice and messaging services.

Wrapping up this week is news that Telecoms World, the U.K.’s leading supplier of so-called 08 and 03 numbers, has unveiled its new auto attendant system aimed at best assisting businesses that deal with large volumes of incoming calls. Suitable for businesses of all sorts, however, Telecoms World’s IVR auto attendant system can be set up according to various and specific business needs. For example, it provides a series of options in terms of routing calls according to department as well as has an initial welcome message reflecting the company’s brand – performing all of these tasks simultaneously. The best thing about this new advancement is that it will significantly improve overall customer service efficiency by allowing customer calls to be routed to the best possible person for handling specific inquiries.

That’s going to wrap up this week’s interactive voice response (IVR) news, but be sure to check back in next week for all of the latest – only here at TMCnet!

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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