For Immediate Release: 03-Dec-2001
Mexico City, MexicoAvaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a global leader in corporate networking
solutions and services, announced an agreement with Ford Credit, a
leading financing, insurance and leasing company in Mexico, for the
deployment of Avaya Multi-Media Contact Center Solutions and Latin
America's first advanced Self Service Solutions with natural
language speech recognition (NLSR) in Spanish. The new implementation enhances Ford Credit's self-service
capabilities to improve customer service and control costs per
contact. Self-service options reduce hold times, offload repetitive
transactions and provide service 24 hours a day. In addition,
natural language speech recognition makes automated self-service
faster and easier. "Our goal is to make each telephone interaction as natural and
human as possible for our customers, and Avaya's solution gives us
the opportunity to meet their expectations with the highest
standards of service," said Gabriel Guerrero, systems engineer at
Ford Credit. "This technology will enable us to route calls to the
agents who are most qualified to respond to a customer based on the
car financed and the type of credit required, all aimed at
providing a unique and satisfying customer experience with each
interaction." Designed to recognize natural language, Avaya's Self Service
Solutions give callers the ability to obtain information about
their credit balance and different forms of payment available, as
well as to request invoices and car insurance quotes without having
to navigate through cumbersome menus or to press buttons on the
telephone touch-tone pad. Instead, a customer can provide or
request information simply by speaking commands into the handset.
The advanced characteristics of the natural language speech
recognition software, supplied by SpeechWorks International, Inc.
(Nasdaq:SPWX), a global leader in speech recognition and
text-to-text speech (TTS) technologies and services, include a wide
vocabulary and complete grammar analysis in Spanish, enabling the
system to understand conversational language. The natural language
speech recognition software increases the options for customer
self-service in the contact center, thereby increasing customer
satisfaction and loyalty, as well as improving the productivity and
cost-effectiveness of the contact center. "Avaya aims to be at the forefront of offering innovative
solutions to businesses in Mexico so they can excel in the new
customer economy," said Laurent Pruvost Cantú, managing director of
Avaya in Mexico. "This innovative solution allows Ford Credit to
provide unparalleled customer service by enabling customers to
simply speak their request and get the information they need
quickly and easily." Once customers have navigated through the system, they can
choose to speak to an agent or hang up. When the choice is made to
reach an agent, Avaya's Multi-Media Contact Center Solution will
intelligently route the call to the agent most qualified to respond
to the specific customer request. To speed service and accuracy,
the agent will also automatically be able to view the customer's
information on a computer screen. Avaya's Multi-Media Contact
Center Solution provides the intelligent routing and Computer
Telephony Integration (CTI) capabilities that enhance the quality
of the customer's interaction with the company and optimize the use
of the agent's knowledge and skills, which improves
productivity. "We are excited to deliver this advanced speech service to Ford
Credit, improving the customer experience and reducing costs," said
Steve Chambers, vice president of worldwide marketing,
SpeechWorks. Avaya is a global leader in contact centers. Avaya CRM leverages
expertise in Interaction Management, Commitment Management, and
Business Intelligence to deliver customer-focused solutions that
turn a variety of today's business problems into opportunities. These customer-focused solutions are designed to help businesses
build long-term customer relationships consistently and
cost-effectively by managing customer interactions across all forms
of communication channels (including the Web, e-mail, fax and
advanced telephony systems), delivering on commitments, and
measuring the results of those interactions. About Avaya
Avaya, headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., USA, is a leading
global provider of communications solutions and services that help
businesses, government agencies and other institutions excel in the
customer economy. Avaya offers Customer Relationship Management
Solutions, Unified Communication Solutions, Hosted Solutions,
Multi-Service Networking Infrastructure, and Converged Voice and
Data Networks " including the company's no-compromise
Enterprise-Class IP Solutions (ECLIPS) " all supported by Avaya
Services and Avaya Labs. Avaya is the worldwide leader in unified
messaging, messaging systems, call centers and structured cabling
systems. It is the U.S. leader in voice communications systems.
Avaya is an official partner for the 2002 FIFA World Cup¢, the 2003
Women's World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup¢ championships. For
more information on Avaya, visit its website at http://www.avaya.com. AboutSpeechWorks
Through the power of SpeechWorks technologies, the human voice is
all a caller needs to access instant information and conduct
transactions from any landline or wireless phone. Around the world,
customer service innovators such as CIBC, Thrifty Car Rental and
Hyundai Securities are realizing returns on SpeechWorks
applications that consistently delight and serve customers 24 hours
a day. With over 100 partners, SpeechWorks (Nasdaq:SPWX) delivers
natural language speech recognition, speaker verification and
text-to-speech (TTS) solutions to leading corporations,
telecommunications providers and government organizations
worldwide. For a description of our products, services and unique
customer programs such as the SpeechWorks Here¢ Guarantee, call
617.428.4444 or visit www.speechworks.com. | 
