Hosted IVR

June 19, 2012

Hosted IVR Technology: The Perfect Match for Voice Recognition Apps

By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Nuance's (News - Alert) mobile software platform, utilizing hosted IVR solutions, is expected to boost the company's revenue flows up to $500 million in the next four years. That's double the profits for the maker of voice recognition software. 

Since Nuance began licensing its software for the small mobile app world, sales are estimated to reach $21 billion by 2018. That's a big increase from the $3.5 billion in 2011, according to the tech analysts at WinterGreen Research, featured in this Business Week post.

Siri, Nuance's most well-known app, has launched voice recognition software within the hosted IVR solution into a whole new dynamic. While Nuance sold the app to Apple (News - Alert) in 2010, the technology to control the virtual personal assistant is still in high demand. Other Siri-like apps available to smartphone users are in the development process and many are turning to Nuance to make it happen.

Now, Nuance is creating and selling its hosted IVR solutions of voice recognition software to the health care and financial fields. In the beginning, Nuance struggled with how exactly to price-point this innovative app. Is there a way to charge per use? Do you charge for bulk usages? There was no clear answer so Nuance figured it would simply enable mobile developers to utilize the technology with free tools.

Doing this gave way to an overwhelming influx of new apps, all of which are using voice activated technology alone. It was an ingenious move by Nuance. The company is now flooding the app market with the idea of what voice recognition software can do. It definitely gives those smaller companies and app creators the ability to grow while taking advantage of big-name technology. 

Using the traditional pricing model, however, meant that customers were charged a per-use fee, which was not a popular option. And if the entrepreneur took on the costs on his or her own, well, that's just isn't good business sense. There had to be a way for companies to make a profit and customers to keep downloading and paying for apps. Instead, a common model has been adopted that takes the hosted IVR technology for a flat rate and charges the customers a minimal fee. 

Start ups like iTranslate Voice now have the opportunity to showcase their app's tools and take over the realm of voice recognition software without going belly up.This particular app allows users to speak into their mobile device and have it translated into one of 30 different languages. For only 99 cents, users have a translator on the go and the app has been downloaded more than 500,000 times since it was unveiled in May 2012. If this isn’t innovation in hosted IVR, we may need more realistic expectations.

Edited by Juliana Kenny