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Voice control is the future. Just like touchscreen technology revolutionized smartphones, and the ability to use gestures launched new gaming and fitness applications, the possibilities for hands free operation is just beginning. ARCchart forecasts that 1.8 billion mobile phones with some form of voice control functions will ship globally by 2016, accounting for almost 90 percent of the handsets shipping that year.

When IBM starts talking about best practices, it's usually a good idea to start taking some notes. IBM has been in the software-and of course, the hardware-game for a very long time, so when it starts talking about the best way to do the job, as it recently did, there's usually something valuable on hand for those who are also in the midst of developing software. This most recent round would not disappoint, and IVR expert Plum Voice was quick to cover the news.

The growing popularity of mobile devices is certainly not lost. The sheer growth of smartphones, tablets, and the associated software for the same – be it app or otherwise – has been too pronounced for too long to go easily unnoticed.

If you're a Kindle owner who is just a little jealous of your iPad friends' rapport with Siri, you may have reason to be jealous no longer. Amazon newly revealed that it has acquired Ivona Software, a speech synthesis company that competes with Nuance, Apple's speech technology partner.

Today, Visa revealed the launch of its all new plug-and-play mobile money platform, which it has developed to help make the process of offering financial services to customers both more simple and cost-efficient for financial institutions and mobile operators. Reportedly, this is the world's first ever bank-grade managed service for mobile money, which The Financial Post explains as meaning that it allows Visa to host and fully manage all aspects of a mobile money program on behalf of the provider.

Yes, you read that correctly - and now, you've heard it all. If you think interactive voice response (IVR) is just for the call center, think again. Yes, navigating the self-service channel is a great customer interaction tool for those who like to complete their own transactions, but at the same time, it makes a great portal to push out vital information in a variety of industries and situations. As of late, the healthcare industry has proven to be a valuable niche, so let's look into this further.

The next release of Microsoft's popular games console, Xbox, is rumored to include significant speech recognition technology and sensors that let the console know who is in the room.

Call centers today don't look like they did 20 or even 10 years ago. While they provide the same basic operation – servicing customers – the technology has changed. The amount of media available for customers to use to reach out has doubled or even tripled thanks to such things as the Web, mobile apps and social media, and it will continue to make a huge impact on the customer experience as a whole.