Contact centers are getting a helping hand with Interactive Voice Response, or "IVR" technology from Vodafone Turkey (News - Alert), a mobile communications provider. The telecommunications company recently launched a new service meant to safeguard privacy for people who use voice applications.

 

Vodafone Turkey has partnered with PerSay Ltd., a biometric speech verification service provider, to launch its so-called "Voice Identification Service." The technology uses voice biometrics, or “voice prints,” to identify callers for customer support. Voice biometrics, like a fingerprint or iris scan, offers a viable way to identify an individual because each person’s voice is authentic based on various components.

 

PerSay’s (News - Alert) "VocalPassword," which will power the service, verifies a speaker during an interaction with an IVR or a voice application. The system was integrated with Vodafone’s Voice Portal Platform, bolstering secure self-service applications, Vodafone said.

 

The technology is designed to enhance customer service and improve the efficiency of mobile service providers, the company said. What’s more, it’s designed to combat identity fraud.

 

VocalPassword integrates with existing IVR and VoiceXML (News - Alert) platforms. The system is built to meet global security standards and is used to secure access to remote services, telephony and Web applications, PerSay said.

 

Services such as voice biometrics-based authentication solutions are gaining momentum for various organizations, Vodafone said.

 

The technology is useful for customers, Vodafone said. Customers who use it can avoid having to remember multiple PINs, or undergo a cumbersome and expensive manual authentication process, the company said.  And for contact centers, it can be a time-saver. Contact centers spend as much as 12 percent of their call duration, on average, with a representative confirming a customer’s identity.

 

PerSay said that its experience in deploying large-scale voice biometric products, as well as its technology were among some of the reasons why Vodafone selected its voice authentication solution. The company last year entered into a partnership with Exodus, a Greek software firm that implements customized software solutions for banking, financial services and telecommunications industries.

 

Vodafone made headlines recently as Vodafone Egypt recently deployed the ATG Commerce Suite to gain new multi-channel commerce and customer service capabilities. What’s more, the company, which provides mobile services to residential and business customers, is launching its own mobile application store and plans to give developers 70 percent of retail revenue. The store is slated to roll out this summer, TMCnet reported.

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