Telestax Blog

Telco Middleware for Intelligent Voice Apps

Humans are a relationship-oriented species – even if it is with an electronic device. The more interactive the device is, it seems the more addicted we become. And we can easily become obsessed. With the launch of the iPhone in 2007, touch became the primary way we interacted with a device. Texting has become a world-wide obsession. So much so that researchers have become concerned about normal child development. It is not abnormal to see two people sitting next to one another carrying on a conversation by texting each other on their mobile devices. Enter intelligent voice interaction.


Not to worry, we will not forget how to carry on a vocal conversation because now we have smart speakers that have the ability to communicate via interactive voice. If you thought texting was addictive, try intelligent natural voice interaction. It is so amazingly natural, the device will become your new BFF. In 2017 Amazon demonstrated beyond doubt that consumers love intelligent natural voice interaction with over 20 million Amazon Echos having been sold. Millions of Echo devices were sold over the holiday shopping weekend alone.

Smart speakers are eating mobile. Accenture reports 66% of smart speaker owners use smartphones less if they have access to a smart speaker. Further, they reported that sales of smart speakers grew more than 50% in every single one of 21 different countries they surveyed.

Smart speakers are being used for everyday tasks like checking weather, general research and directions. Over 22% of Amazon Echo and Google Home users shop by Voice.

Microsoft has reacted by quickly introducing their Cortana smart home Speakers; and Apple came in with HomePod. IBM Watson based devices are also appearing on the market. And Samsung is no stranger to the race. Consumers have been caught in the crossfire between major brands that have lots of IP behind voice recognition. There is a lot at stake. Who will win?

This weekend I did my own “scientific market survey” in a nearby shopping mall. I stopped by demo booths of Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple. I asked the reps about the differences between smart home speakers. Each rep had been trained to answer politely and not bash their competitors.

Ivelin’s Take:

  • Microsoft’s Cortana speaker stood out with best sound
  • Apple with highest price and premium look
  • Amazon with biggest sales numbers
  • Google with best search (Apparently Echo uses Bing and Wikipedia for search)

The Microsoft rep sensibly admitted that it comes down to brand affinity. If you are a Microsoft fan, you’d buy Cortana. So which one would you chose – not as a consumer but as a business decision maker?

Classic websites and mobile apps use the same fundamental user interface controlled by a mouse and keyboard for over 40 years. “Hunt and peck” is not very natural for human beings who have been perfecting voice interaction for over 50,000 years. It should not be surprising then that people are happy to unmute given the opportunity.

There is a chance that classic e-commerce websites and mobile apps will follow the fate of paper printed Yellow pages. Maybe not this year. Maybe next year. Are you willing to bet against it?

If you choose to act on the trend and connect your business to consumers on their preferred voice platform, how will you prioritize development work? With 5 major platforms and a growing list of contenders, where do you start? And how do you keep up with the fast paced evolution of these new smart interactive voice platforms?

Here is one idea – leverage a telco middleware platform that is built on open source and offers a Visual Design tool and a limitless API. Telestax RestcommONE recently introduced an ASR extension that allows multiple voice control plugins. It’s been deployed successfully in production at large enterprise customer service contact centers.

Developers familiar with the most popular Open Source Communications Middleware are now able to plug in any of the voice control products and reach their users. RestcommONE does the heavy lifting of real time media integration.

Contact us to discuss your intelligent voice project.

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