A web-based automated phone ordering system for small retailers

Automated phone ordering is not just for big retailers, promises a new web-based application from Metaphor Solutions Inc. and VoiceGenie Technologies Inc. "We have answered the call from small- to mid-sized companies looking to speech-enable their retail operations," said Stuart Berkowitz, president and CEO of Toronto-based VoiceGenie.

The two companies are combining Metaphor`s automated speech recognition applications with VoiceGenie`s VoiceXML Gateway, which allows any telephone to access web-based voice applications. Their application enables customers to call a retailer`s phone number to place an order by speaking into a completely automated system.

Metaphor`s speech application is built on VoiceGenie`s open standards platform, providing for ease of integration with a retailer`s ordering system, the companies said. "Because of the high cost of developing and integrating automated speech solutions, only the largest companies have been able to afford them," said Michael Kuperstein, founder and CEO of Metaphor Solutions, Wellesley, MA. "Now small- to mid-sized retailers can deploy automated speech solutions that deliver the ease-of-use of speech for servicing consumers. This combination will spark widespread adoption of automated retail phone shopping."