Foothill Ranch, Calif., November 7, 2006 – Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST), a leading provider of unified communications solutions, today announced it has installed its flagship product, CallXpress®, at the headquarters of a major UK publishing distributor in the United Kingdom.  COMAG, the UK's most dynamic publishing, marketing and distribution company, chose AVST’s unified communications solution to replace its legacy Octel system, which was reaching end-of-life.

As the country’s largest, most influential third party distribution company, more than 50 percent of the UK's independent publishers have chosen COMAG to represent their magazines.  COMAG’s company philosophy is to work closely with its clients, becoming an extension of their services by caring about their portfolios as if they were its own.  Effective communications is the key to achieving this goal and using the right voice and data communication solution is paramount.

COMAG was using an old Octel VMX100 system for its corporate telecommunications.  Reaching end-of-life, the system became problematic, lacked technical support and did not offer the full functionality required in the fast paced publishing industry.  When the system stopped working properly, COMAG began evaluating alternative solutions for a replacement.  Requirements included a solution that was reliable, competitively priced and would increase COMAG’s efficiency.  COMAG also searched for a solution that would improve on the functionality of its outdated Octel system and could easily integrate with its Ericsson MD110 PBX system, which includes IP capabilities.

COMAG evaluated a number of products with the help of Premises Networks, a UK-based channel partner of AVST.  The company designs, implements, supports and maintains communication solutions for businesses.  After a consultation with COMAG to assess its needs and a subsequent review of solutions, Premises Networks recommended AVST’s CallXpress unified communications solution.

COMAG selected CallXpress because it provides an open standards-based solution and offers an excellent programmable auto attendant.  With over 35,000 systems sold worldwide, CallXpress is recognized as one of the most flexible and economical solutions for the enterprise market.  CallXpress delivers world-class call processing, voice messaging, unified messaging and advanced speech applications that help businesses of all sizes become more productive. 

“CallXpress is ideal for a variety of voice and data convergence needs and can be uniquely tailored to fit businesses and organizations in a wide range of industries,” said Paul Cheslaw, AVST’s Vice President and General Manager, EMEA.  “Its ability to easily integrate with almost any corporate telecommunications infrastructure makes it an attractive choice for any company that is looking to upgrade or replace its current communications platform.”

The CallXpress Advanced Messaging System including PC and MD110 integration was installed and is currently used by approximately 130 COMAG users.  “The installation and set up went very well,” said Sharon Smith, COMAG’s Company Services Manager.  “Not only was CallXpress easy to install, it proved to be so simple for our staff to learn and use that the system was up and running quickly, causing us very little downtime.”

With all messages arriving in a single inbox, CallXpress can improve message management time by 50 to 70 percent.  Its extensive voicemail functionality ensures that all employees receive their messages efficiently and have the ability to answer queries promptly.  The solution provides the administrator with detailed reports and statistical analysis of system usage.  With its global system administration capabilities, CallXpress makes it much easier to manage multiple messaging systems, which lowers the cost of administration, training and support.

Fulfilling an important requirement, COMAG’s CallXpress solution also allows calls to be answered by an auto attendant in certain departments, such as the Subscriptions Department, which receives an extremely high volume of calls. The automated attendant uses Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to provide customers with access to subscription information 24 hours a day.

According to Smith, this service in particular has helped increase customer satisfaction without increasing staff costs.  “The subscriptions department uses the automated attendant to enable callers to place orders for magazines, either annual subscriptions or stand alone issues, without having to hold or call back if the lines are busy,” she explained.  “This service has resulted in a substantial improvement of the department’s processes and efficiency.  It ensures there are no lost calls, and customer requirements are met efficiently.”

About AVST
Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) is a leading developer of communications solutions with over 10 million users that rely on its products and services to maximize their productivity. With nearly 30 years of innovation excellence, AVST is focused on delivering solutions that increase user and business productivity. Its flagship Unified Communications platform, CallXpress®, offers unprecedented interoperability and delivers advanced call processing, voicemail, unified messaging, personal assistant, fax, speech and notification capabilities. With CallXpress, an organization can protect and extend its existing data and telephony infrastructure investment — now and into the future.

Headquartered in Orange County, Calif., AVST maintains facilities in Seattle, Wash. and the United Kingdom and has remote sales offices across the United States. AVST's Unified Communications solutions are sold and supported internationally by an extensive network of resellers and OEM partners. For more information contact Denny Michael, Vice President of Marketing, at 949-699-2300 or access the company's website at www.avst.com.