Sound Advantage Takes New Name, Acquires the Captaris CallXpress Product Line and Readies New Speech Technology
Recast as Applied Voice and Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST), the Company Sets Out to Lead New Era in Unified Communications
Foothill Ranch, Calif., (September 30, 2003) – Sound Advantage, LLC announced today the restructuring and renaming of the company to Applied Voice and Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST), reflecting the company’s expanded focus on bringing to market the core technologies required for effective and powerful unified communications solutions. Concurrent with the name change, the company announced that it had completed the acquisition of the CallXpress® voicemail and unified messaging product line from Captaris, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPA) and that it is preparing to launch its next-generation speech application, Seneca™ in the fourth quarter of 2003.
“The renaming of our company to AVST and the acquisition of the CallXpress product line marks a major milestone in company’s history,” said Hardy Myers, President of Sound Advantage. “The synergy that exists between CallXpress and our proven speech-enabled technology provides us with an unparalleled unified communications solution for businesses of all sizes.”
The CallXpress acquisition is part of the company’s strategic business plan to expand both its technology offerings and customer base and positions AVST to take a leading role in the burgeoning unified communications market. The acquisition includes the retention of key products, technology, employees, office facilities in Bellevue, WA and a world-class engineering lab for research and development activities.
“We plan to leverage the expertise of the CallXpress and Sound Advantage engineering teams to integrate CallXpress with our next generation speech-enabled application, Seneca. The combined solution will provide superior voicemail, unified messaging, unified communications and speech technology to our current and prospective customers,” added Myers.
AVST plans to incorporate its existing and future speech recognition applications into the CallXpress product line and will also continue to sell its speech products separately. Under the terms of the agreement, Captaris will retain a 10% equity stake in the newly formed company.
The newly integrated AVST software solutions will enable users to access their company’s communications infrastructure including voice mail, email, and fax messages from any voice or data device – desktop, laptop, PDA, wired phone or cell phone - either via a touch-tone or speech interface. The ability to check messages, anywhere, anytime, greatly increases productivity and, more importantly, enables customers to make the connections they need faster.
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Media Contacts:
Kerry Fedro
Lages & Associates
949.453.8080
kerry@lages.com
About AVST
The typical enterprise communications infrastructure is made up of a collection of technologies from multiple vendors, acquired over time and never intended to work together. To maximize user and business productivity, while leveraging existing IT investments, interoperability is a must.
AVST delivers the industry's most interoperable Unified Communications (UC) platform that brings best-of-breed voice, mobility and business process solutions to the enterprise. Unlike virtually every other UC vendor, AVST does not constrain customers with a single vendor lock-in approach. In fact, it's the very opposite. By connecting new and existing technologies, AVST frees organizations from the constraints of a closed, single-source UC solution, unlocking the full potential of their communications infrastructure.
With over 15 million users worldwide and three decades of innovation excellence, AVST is unifying communications®.
Headquartered in Orange County, California, AVST maintains facilities in Seattle, Washington, Victoria B.C., Canada and the United Kingdom and has remote sales offices throughout the United States. AVST's UC solutions are sold and supported worldwide by an extensive network of resellers and OEM partners. To learn more about AVST, our products and partners, please visit www.avst.com or you can follow us at Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
View a 1 minute movie about AVST:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSqx3YQ-PNQ
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