Foothill Ranch, Calif., April 17, 2007 – Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST), a leading provider of unified communications solutions, today announced that its flagship product, CallXpress, was chosen to replace an aging Octel voice mail system at the University of Maryland Baltimore.  CallXpress was selected by the university’s IT department to provide new unified messaging functionality and VoIP migration capabilities.

The University of Maryland Baltimore was planning a phased migration to voice over IP (VoIP) and determined that its aging Octel system needed to be replaced.  The system would be installed on the university’s professional campus, which is used to educate post-bachelor candidates in the health sciences and human services fields to become doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, lawyers and social workers.  A key requirement was to find a platform that could offer new features but that required minimal training for end-users.  The decision to switch voice mail platforms came prior to the initial VoIP migration, enabling the university to roll out two new technologies to end users in a phased manner.

University officials were introduced to unified messaging by Verizon Business, a trusted partner and AVST reseller.  Verizon Business positioned unified messaging as an attractive alternative to their traditional voice mail system that offers new features and functionality that their current Octel system could not provide.  The university selected AVST’s CallXpress unified messaging solution because it promised a low cost of ownership, easy integration into their IP switch and low training overhead due to the Octel user interface emulation that AVST offers.

AVST’s CallXpress is a best-of-breed unified communications solution that delivers world-class call processing, voice messaging, unified messaging and advanced speech applications. The immediate benefit of installing the system was its ability to integrate with and emulate the Octel system so that the university would not have to invest time and money in retraining its workforce.  CallXpress offers the most comprehensive collection of user interface emulations and migration options, making it the easiest platform to implement with minimal training and interfaces that are already familiar to users.  

“We were impressed with how simple it was to convert our Octel system to CallXpress,” said Paul Petroski, Assistant Vice President in the Center for Information Technology Services at the University of Maryland Baltimore. “Our users love the new system.  CallXpress emulates Octel so well, that training was easy and minimal.  Our users were up and running on the system without delay.”

Although initially the University of Maryland Baltimore sought a communications system that offered the basic benefits of standard voice mail, its users are now taking advantage of a variety of unified communications features.  For example, the CallXpress automated attendant has dramatically reduced the need for human operators to help callers get to the right department.  In addition, the system’s advanced call processing feature enables administrators to track and report on the number of calls coming in and the number of calls being transferred to the various departments on campus.

Another popular new feature is the ability to check e-mail messages over the phone. “CallXpress is changing the way I do business,” added Petroski.  “I use the system on my way into work everyday to screen e-mail and delete unwanted messages.  Instead of having 60 e-mails when I get to work, I only have to deal with 10-20.  CallXpress has made me more efficient.”

With all messages arriving in a single inbox, CallXpress greatly improves message management time.  Its extensive voice mail functionality ensures that all users receive their messages efficiently and have the ability to answer queries promptly.

“CallXpress increases productivity and effectiveness at a minimal investment,” said Denny Michael, AVST’s Vice President of Marketing.  “We designed CallXpress so that it can be tailored to meet the needs of any business in any industry.  The University of Maryland Baltimore deployment is a great example of how CallXpress can save educational institutions time and money as well as significantly improve the productivity of both faculty and staff.”

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.