Healthcare driving speech recognition technology growth

The automation of healthcare processes is the main driving force behind the growth of speech recognition technology, according to a report released by Datamonitor this week.
Healthcare currently represents 85% of the market for PC- and server-based speech recognition technologies.
“Patient information is gradually becoming digitised in order to address issues with delivering records and test results faster,” said Aphrodite Brinsmead, analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report. Speech recognition is also being used for medical transcription, easing pressure on transcriptionists and allowing healthcare providers to save on staffing costs. Medical transcription is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar market and speech recognition vendors are taking advantage of this. [click heading for more]

Interactive Voice Response - 2008 tipped to be inflection point for Voice-XML-based IVR

2008 is tipped to be the inflection point for Voice-XML-based IVR. According to independent market analyst Datamonitor, the number of Voice-XML based IVR ports shipped will surpass traditional IVR ports for the first time. IVR automated systems save businesses money and employee resources, while making routine services and inquiries available to the public 24 hours a day. In its latest report, “Understanding the Changing Role of IVR in Evolving Infrastructures”, Datamonitor predicts global investment in IVR licenses will increase from $475 million in 2006 to $845 million by 2012 as the business climate warms up for Voice-XML platforms. By 2009 almost 69% of IVR shipments will be Voice-XML-based platforms.

VoiceXML tipped to become the dominant platform for IVR technology in 2008

VoiceXML, which is the open standard software-based approach in interactive voice response technology, is proliferating at a rapid rate as businesses demand greater flexibility, agility, affordability, scalability and innovation in interactive voice response solutions. Datamonitor research suggests that 2008 will be an inflection point for VoiceXML-based interactive voice response (IVR), with the number of shipped ports utilizing the technology expected to surpass traditional IVR ports for the first time.

The advent of web-based, open-standards like VoiceXML, and other next generation platforms, has opened up new possibilities for personalized phone self-service by simplifying the design, development and management aspects of IVR. Datamonitor predicts that global investment in IVR licenses will increase from $475 million in 2006 to $845 million by 2012 as the business climate becomes accustomed to VoiceXML platforms. By 2009 almost 69% of IVR shipments will be based on VoiceXML.

Mature markets like North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa are seeing a lot of replacement and upgrade activity. According to Datamonitor, these markets will witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% and 9%, respectively, from 2007-2012. But it is the greenfield opportunities in the emerging markets of Asia Pacific, the Caribbean and Latin America that are growing at the fastest rate, with predicted CAGR of 18% and 14%, respectively, over the same period. [click heading for more]