As in years past, the Innovation Showcase at Enterprise Connect will introduce a handful of "new" companies to attendees. The 2018 Enterprise Connect Innovation Showcase will highlight companies with innovative developments in speech technology.
Speech technology has come a long way from Alexander Graham Bell's famous 1876 line: "Mr. Watson -- Come here -- I want to see you." Today, speech technology enables speech-to-text capabilities, transcription and translation services, sentiment analysis, speech recognition, and much more.
The development of speech technology solutions has recently exploded due to advances in machine learning that help vendors address the challenge associated with the large amount of variation in pronunciation and word choice. Consumer-oriented technologies have significantly improved over the years, and speech technology is now working its way into enterprise settings.
In the Innovation Showcase, we intend to highlight audible speech technology products that have demonstrated value in modern enterprise scenarios (purely textual interactions such as chatbots aren't eligible). We're specifically seeking companies that haven't previously exhibited at Enterprise Connect, with one goal of the showcase being to introduce the audience to new companies (see other criteria here).
Assisting me this year in the judging are Dan Miller and Dr. Joseph Williams. Dan is the founder and lead analyst at Opus Research, known for its expertise in conversational commerce. Joseph is the ICT sector lead for the state of Washington and a 20+ year veteran of the tech industry. We'll be evaluating entries on how innovative they are in addressing enterprise communications capabilities and challenges -- for example, enabling voice interfaces to business applications; creating conversational bots; producing contact center metrics; and integrating with artificial intelligence and analytics for new business applications.
Companies interested in participating must submit a request for consideration; there's no application fee. Showcase participants will share their developments in the Monday morning session, "Innovation Showcase: Speech Technologies"; speakers will get a complimentary conference pass.
Take a look here for more information, submit your application today, and earn recognition and prestige as a technology innovator at one of the largest independent enterprise communications events. Deadline to submit is Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.
Learn more about Speech Technologies at Enterprise Connect 2018, March 12 to 15, in Orlando, Fla. Register now using the code NOJITTER to save an additional $200 off the Advance Rate or get a free Expo Plus pass.
Dave Michels is a contributing editor and analyst at TalkingPointz.
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