Nuance Applauds World Wide Web Consortium's Advancement of VoiceXML 2.0; Company, Customers and Partners Lead Adoption of Speech Standard.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2004

Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN), the voice automation expert, today announced its support of the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) decision to advance VoiceXML 2.0 to W3C Recommendation, commonly regarded in the industry as a Web standard. In taking this step, the W3C has confirmed the importance of accelerating the worldwide adoption of technologies that make information and services accessible via voice and phone. In the same way that the HTML standard helped drive Internet development, VoiceXML will continue to assist in the broadening adoption of speech recognition for access to everything from airline reservations, weather reports and account status to automated directory assistance.

Nuance, whose speech engines, platforms and packaged applications power mission critical voice automation solutions for large enterprises and telecommunications companies, played an integral role in the authoring and editing of the VoiceXML 2.0 standard. Hundreds of companies around the world use Nuance VoiceXML products, including Bell Canada, China Unicom, Countrywide Financial Corporation, Digital DataVoice, GE Polymerland, HTI Voice Solutions, Japan Telecom, National Express, NTT Software Corporation, PB Farradyne, Swisscom IT Services, Tennessee Valley Authority, United Utilities, USAN, Valero Energy Corporation and Wells Fargo & Company.

Nuance credits VoiceXML with making voice automation more accessible and also driving the market adoption of speech solutions. "Nuance has always worked to help enterprises and telecommunications carriers realize the benefits of speech -- from higher automation rates and boosted customer service levels to lower call center costs and increased ROI -- with open, standards-based platforms and applications," said Dan Burnett, VoiceXML Forum board member and Software Engineer at Nuance. "VoiceXML is critical to helping companies leverage their existing IT infrastructure and lower total cost of ownership. The W3C's advancement of VoiceXML 2.0 will accelerate companies' adoption of speech technologies worldwide."

The W3C's recognition and promotion of VoiceXML 2.0 from a "Proposed Recommendation" to a "Recommendation" comes after a rigorous evaluation process, involving more than 500 tests and eight implementations in both prototype and fully released products. VoiceXML is part of the W3C's Speech Interface Framework, a group of interrelated standards used to develop speech applications. The Speech Interface Framework also includes Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML), the Speech Recognition Grammar Specification (SRGS) -- also advanced to W3C Recommendation status -- and Voice Browser Call Control (CCXML). The Speech Interface Framework's specifications, according to the W3C, "will allow an unprecedented number of people to use any phone to access appropriately designed Web-based services."

About Nuance

In markets around the world, leading enterprises and telecommunications carriers -- including Avon, British Airways, Expedia, Nomura Securities, OnStar, Sprint PCS, United Parcel Service, Vodafone and Wells Fargo -- have worked with Nuance to ensure the best possible results from their investment in voice. Nuance is the global leader in voice automation, providing software and solutions to more than 1,000 companies worldwide. Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN) is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.

About the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 400 organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to Nuance, including, for example, those relating to the business and customer benefits attainable by using Nuance speech products. There is no assurance that the results contemplated by any forward-looking statements will be realized. The following factors, risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements: the risk that any of these products will not achieve anticipated or projected customer adoption, performance levels, caller satisfaction, cost savings, automation rates or other benefits in some or all circumstances; and other factors described in Nuance's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Nuance's last-filed Form 10-K. Nuance does not undertake to update any oral or written forward-looking statements that may be made by or on behalf of Nuance.

Note to Editors: Nuance is a registered trademark of Nuance Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.