Spanlink Communications Partners with ScanSoft; Leverages Standards-Based Speech Technologies to Deliver Strategic Self-Service Solutions for IP Contact Centers.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MINNEAPOLIS & PEABODY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2004

Spanlink Communications, a leading IP contact center solution provider, today announced a partnership with ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq:SSFT), the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions. Spanlink will offer the SpeechWorks(R) Suite of speech solutions including OpenSpeech(TM) Recognizer speech recognition software, Speechify(R) text-to-speech (TTS) and SpeechSecure(TM) speaker verification software, to contact centers looking to make Interactive Voice Response (IVR) self-service a strategic element of their customer care plan.

"ScanSoft's industry-leading speech technologies, application design experience, and support for industry standards such as VoiceXML, ensure that we can deliver our customers next-generation self-service solutions with a compelling ROI," said Spanlink CEO, Brett Shockley. "By leveraging ScanSoft on the Cisco Internet Service Node (ISN) platform, for example, Spanlink delivers a solution that transforms the way businesses interact with their customers to dramatically increase operational efficiency and improve customer satisfaction."

Cisco ISN provides a Web-based, highly scalable platform for call control services and IVR applications. Among other benefits, ISN allows companies to queue calls at the edge of their network. ISN can take full control of call routing through the entire VoIP networking cloud.

"By tightly integrating call control with IVR self-service at the edge of a voice-enabled network, ISN lets businesses provide the most appropriate service to callers, regardless of their location, at a lower cost," said Barry O'Sullivan, Vice President and General Manager of the Customer Contact Business Unit, Cisco Systems, Inc. "The combination of using Cisco ISN and ScanSoft's leading-edge speech recognition technology will allow customers to leverage the benefits of natural language speech recognition as part of their customer care and call handling strategy."

Spanlink has nearly 15 years of experience developing custom IVR software solutions that integrate advanced technologies, such as CTI, text-to-speech, speech recognition and natural language. Natural interaction with a voice response application can significantly increase caller acceptance of the application, increase usage, and drive operational cost savings in a contact center by decreasing the number of calls that require agent assistance. Spanlink's recent acquisition of Discern Communications patented natural language understanding technology, along with a staff of natural language and linguistics experts, uniquely positions Spanlink to provide leading-edge natural language solutions to contact centers.

"Spanlink's unique competencies are helping contact centers address the growing need for efficient and cost-effective solutions that satisfy customer needs around the clock," said Steve Chambers, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Network Speech Solutions at ScanSoft. "ScanSoft is committed to working closely with partners like Spanlink and Cisco to ensure the delivery of world-class speech solutions that both satisfy callers and improve the productivity of contact centers."

About Spanlink Communications

Spanlink Communications is a leading solution provider for IP contact centers. Spanlink delivers a well-planned and executed path to IP, and next-generation customer care applications that maximize contact center efficiency regardless of where they are in their migration. Spanlink provides contact centers with a smarter way to interact with customers and a simpler way to manage their business. Spanlink Communications solutions leverage web and email technologies, computer telephony (CT) and interactive voice response (IVR) and natural language understanding. Spanlink is the leading reseller-integrator of Cisco Systems contact center products, including Cisco IP Contact Center (IPCC) Enterprise and Express, Cisco ISN, Cisco IP IVR, Cisco Intelligent Contact Management (ICM), Cisco Web Collaboration Option and Cisco E-Mail Manager Option. Find news and information at www.spanlink.com.

About ScanSoft(R) Network Speech Solutions

ScanSoft Network Speech Solutions is the global leader in advanced network speech technologies, applications, and professional services. Enterprise and telecommunications organizations around the world such as AOL Time Warner, Bank of America and Qantas Airways leverage the power and innovation of the SpeechWorks(R) Suite of Network Speech Solutions to redefine the way they exchange vital information with customers and employees over the telephone. With a sales and engineering presence in more than 15 countries, ScanSoft is uniquely positioned to help companies create and implement sophisticated speech solutions that deliver proven economic benefits and the highest levels of caller satisfaction. For more information, visit http://www.scansoft.com/network/.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq:SSFT) is the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information regarding ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.ScanSoft.com.

Trademark reference: Spanlink, Spanlink Communications, and the Spanlink Communications logo are registered trademarks of Spanlink Communications.

ScanSoft and the ScanSoft logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SpeechWorks, OpenSpeech, Speechify and SpeechSecure are trademarks or registered trademarks of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.