Microsoft kills off Speech Server

Microsoft plans to integrate Speech Server 2007's functionality into Office Communications Server 2007, but it has vowed to continue supporting the old product until 2014.

The software giant chose the SpeechTEK 2006 conference in New York to announce the decision to cull Speech Server as a stand alone product, in favour of integration with the unified communications offering, which ships next year.

Microsoft says that the move will benefit both IT professionals and business decision makers alike, suggesting developers can create or extend applications using the technology's integrated application programming interfaces (APIs). In turn, it says, businesses will be able to add to their bottom line through the introduction of new revenue streams.

"Over time, two infrastructures have evolved within most organisations - telephony and software," said Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft.

"That has meant two systems to administer, two systems to operate, two systems to upgrade, and two sets of skills to maintain. In today's global, 24x7, always-connected, often mobile work environment, people struggle to manage all their communications modes, each with a different address and different messaging system.

"These silos of communication make it difficult for workers, teams and organizations to communicate and collaborate effectively. Now, we're able to use the power of unified communications to break down these silos and give people more control..."

Microsoft's claims are supported by some partners who have welcomed the announcement. "The addition of speech technology to Office Communications Server gives us a more extensive set of capabilities on which to build compelling unified communications solutions for our customers," said Ruchi Prasad, vice president of Global Enterprise Marketing for Nortel.

"Through our Innovative Communications Alliance, with Microsoft, we have the ability to bring new and unique capabilities to communications applications with Microsoft's speech engine technology integrated with Nortel's own industry-leading IVR and contact center solutions."

Microsoft also used the conference as an opportunity to showcase its first operating system to include speech recognition technologies. The vendor demonstrated Windows Speech Recognition, which will be included in Windows Vista and available in eight languages.

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