Speech Technology - October 2008 - (Page 42)

NANCY JAMISON VOICE VALUE Does Anyone Care About Voice Verification? The industry is at a tipping point of a broader deployment n my July/August column, I highlighted a Metaphor Beyond internal company applications, we are also seeSolutions customer, Planet Payment, and its Shop- ing signs of more public-facing applications in early adopter BuyVoice application, which uses voice verification to industries, such as finance and telecommunications, and in allow customers to make secure retail purchases by phone. vertical market segments that you wouldn’t perceive as This and similar offerings, such as Voice Commerce being early adopters, like the government. In the travel Group’s Voice Pay application, are relative newcomers to industry, Aeroplan uses Nuance Verifier to authenticate freself-service retail applications—something the interactive quent flier customers. In the telecommunications arena, voice response market hasn’t seen much of when it comes Bell Canada has eliminated the need for customers to to voice verification. have a bill in hand or to remember PINs or passwords by About four years ago I estimated that voice verification using voice verification to access accounts; Leaco Rural was only used in 1 percent to 3 percent of IVR applica- Telephone Cooperative in New Mexico is using VoiceVeritions, and there has been little overt indication that this fied’s technology to protect customer accounts as well. number is changing. Or is it? Since 9/11, numerous studVoice verification is also being used to help underserved ies have shown that consumers are increaspopulation segments—those least likely to ingly more accepting of the concept of a have access to a computer or to have docuBeyond internal voiceprint as a viable security option and mentation, PINs, or passwords handy. For company are more confident in the technology. example, FirstView provides financial servapplications, we When I talk to vendors in the self-service ices for the “unbanked, underbanked, or are also seeing signs of more arena, though, the majority still say they uncarded” market by offering reloadable public-facing are seeing more inquiries about the techdebit and store cards and guaranteed applications. nology, but not many deployments or checks, and uses an Angel.com verification pilots yet. solution as a way to secure access to cusThis is a pity given that voice verification is a fairly tomer accounts. Similarly, migrant laborers in Dubai who mature technology. Consumer awareness and acceptance were formerly paid in cash, which they often would send has matured as well. In fact, the majority of respondents back home, now have bank accounts, direct deposit, and in surveys have said that as long as voice verification is cell phones to manage their money. When a deposit is easy to use and will help to keep their personal informa- made, a call to the worker’s cell phone is triggered, his idention secure, they would use it. From a business standpoint, tity is verified, and he can validate the amount and destinait certainly makes sense, given that voice verification tion of any cash transfer. increases automation rates, reduces costs by streamlining Although we have seen some really innovative uses of calls into a contact center, and can be used to remind cus- verification, such as making it a part of electronic monitomers that their data is secure. Further, because it’s toring of parolees, more and more voice verification is automated, agents don’t need access to sensitive informa- making its way into everyday applications, from providing tion, such as customer passwords. Because of these factors, access to financial accounts to validating the identity of I get the feeling that we are reaching the tipping point of consumers making retail transactions. However, if we are a much broader deployment of verification solutions. really at the tipping point of more aggressive deployments, Dozens of internal password reset applications are it will be these and other more broadly consumer-aware already in use. Progressive Insurance, for example, uses a applications that will be needed for business decision VoiceVault solution for its 30,000 employees. In a case makers to move first from “wait and see” to “try and buy” study, Progressive asserted that password resets were and then to “must have.” costing the company $9 apiece. With other estimates even higher, the business case for deploying verification Nancy Jamison is principal at Jamison Consulting. She can be reached at nsj@jamisons.com or at www.jamison-consulting.com. for this one application is solid. I 42 | Speech Technology OCTOBER 2008 www.speechtechmag.com http://www.Angel.com http://www.jamison-consulting.com http://www.speechtechmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Speech Technology - October 2008

Speech Technology - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Letter Industry View Inside Outsourcing Interact Keynoter Highlights the Shrinking Technological World Former Hacker Tackles IVR and Biometrics ‘Press 1’ for Caller Thoughts Soundbytes Voice Vote A New Dragon Emerges Overheard/Underheard An Emotional Mess Emotional Intelligence The Case for Call Recording Unified in Care and Communications An Education in E-Learning Guest Column Standards Speech Solutions Voice Value Forward Thinking

Speech Technology - October 2008

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