AVIOS~SpeechTEK and VSLive! Conferences, San Francisco, CA. — March 24, 2004 — Vail Systems, a leader in speech application development and voice hosting, announced today the immediate availability of Vail Name and Address Change 1.0, the first of several planned packaged solutions developed for Microsoft Speech Server 2004, part of the Windows Server System family of products. Vail Name and Address Change recognizes spoken addresses from all U.S. zip codes and over 90,000 first and last names, allowing enterprises to offer their customers a cost-effective and convenient way to update important account information related to changing addresses.

As with all of Vail's packaged solutions, Vail Name and Address Change delivers the advantages of self-service speech at a significantly lower cost, faster time to market and with more robust capabilities than typical customized applications. Call flows and conversational dialogs are tuned and optimized to automate customer name and address change requests for many business types including catalog retailers, subscription-based services, e-commerce, and financial services. Designed to work out of the box without sacrificing control, Vail Name and Address Change includes all necessary grammars, recorded prompts, and speech controls while core functions can be easily configured by non-technical users. For example, options for account number lookups and third-party address queries can be modified and corresponding call flows adjust automatically.

"Address change is one of today's most routine contact center requests, yet has been too complex to automate with traditional touch-tone IVR systems," said James Whiteley, President and CEO of Vail Systems. "Vail Name and Address Change enables enterprises to reduce costs while also providing a convenient way for customers to change account information using simple spoken commands."

Designed with Microsoft Speech development tools and Visual Studio 2003, Vail Name and Address Change is built using fundamental speech controls that benefit from Vail's 10 years of application development and VUI design expertise. In addition, all enterprise data and third-party database interactions are handled using web services and open standards protocols. This modular design gives enterprises greater freedom in deployment and system integration options.

"Vail's packaged solutions exemplify how Speech Server lowers the cost and complexity of speech solutions, making speech technology more accessible to a greater number of enterprises and service providers," said Xuedong Huang, general manager for the Microsoft Speech Server Product Group at Microsoft. "Speech has evolved from a niche technology to one that is real and ready for mainstream enterprise adoption."

Vail Name and Address Change is available for both premise-based and hosted deployments. Pricing is based on a per application or per minute model. The application can be downloaded from Vail Systems' secure client extranet or hosted on Vail's proven, carrier-grade platform. Both options require minimum setup and configuration. Vail also offers standard support plans covering software updates, third-party database subscriptions and 24/7 technical support. For hosted deployments, Vail provides highly-scalable configurations, 24/7 application and platform monitoring, and real-time reporting.

To learn more about Vail Name and Address Change 1.0 and to hear a live demo, please join us for a presentation during the Avios-SpeechTEK, VSLive!, and Microsoft Mobile DevCon conferences to be held in San Francisco, CA, March 23-27, 2004.

Presentation:	Mainstreaming Speech: Packaged Application Development on Microsoft Speech Server
Presenters:	Joe Carey, Director of Marketing, Vail Systems B. Chandra Mouli, Director, Software Engineering, Vail Systems
Time:	March 25th, 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM PST
Location:	Microsoft Speech Server Product Group Theater A, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA

Vail Systems delivers flexible speech application development and hosting solutions that significantly lower the cost of contact center automation and other interactive phone-based services. With Vail packaged applications, companies have the tools to jump-start their speech strategy and realize compelling results quickly and affordably. Our voice hosting services are powered by a proven carrier-grade SIP VoIP platform and include 24/7 monitoring and real-time application reporting. Providing next generation IVR solutions for over 10 years, Vail is the reliable choice in speech. For additional information, call (800) 360-VAIL (8245) or visit: .