ADDING THE HUMAN TOUCH TO TECHNOLOGY
Final Presentation
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Overview
Mission
 Company
 Voice in a Nutshell
 The Pain
 Solution & Product

Market
 ROI & Sales
 Competition
 Risks & Strengths
 Summary

adding the human touch to technology
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Mission
To improve the performance of conversation
management applications and expand their
capabilities, by enabling human intervention
throughout the dialog management. In addition,
HiRec desires to enable monitoring capabilities for
the future computerized voice contact centers.

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Company
Founded: March 2002.
 Founders: seven Computer Science and Business
Administration students.
 Solution: Utilities for on-line monitoring and
directing speech recognition applications in call
centers.

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Voice in a Nutshell

Two elements are essential for speech applications:
recognition and interpretation.

Voice recognition has taken a huge step forward during the
past few years, while NL interpretation is still far behind.

Today’s solutions are IVR and directed speech
applications.

First NL applications are currently in preliminary stages.
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The Pain
IVR and directed speech are limited and unfriendly, what
makes them a compromised solution for call centers.

NL Conversation Management (CM) applications make
mistakes, which results in unsatisfying performance and user
dissatisfaction.

The gap between speech recognition and NL interpretation
will probably never be completely conquered.

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Solution
The idea is to add the human touch to technology.
 HiRec’s Dialog Monitoring System (DMS) enables
human intervention throughout the automatic dialog,
allowing the supervisor to direct the dialog and then
give the control back to the machine.
 The whole process is hidden from the caller.
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Architecture
Voice Call Center without DMS
Speech Engine
Recognition
prompt
Interpretation
Conversation
Management
PROBLEM
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Architecture
with DMS
PROBLEMS
Speech Engine
Recognition
Interpretation
Conversation
Management
prompt
DMS
SEVERE
PROBLEM
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DMS
All calls through the voice application are
monitored by DMS.
 Chosen calls are transferred to a supervisor
station.
 Each Station presents log and details of 4 calls.
 Basic assumption is that reading is faster than
listening.
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DMS
A problem results in a pop-up window containing
possible solutions, from which the supervisor
chooses.
 The solution is returned to the voice application,
which proceeds from the point it left off.
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DMS
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Call Center Service
Structure Today
Top Agents
Third Level
Specialist Operators
Second Level
Operators & IVR
IVR
IVR
First Level
IVR
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Call Center Service
Structure - Our Vision
Operators
Supervisors
Third Level
Second Level
Voice Applications
First Level
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Market

Currently 69,000 call centers in the US and 92,000 worldwide
The IVR market: $3.9 billion (1999) to $11.6 billion (2004).
 By 2004, 50% of the 10.3 million IVR ports will have speech
recognition capabilities (14% today).
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Market
Speech Market
According to Ovum and Forrester, speech recognition market will
grow from $1 billion to $35 billion p.a. by 2005.
 Telephony voice recognition will reach $5 billion p.a. by 2003.
 Total CRM software application revenues: $9.4 billion in 2001.
$30.6 billion in 2005.
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ROI
Cost/Call – CSR: 3.14$
Voice Application: 0.11$
Voice Application + DMS: 0.5$
 Additional Cost for DMS SW, HW and DP:

825,000$

Total # of calls per year: 14,600,000
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ROI
% of Calls handled by VA without DMS: 16%
 % of Calls handled by VA with DMS: 24%


Net profit for first year:
(14.6M * 8% * (3.14 – 0.5))+(14.6M * 16% * (0.11 – 0.5))
- 825,000 =
1,347,480$
(Payback in 5 months)
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Sales Approach
HiRec will partner with voice application companies in
order to create a full solution. This solution will be offered
to the CRM ASPs through direct sales, assisted by the
contacts the partner companies already have in this market.

Establish connections with call centers who are looking
to integrate a voice application. Offer a cheap pilot in order
to establish reference sites.
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Competition

Conversation Management Companies
PolyInformation, Baobab

Speech Application Companies
Amdocs, VeCommerce, Aspect Communications ...

Call Center Monitoring Companies
Sprint, Nice
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Risks
NL Market has yet to emerge. Acceptance of voice
applications themselves might be slow and painful.
 Difficulty achieving first sales. Final consumer only
whishes to buy complete and proven solutions.
 No technological barriers to the solution
 Monitoring and Voice application companies are in better
position in case such a solution will be needed.
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Strengths
First in a new, highly potential market.
 Several companies in call center voice application area
have shown interest in such a solution: Baobab, Amdocs.
 Voice application companies are not developing call
center monitoring systems which is a must in this market.
 As the practical domain of speech application will grow
Solution will always be needed.
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Management Team

Nir Azriel

– Intel Automation

Shiri Margalith
– Student

– Intel HR

Roi Raibstein
Pini Reisman
– Mobilie
Shahar Markovich

– P-Cube
Shani Shalgi
– Amdocs Speech Access

Roee Oz
– Jango
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Summary
Why HiRec?

Because the technology just isn’t there yet

Because man always knows best
Because the human touch is all it takes to
make it work
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ADDING THE HUMAN TOUCH TO
TECHNOLOGY
Thank You
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