eei Solutions Teams With Nuance to Deliver Best-of-Breed Speech Solutions; eei Solutions Joins Nuance Partner Alliance

Business Wire, Dec 14, 2001

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2001

eei Solutions, announced today that it has teamed up with Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN) and joined the Nuance Partner Alliance.

As a program member, eei Solutions will integrate Nuance speech recognition and voice authentication software into eei's Nortel Periphonics and InterVoice Brite interactive voice response (IVR) systems. eei will market Nuance-enabled capabilities to businesses such as financial services, telecommunications, utilities, healthcare, and insurance providers that require reliable, secure and quality customer interaction technology solutions to support mission critical applications.

Benefits of speech recognition and voice authentification

For eei customers, the partnership means that they now have access to the most advanced speech recognition services available today. With Nuance's speech recognition software, eei Solutions now has the ability to offer natural language speech applications. Additionally, eei Solutions will leverage Nuance's voice authentication software, Nuance Verifier 3.0, for customers to conduct secure transactions -- rather than using a "pin" number, a system identifies a caller's identity by recognizing their voiceprint.

Applications include a full range of technologies from auto attendant -- the most basic front-end application such as a greeting or call transfer option -- to voice portals, the most complex application, which is conversational and serves as a portal to information.

eei is currently deploying multiple speech applications on its several thousand port IVR ASP network.

"We are pleased to be partnering with Nuance," said Kirk Cameron, president of eei Solutions. "Nuance is a leader in speech recognition technology and it's exciting to partner with them to offer their technology as part of our menu of customized IVR services."

"We're very excited about our partnership with eei Solutions," said Ron Croen, president and CEO of Nuance. "The solutions they're developing will provide tremendous value to any company, large or small, looking to stay connected with their customers around the world."

About eei Solutions

eei Solutions, Inc., a Prosodie company, is a call center software and solutions development company. Founded in 1990, eei specializes in providing interactive voice response (IVR) solutions and a full suite of enhanced services including real-time reporting. For a more detailed explanation of eei Solutions' products and services, please visit the company's web site at www.eeisolutions.com.

About Nuance

Nuance is the leader speech recognition, voice authentication, text-to-speech and voice-browsing products that make the information and services of enterprises, telecommunications networks and the Internet accessible from any telephone. Every day, millions of people interact with Nuance systems at companies like Japan Telecom, OnStar, Sears, Sprint PCS and UBS. Nuance is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., with global sales offices and partners supporting solutions in multiple languages around the world. For more information about Nuance, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.

Nuance and Nuance Verifier are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.