Nuance and Angel.com Team to Deliver Voice Automation Solutions to Small to Mid-Sized Business

Business Wire, Feb 9, 2005

MENLO PARK, Calif. & McLEAN, Va. -- Angel.com's Unique On-Demand Offerings Based on Nuance Speech Technologies Address Needs of Broad Marketplace

Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN), the voice automation expert, and Angel.com, a leading provider of web-based, advanced telephony solutions, today announced a strategic relationship to bring voice automation solutions to the small to mid-size business (SMB) market. This alliance addresses a critical problem faced by the SMB marketplace -- how to provide superior customer service with minimal costs. Angel.com's offering enables companies to quickly deploy low-risk voice automation solutions that deliver many of the same benefits provided by large custom voice applications, at a much lower cost. Angel.com's web-based tools and pay-per-use pricing model, combined with Nuance's industry-leading voice technologies and platform, will make these solutions accessible to businesses of all sizes.

More than 1,400 small business customers, such as real estate agents, restaurant owners, doctors and retail shops, currently turn to Angel.com for voice automation solutions. Requiring no hardware or software purchases, Angel.com's on-demand service allows businesses to create interactive speech applications -- called "Voice Sites" -- via a web browser and intuitive self-service tools. Within minutes, end users with no prior speech or telephony experience can automate mission-critical business processes such as customer support, marketing campaigns and front desk services ("virtual receptionists"). Angel.com is also used for specialty applications such as grass roots campaigns, real estate audio tours and event information hotlines. Instantly connected to standard toll-free or local phone numbers, all Angel.com Voice Sites are billed on a per-minute basis.

"We're excited by all of the possibilities our relationship with Nuance brings to the table," said Michael Zirngibl, president and CEO, Angel.com. "Together, we will be able to arm the SMB market with the most advanced capabilities voice automation has to offer. Additionally, we are looking forward to working with Nuance as we develop new Angel.com offerings, and provide stronger features in existing solutions."

As part of the alliance, Angel.com's on-demand, self-service speech solutions will be made available on the Nuance Voice Platform(TM). The Nuance Voice Platform, recently named the leading speech self-service platform by Forrester Research, supports VoiceXML 2.0 -- the open, industry standard for voice applications and services. Angel.com's solutions will also leverage Nuance's award winning text-to-speech engine, Nuance Vocalizer(TM). Nuance Vocalizer converts text in a database into spoken words, allowing companies to automate the delivery of dynamic information over the phone.

"The ease of use of Angel.com's turn-key speech solutions, combined with the power and scalability of Nuance Voice Platform, will provide an unprecedented level of support for the growing SMB market," said Chuck Berger, president and CEO, Nuance. "Now, these smaller companies will be able to reap the rewards that large enterprises have been able to gain via voice automation."

About Angel.com

Angel.com is a leading provider of web-based, advanced telephony solutions. More than 1,400 customers turn to Angel.com to quickly deploy powerful IVR applications using Angel.com's patented Voice Site technology. These applications utilize intelligent speech recognition technology to power customer service and marketing phone numbers. With a unique web-based solution that requires no investment in hardware, software, or human resources, Angel.com balances the need for superior communications with affordable, pay-as-you-go pricing. For more information, visit www.angel.com or call 1-888-MyAngel.

About Nuance

In an era where a focus on the customer is essential to business success, Nuance provides leading companies with voice-automation solutions that enable both an outstanding customer experience and corporate cost efficiency. Nuance is a leader in the voice automation market, providing software and solutions to more than 1,000 companies worldwide. Clients include Avon, British Airways, Nomura Securities, OnStar, Sprint PCS, United Parcel Service, Vodafone and Wells Fargo. Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN) is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, for example, those relating to benefits attainable by using speech products. There is no assurance that the results contemplated by any forward-looking statements will be realized. The following factors, risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or implied in this press release's forward-looking statements: the risk that Nuance's speech products will not achieve anticipated benefits, customer satisfaction and cost savings in some or all circumstances; and other factors described in Nuance's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Nuance's last-filed Report on Form 10-Q. Nuance does not undertake to update any oral or written forward-looking statements that may be made by or on behalf of Nuance.