ELAND TECHNOLOGIES PARTNERS WITH VOXPILOT TO PROVIDE SPEECH-ENABLED TRAVEL APPLICATIONS

Voxpilot adds voice capability to Eland Technologies advanced solutions for the travel industry

Eland Technologies has selected Voxpilots state-of-the-art VoiceXML gateway and pan-European VSP services to voice-enable its market-leading Travel Application Integration platform "Runway".

Eland Technologies is the leading provider of legacy integration middleware to the travel industry and its call center applications, online booking engines, automatic flight tracking and many other bespoke and off-the-shelf applications are used by the largest airlines and airline alliances in the world. Now Eland Technologies application offerings are being extended further to provide an "audio dimension" to the user interface.

Industry-pioneering applications such as Eland Technologies FlightMinder and eTravelLight will avail of the innovative Voxpilot VoiceXML and Voice-over-IP technology to add even greater benefits to the airlines and their customers.

By adding voice capability to existing web interfaces, airline customers and staff who previously needed a web browser, a WAP phone or an airline representative to get flight information and carry out transactions, can now use the most natural and intuitive interface, their voice, to request flight status, availability and pricing information for any airline in the world. Since Eland Technologies leading product Runway provides the platform for host integration, the applications automatically work "off the shelf" for every airline and airline alliance.

The initiative is part of Eland Technologies multi-platform strategy, offering customers access to data via PC, telephone, cell phone, interactive digital television and PDAs.

Robert Healy, Director of Technologies at Eland commented: "Voxpilot clearly offers us a new and very exciting dimension for our product offerings. Combining the Voxpilot VSP model and speech recognition with Eland Technologies existing applications will offer the potential for huge cost reductions for our airline and airline alliance customers. It's a double-win for clients - cost reduction and improved customer service - through technological innovation. A customer who calls our airline client's voice portal from any landline or wireless phone can now access their frequent flyer information, flight and gate status, flight availability and pricing. This advanced, multi-lingual service can be provided for any flight by any airline in the world."

Dr Jonathan Alcantara, CEO of Voxpilot, adds: "Voice systems ideally suit todays mobile lifestyle, permitting ‘anytime, anywhere access to information and services over the phone. At the same time, voice solutions help enterprises achieve higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, while increasing profitability and cutting costs. We are delighted that Eland Technologies has chosen Voxpilot to bring the benefits of voice recognition technology to the travel industry."

ABOUT ELAND TECHNOLOGIES:
Eland Technologies supplies state-of-the-art software solutions to airlines, airline alliances, airports, airport operators, Web bookers, travel agencies, tour operators and other travel service providers. Operating in the travel industry since 1990, Eland Technologies has extensive experience in the design, development and deployment of mission-critical, high-volume transaction software for blue chip customers around the world. Eland Technologies' products have been deployed in the most testing environments, and are proven mission-critical solutions within the industry. Customers include Star Alliance, United Airlines, Lufthansa, and American Express.
For more information see http://www.elandtech.com/.

ABOUT VOXPILOT:
Voxpilot is the leading pan-European VoiceXML development portal, offering a range of tools and services for developers, including an online development environment, a VoiceXML gateway, VSP hosting, and local access telephone numbers for development and deployment in all major European markets. Voxpilot's flagship product, voxBuilder, includes a multilingual VoiceXML online development environment, and a pan-European VSP with local number access in all major European markets. The voxBuilder Developer Program is free for all development, testing and demonstration use. Online tools include a File Manager, a VXML Validator, and a real-time Log Viewer Voxpilots flexible pricing and hosting models allow for the rapid and cost-effective deployment of innovative voice applications. Developers can sign up for a free voxBuilder account at ode.voxpilot.com.