ChannelVision Sept-Oct 2017

EMERGENT As we have already seen in the consumer market, it is all but a given that these voice-activation systems will eventually make it into the enterprise environment, as the potential benefits of these systems could be tremendous in simplifying and automating activities. Although it may be a long time before we see the full likenesses of “HAL” from 2001: A Space Odyssey , the technology is already here that can improve the ways businesses operate. Think how much easier it would be for a physician to just say, “System: update Mary Smith’s chart with the following: Pa- tient experiencing abdominal pain, issue pharmacy order for 200 milligrams of ‘Su- perAntiGas,’ signed Dr. FeelBetter.” Or in a conference room, instead of the struggle to figure out which remote control puts on the projector and the screen, a simple voice request, “System: turn on projector, turn on TV and dim lights.” The challenges So, where are we on the road to voice- first? Voice analytics firm, VoiceLabs, has provided a view on the various layers needed to support a voice-first approach in the consumer world (VoiceLabs The 2017 By Jack Jachner Communications Full Circle W ith the wave of personal assistants such as Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant, and new startups leveraging AI and analytics to build personal companions, it’s becoming clear we are moving toward a new voice-controlled relationship with technology. Moving back into a voice-first world Channel Vision | September - October, 2017 16 Amazon Tap Family