abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) is a privately held software company in the telecommunication industry, headquartered in Orange County, California. It specializes in developing business-level communications solutions focusing on medium to large enterprise, government, higher education and healthcare markets.
The company is known for its primary product, a speech-enabled unified communications platform, called CallXpress. It includes advanced call processing, voicemail, unified messaging, personal assistant, fax, speech, and notification capabilities. AVST is one of the few switch independent developers of unified messaging/unified communications solutions.
The company's history goes back to the 1980s when the first versions of Intel server based voice messaging and call processing systems were released.[5] CallXpress originated from Applied Voice Technology (AVT) which later became Captaris, Inc. In 2003, Sound Advantage purchased the CallXpress Voicemail and Unified Messaging product line from Captaris and this merger of technologies became a new entity called Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST). The acquisition included the retention of key products and technology as well as the entire product engineering, support and sales teams. AVST was established in September 2003 by the merger of Sound Advantage (established in 1997) and the AVT division (established in 1982) of Captaris, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPA).[6][7]
The first AVST release, CallXpress 7.0, was in April 2004. Frost & Sullivan recognized AVST with the 2004 Entrepreneurial Company Award for its sound marketing strategy and identification of a new and exceptional product solution.[8] In September 2004, AVST announced further validation of its strength in the market by procuring $10 million in new funding from Ignition Partners and Dolphin Equity Partners.[9] Shortly after, in November 2004, AVST introduced CallXpress 7.5 which provided the Centigram telephone user interface emulation. CallXpress 7.5 also offered user administration via Microsoft Active Directory and SMTP message notification.[10]
In 2005, AVST expanded worldwide by adding 30 new resellers to its list of channel partners. Some of the significant partnerships include Shared Technologies and NetVersant.[11][12] In May 2005, the company released another version of its product, CallXpress 7.7, which emulated the Octel Serenade (VMX) telephone user interface. CallXpress 7.7 received the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Product Differentiation Innovation Award for the North American enterprise voice and unified messaging solutions market.[13]
In 2006, VARBusiness awarded AVST with Five Star Partner Program Winner for its innovative Marketing in a Box (MIB) program, which enables resellers to brand their AVST business through effective communication with customers and prospects.[14][15] Version 7.8 of CallXpress was released on June 2006. It emulated the Avaya Intuity Audix user interface.[16]
In February 2007, AVST made a contribution to market awareness with the launch of a unified messaging educational website. This website is an information portal containing white papers, industry research, videos, case studies and recent industry news on unified messaging and unified communications. The site is being hosted by ITworld.com and AVST is being its sponsor
PEST Analysis
Political
Ryanair and other airlines in Europe are subject to operating restrictions set by individual European governments and the European Union. Alliances have significant influence in the airline industry and many companies seek membership to utilize the benefits provided by alliances. The airline industry is facing increasing trade-union pressure. The European Union abolished duty-free sales. The airline is subject to the UK government’s and to EU policies on climate change.
Economic
The capacity of European airline industry exceeds the demand of the consumers causing airlines to engage in rate wars. In the economic sphere, alliances also play important roles. Alliances minimize competition while at the same time increasing profits for airlines. Airlines engage in codesharing, giving them more capabilities to offer services and enter markets that are risky to do on their own. Globalization has made cooperation and partnership between airlines more possible. The airline faces a fluctuating fuel price.
Social
The threat of terrorist attacks in the wake of September 11 bombing has reduced passenger confidence. Passengers are now exploring the benefits of land transportation across Europe. The market is changing and there is an increase in the grey market population. The advancements in cars and high-speed trains make land travel more efficient in Europe. Business travelers and lifestyle travelers are increasing in numbers.
Technological
Technological advancements are introduced in a breathtaking speed. Airlines spend considerable amount of money in order to keep up with the trends. There is an expansion of wireless technology.
The company is known for its primary product, a speech-enabled unified communications platform, called CallXpress. It includes advanced call processing, voicemail, unified messaging, personal assistant, fax, speech, and notification capabilities. AVST is one of the few switch independent developers of unified messaging/unified communications solutions.
The company's history goes back to the 1980s when the first versions of Intel server based voice messaging and call processing systems were released.[5] CallXpress originated from Applied Voice Technology (AVT) which later became Captaris, Inc. In 2003, Sound Advantage purchased the CallXpress Voicemail and Unified Messaging product line from Captaris and this merger of technologies became a new entity called Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST). The acquisition included the retention of key products and technology as well as the entire product engineering, support and sales teams. AVST was established in September 2003 by the merger of Sound Advantage (established in 1997) and the AVT division (established in 1982) of Captaris, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPA).[6][7]
The first AVST release, CallXpress 7.0, was in April 2004. Frost & Sullivan recognized AVST with the 2004 Entrepreneurial Company Award for its sound marketing strategy and identification of a new and exceptional product solution.[8] In September 2004, AVST announced further validation of its strength in the market by procuring $10 million in new funding from Ignition Partners and Dolphin Equity Partners.[9] Shortly after, in November 2004, AVST introduced CallXpress 7.5 which provided the Centigram telephone user interface emulation. CallXpress 7.5 also offered user administration via Microsoft Active Directory and SMTP message notification.[10]
In 2005, AVST expanded worldwide by adding 30 new resellers to its list of channel partners. Some of the significant partnerships include Shared Technologies and NetVersant.[11][12] In May 2005, the company released another version of its product, CallXpress 7.7, which emulated the Octel Serenade (VMX) telephone user interface. CallXpress 7.7 received the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Product Differentiation Innovation Award for the North American enterprise voice and unified messaging solutions market.[13]
In 2006, VARBusiness awarded AVST with Five Star Partner Program Winner for its innovative Marketing in a Box (MIB) program, which enables resellers to brand their AVST business through effective communication with customers and prospects.[14][15] Version 7.8 of CallXpress was released on June 2006. It emulated the Avaya Intuity Audix user interface.[16]
In February 2007, AVST made a contribution to market awareness with the launch of a unified messaging educational website. This website is an information portal containing white papers, industry research, videos, case studies and recent industry news on unified messaging and unified communications. The site is being hosted by ITworld.com and AVST is being its sponsor
PEST Analysis
Political
Ryanair and other airlines in Europe are subject to operating restrictions set by individual European governments and the European Union. Alliances have significant influence in the airline industry and many companies seek membership to utilize the benefits provided by alliances. The airline industry is facing increasing trade-union pressure. The European Union abolished duty-free sales. The airline is subject to the UK government’s and to EU policies on climate change.
Economic
The capacity of European airline industry exceeds the demand of the consumers causing airlines to engage in rate wars. In the economic sphere, alliances also play important roles. Alliances minimize competition while at the same time increasing profits for airlines. Airlines engage in codesharing, giving them more capabilities to offer services and enter markets that are risky to do on their own. Globalization has made cooperation and partnership between airlines more possible. The airline faces a fluctuating fuel price.
Social
The threat of terrorist attacks in the wake of September 11 bombing has reduced passenger confidence. Passengers are now exploring the benefits of land transportation across Europe. The market is changing and there is an increase in the grey market population. The advancements in cars and high-speed trains make land travel more efficient in Europe. Business travelers and lifestyle travelers are increasing in numbers.
Technological
Technological advancements are introduced in a breathtaking speed. Airlines spend considerable amount of money in order to keep up with the trends. There is an expansion of wireless technology.