'We are loking forward to target the hugely growing segment of mobile content'

What is the focus of VoiceGate India and how is it different
from VoiceGate global?

VoiceGate India being a pioneer in bringing the voice technology in India has
its focus mainly on helping organizations adopt voice as a medium for
interaction with customers. The specific areas of focus would be to innovate and
come up with IVR, which helps rural customers talk with their brands. We are
different from others in the field as we develop content in-house. We have
invested Rs 16 lakh in a state-of-the-art studio. This will cater to the
production requirements of ringtones. We have already finalized the short code
of 5252 and have got approval from BSNL South.

In this ever-evolving business of voice services, what are the
innovations VoiceGate is working keenly on?

VoiceGate is looking forward to target the hugely growing segment of mobile
content. According to the recent surveys this industry is worth Rs 2,300 crore
in India annually and it offers us a vast market to explore. The challenge is to
innovate in terms of development of IVR that can understand the rural customers
and educate them about the products. Apart from this we are coming up with our
own brand VG4Mobile which would be a one stop shop for mobile content, both SMS-
and voice-based content.

IVR has been around for quite some time now, what is the scope
of innovation here?

Although IVR is one of the most traditional methods of communication, we
believe it is going to find increased usage. The effort would be towards making
the IVR innovative and capable enough to guide the customer in his language,
accent, and dialect of his choice. This would be extremely important because if
any brand acquires customers in the lower strata and does not have capabilities
to serve them using automation the cost of service would go up, as more and more
investments would be required for them in call centers to serve the customers.
Already telecom organizations are making a conscious effort to minimize the
calls landing at the call center.

What are the other emerging trends keenly watched by content
providers?

We find interactive communication via voice is hot and happening especially
with the increasing penetration on mobiles. Voice interactivity on mobile is the
latest tool being used by handset manufacturers like Nokia. This allows the user
to listen to an incoming message rather than read it. This is an indicator that
voice is also being recognized as a tool for increased interactivity with the
customers. Automated messages or autodialers are also an efficient tool for
making a brand interact with customers on a mass scale. SMSs on the other hand
are reducing since most of the customers are not capable of reading English.

Malovika Rao


malovikar@cybermedia.co.in