November 28, 2005—Today we dial; tomorrow we’ll click, says leading technology research firm Gartner, as the embedding of voice into more and more IT applications promises to change everything about communication in the workplace.
According to Geoff Johnson, research vice president at Gartner: “Voice will be embedded in everything and mobility will be crucial. Calls will be made by clicking through a document or an email rather than dialing a number.”
VoE—or voice over everything—will incorporate functions from voice-activated documents to voicemails in email inboxes. At the click of a button, users will be able to speak to people who are working on a jointly written document to make amendments, reply verbally to emails, or check a person’s availability. Just as instant messaging has ‘presence’ technology that allows you to see whether someone is available, busy, away from their computer or offline, so too will voice-embedded applications, says Johnson.
Gartner predicts that VoE could emerge first in Australia, which is a leader in the adoption of IP telephony and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). More than 55% of Australian businesses having either implemented or have taken steps to implement VoIP services.
“With the technology already available, voice-embedded IT applications are well on their way to becoming mainstream in Australia and the Asia Pacific region,” Johnson noted.
Gartner comments that as voice becomes delivered in software rather than hardware, players such as Microsoft threaten to upset existing relationships between telephony users and network equipment providers.
For more information, visit the Gartner Web site.
