VoiceXML is the open standard markup language for all kind of voice applications. Does it include IVR ? Yes, it does. VoiceXML is the modern and latest way of writing IVR Software, develop voice portals and much more!

“VoiceXML 1.0 was published by the VoiceXML Forum, a consortium of over 500 companies, in March 2000. The Forum then gave control of the standard to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and now concentrates on conformance, education, and marketing. The W3C has just published VoiceXML 2.0 as a Candidate Recommendation. Products based on VoiceXML 2.0 are already widely available.” Source

How does one use voiceXML ?
VoiceXML is used the same way as HTML is used! So, voiceXML is the HTML of voice web! And even its architecture is same as that of HTML. And it is used for voice portal as in web portal!
1. It has a voice browser
2. It has a interpreter
3. And finally it has hardware implementation

Advantages of voiceXML
1. it is open source
2. It is telephony hardware independent
3. It can run along with web applications
4. Faster development of voice applications
5. There are now RAD ( Rapid Application Development) tools available for VoiceXML based IVR system development.

Disadvantages of voiceXML
1. Many sophisticated Telecom Protocol specific information like DNI etc information may not be available.
2. Many voice playback options are not available yet.
3. VoiceXML may not be suitable for large and complicated IVR system.

While I am still studying about voiceXML, I would update the post in future soon.

Without doubt, interactive voice response (IVR) has become the ubiquitous technology in telecommunications applications. IVR solutions have a myriad of uses that are mostly taken for granted, however, the essence of an IVR system is its ability to offer ‘self-service’ for the user, thus it can help to reduce cost and improve the customer experience.

Since introducing the world’s first ‘all-in-one’ voice board in 1998, Aculab has been setting the standard of enabling technology components – e.g., CTI cards – for IVR applications. Whatever your needs for advanced IVR functionality, Aculab has the media processing technology and APIs – voice, fax, call progress, etc. – to drive your success.

Beneficially, Aculab is able to offer a choice; from its range of IP-centric, DSP-based Prosody X boards to its host-based (SoftDSP or HMP) option, Prosody S. And you can use Prosody X for converged or mixed IP/TDM environments, where you still need E1 or T1 PSTN connectivity.

Additionally, Aculab\’s VoiceXML/CCXML interpreter set offers a powerful and scalable design option for platform vendors and service providers alike. It is the fastest, most cost-effective, high performance solution available today, which is an effective combination in any language.

IVR system features and capacities vary depending on the market segments they target. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) may look to enhance their IP-PBX with an IVR-based auto-attendant using Prosody S, while larger companies will require a Prosody X board-based solution for a hybrid contact centre or voice portal, perhaps also using automatic speech recognition (ASR) and text-to-speech (TTS). Carriers and service providers need IVR to provide a wide range of subscriber messaging and large scale, hosted or VAS and mobile VAS service offerings. And, undoubtedly, TEMs (of all descriptions; Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.) and platform vendors supplying these user communities will also benefit from Aculab’s board and software options.

Check out Aculab at http://www.aculab.com/solutions/IVR-solutions.asp