AMTELCO Selects ScanSoft RealSpeak Text-to-Speech for eCreator Call Center Automation System

RealSpeak Augments Call Center Staff with the Automated Delivery of Information Using Human-Sounding Synthesized Speech; Solution Reduces Costs and Improves Customer Service

PEABODY, Mass., April 16, 2002 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions, today announced that AMTELCO, a leading provider of innovative customized telemessaging solutions, has selected ScanSoft® RealSpeak™ to add high-quality text-to-speech capabilities to AMTELCO's eCreator call center solution.

"After an exhaustive evaluation process, we selected ScanSoft RealSpeak for its superior quality, broad language support and competitive pricing," said Jim Becker, AMTELCO vice president of marketing. "As we added RealSpeak capabilities to the eCreator interactive voice response application, we also found that it is extremely flexible and easy to use. The result is fantastic, providing our customers with a real way to cut costs and giving eCreator a significant competitive advantage."

eCreator is AMTELCO's web-based product that enables the rapid creation of automated call center applications using easy drag-and-drop tools and a palette of pre-made application templates. Using these tools complex eCreator scripts can be created in a short timeframe without specialized training or IT expertise. eCreator's scripting and branching capabilities enable designers to easily control the routing of a call based on the information given by the caller.

ScanSoft's RealSpeak enables call center applications designed using AMTELCO's eCreator to deliver prompts and content using natural-sounding synthesized human speech. By using RealSpeak prompts, an organization can reduce call center staffing requirements while improving the speed and quality of customer service. The high quality of RealSpeak makes it practical to deliver any quantity of content, and its support of 19 languages makes it the text-to-speech product of choice for global organizations.

"AMTELCO's eCreator is unique in its design approach, providing organizations with an affordable way to develop and deploy call center applications," said Wayne Crandall, senior vice president of sales and business development at ScanSoft. "We are impressed with the way RealSpeak is integrated with eCreator, and see the result as a true rapid design and deployment platform for text-to-speech call center applications."

About ScanSoft RealSpeak

ScanSoft RealSpeak is the company's advanced text-to-speech technology (TTS) that can generate human-sounding synthesized speech. Used in a wide variety of advanced applications, from voice portals to speech-enabled virtual newscasters, RealSpeak technology supports an array of Intel®, Microsoft® Windows® and UNIX® system options and is currently available in 19 languages: US and UK English, German, French, Dutch & Belgian Dutch, Castilian and Mexican Spanish, Italian, European and Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Danish and Cantonese & Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

About AMTELCO

AMTELCO has been a leading provider of innovative customized telemessaging solutions for more than 25 years. With a strong background in telephone answering services and the call center industry, AMTELCO's primary focus has always been to design systems that simultaneously offer solutions for enhancing customer service and reducing costs, resulting in increased profitability for owners. Today, AMTELCO's Specialized Contact Center Solutions are recognized throughout the industry for improving efficiency, streamlining procedures, simplifying system maintenance, and providing both owners and staff with increasing measures of reliability and integrity.

About ScanSoft

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.ScanSoft.com.

Trademark reference: ScanSoft and RealSpeak are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company names or product names referenced herein may be the trademarks of their respective holders.

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with market trends, competitive factors, and other risks identified in the Company's SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

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