PEABODY, Mass. and GHENT, Belgium, December 8, 2003 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions, today announced that BMW Group is using ScanSoft's SpeechPearl® speech recognition software and RealSpeak™ text-to-speech (TTS) software to resolve high priority technical queries into the BMW internal IT hotline. Since implementing the speech system, BMW has reduced the time it takes to resolve inquiries from the 100,000 employees using the internal hotline worldwide by 50 percent. The bilingual speech solution supports both German and English languages and was implemented by Computer Telephony Integrator, Flintec.

"The speech-enabled system is working very well," said Lucien Feiereisen, general manager at Flintec. "With the implementation of the IVR system using ScanSoft's speech technology, the average time it now takes for high priority queries to be dealt with has been reduced to five minutes. Introducing speech technology has lead to a significant increase in business efficiency and it has enhanced our ability to deliver top service to our internal customers."

As part of the implementation, Flintec updated BMW's previous touch-tone system, which is integrated with a Remedy IT service management solution and a Genesys digital telephony solution. The previous system sent SMS alerts to technicians who then viewed the query via the Remedy solution. However, without speech, they were limited to accessing the specific information that was associated with the trouble ticket created when the customer initially called the hotline.

When an internal BMW customer calls either the English or German IT hotline number, they are connected to an operator who brings up their details and asks about the query. The operator then looks in the knowledge database to see if an identical query has previously been solved. If it has, they can remotely fix the problem or advise the customer. If not, the query is elevated to the level two support group. After examining the query, level two support personnel will respond to the query, if possible, or elevate it to the level three support group making it a high priority query.

Improved Response Time for High Priority Calls

When a query associated with a particular internal customer is elevated to high priority status, the system immediately telephones the appropriate standby technician and connects that technician to the Remedy database. The RealSpeak TTS engine accesses the query from the database and reads the description to the technician. The speech system guides the technician through a series of questions that have been selected by second level support personnel to which the technician can provide "yes" or "no" answers, possibly resulting in the query being solved. The technician can also ask the system a pre-established range of questions to better understand the query, as well as request that the system repeat the query description. In this way, the technician is able to solve the query by interacting with the speech-activated Remedy system.

"We are pleased to be able to work with Flintec to enable BMW to further enhance customer service for its internal customers," said Peter Hauser, senior VP & general manager, International, ScanSoft. "BMW's speech system demonstrates how speech technology can enhance business efficiency, improve customer service reaction time and clearly provide a compelling return on investment."

Market Leading Speech Technologies

SpeechPearl and RealSpeak are members of the SpeechWorks® Suite of Network Speech Solutions from ScanSoft. Developed for a wide range of telephony speech applications, the SpeechPearl software provides highly accurate speech recognition and natural language capabilities in 46 languages that results in increased efficiency and improved caller satisfaction. In addition, ScanSoft's high-performance TTS engines including RealSpeak and Speechify® combine to offer an unparalleled 22 languages and 36 male and female voices to provide customers with the most comprehensive and flexible solutions available today.

About Flintec

Flintec GmbH is a leading computer telephony solutions provider located in Germany. Flintec's solutions are based on Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology that utilizes TTS and automatic speech recognition (ASR), and Flintec's CSTA-based and CTI-link Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) technology. Flintec integrates customized solutions into existing IT and telecom infrastructure and are designed to optimize business processes at the telephony interface within a wide variety of industries, including financial, retail, manufacturing, public, transport, and telecommunications.

About ScanSoft® Network Speech Solutions

ScanSoft Network Speech Solutions is the global leader in advanced network speech technologies and professional services. Enterprise and telecommunications organizations around the world such as Time Warner, Deutsche Bank and Qantas Airways leverage the power and innovation of the SpeechWorks Suite of Network Speech Solutions to redefine the way they exchange vital information with customers and employees over the telephone. With a global sales and engineering presence, ScanSoft is uniquely positioned to help companies create and implement sophisticated speech solutions that deliver proven economic benefits and the highest levels of caller satisfaction. For more information, visit http://www.scansoft.com/network/.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

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

ScanSoft, the ScanSoft logo, SpeechPearl and RealSpeak are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SpeechWorks and Speechify are registered trademarks or trademarks of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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