NetByTel, Vocalocity and ScanSoft Team Up on First Hosted Commercial SALT Deployments

Key Bank, Mailboxes, Etc. and Shell Benefiting From Market Leaders' Dedication to Open Standards for Speech Recognition

(BOCA RATON, Fla., ATLANTA, Ga. and PEABODY, Ma. - March 22, 2004) NetByTel, Inc., Vocalocity, and ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) announce today the first commercial deployments of hosted speech-driven applications using Speech Application Language Tags (SALT). SALT is an emerging industry standard that extends existing mark-up languages to enable multi-modal and telephony access to the Web. NetByTel deployed three location finders using SALT that are answering calls for Key Bank, Mailboxes, Etc., and Shell Oil Company.

NetByTel created the location finder applications using its own VoiceServ® platform, the Vocalocity Voice Gateway and ScanSoft's OpenSpeech™ Recognizer and Speechify® text-to-speech. Because of NetByTel's successful track record in speech deployments, the flexibility of its VoiceServ platform, and because of Vocalocity's open architecture that supports both VoiceXML and SALT, the companies were able to get to market fastest.

The location finders provide callers variable search options via speech input that may include phone number, zip code, address, intersection, city and state. NetByTel's VoiceServ platform automates many of the steps in the design, development, testing and deployment process, freeing human factors experts to focus on the voice interface and enabling rapid deployment. Because VoiceServ generates the applications using modular components, future applications can be created (such as those based on SALT) using the same design but targeting a different standard. This insures that applications created with VoiceServ will be portable to any future standards that may emerge.

"These SALT-based commercial applications demonstrate how speech can be used to create a more useful and user-friendly environment," said Xuedong Huang, general manager of the Microsoft Speech Server group at Microsoft. "Providing commercially ready pre-packaged applications can help reduce costs, enhance revenues and improve business agility for real world business use."

"Our Company focus has always been to use best-in-class technology in order to deliver the best caller experience over the telephone. By using the open standards of SALT, we can leverage the technical advances of our partners, including Vocalocity and ScanSoft, among others, to provide the best possible speech applications on the market," said John Amein, president and CEO of NetByTel. "I am proud that we are first-to-market with commercial SALT deployments, laying the groundwork for emerging standards that will continue to help our customers lower costs and improve service over time."

"This is a great example of how quickly partners can respond to new customer requirements using the Vocalocity Voice Gateway," says Michael Dickerson, CEO of Vocalocity. "NetByTel has demonstrated the ability to deploy live applications in both SALT and VoiceXML on the same infrastructure, providing unprecedented flexibility and choice for customers who demand open, standards-based solutions." "The advent of open-standards such as SALT and VoiceXML has expanded the choices available to those deploying speech applications; expanding the market through lower total cost of ownership and faster solution delivery," said Steve Chambers, division president, SpeechWorks Solutions, at ScanSoft. "NetByTel is providing its customers with superior speech capabilities and greater flexibility by supporting best-in-class components from ScanSoft and Vocalocity in their VoiceServ platform."

About NetByTel

NetByTel® delivers the best telephone self-service experience for callers. Developed and deployed with NetByTel's VoiceServ® platform, NetByTel's hosted solutions help clients save money, improve their customer's experience and enhance their brand image. For more information, visit the company web site at www.netbytel.com.

About Vocalocity

Vocalocity is the only VoiceXML and SALT platform software designed specifically for OEM and channel partners who provide unique open solutions to their customers. Partners can easily customize and extend Vocalocity products through open platform-wide Extension Point APIs, enabling them to respond quickly to diverse customer requirements.

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, Internal Revenue Service, Bank of America 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 www.scansoft.com/network/.

About ScanSoft

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) 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 more information regarding ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.scansoft.com.

NetByTel, the NetByTel logo and VoiceServ are trademarks of NetByTel, Inc. All other products or services mentioned are the property of their respective holders.

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