What a year for speech recognition at Microsoft
Yeah, yeah, the year in review, what a crushingly unoriginal idea for a post. But wait - this is worth it. 2007 was a huge year for speech recognition products at Microsoft. I think we'll look back on it as a real turning point. Here's how it shaped up.
(Going into the year, Exchange Server 2007 had just shipped with Unified Messaging, including Outlook Voice Access that gives you access over the phone to email, calendar and other useful features. It's a significant integration of speech technology into the heart of a high-volume server product. Huge posters had been up on campus for months, and inside Exchange, they called it 'the sizzle on the steak'.
Meanwhile the teams in Windows, Speech Server, automotive and core technology are hard at work... )
January 2007
Windows Vista ships with Windows Speech Recognition built into the operating system in eight different languages. Now this is a significant investment in the voice user interface as a means of commanding and dictation for desktop users. The entire desktop is speech-enabled under the 'say what you see' metaphor; correction and selection are easy; and the system adapts to your voice and your typical word usage as time goes on. Since the release of WSR, many media reviews have been overwhelmingly positive - check out Rob Chambers' blog (one of the driving forces behind speech in Vista) for links and discussions.
March 2007
Microsoft announces intent to acquire Tellme Networks. Steve Ballmer says it all:
“Speech is universal, simple and holds incredible promise as a key interface for computing. Tellme brings to Microsoft the talent, technology and proven experience in speech that will enable us to deliver a new wave of products and revolutionize human-computer interaction.”
(Incidentally, CNET has a nice inside look at the discussions in Building 34 on Superbowl day between Steve Ballmer and Mike McCue, Tellme CEO, that led up to the deal.)
Also in March - Microsoft Response Point is launched out of Microsoft Research. Response Point is a new way for small business to manage their phone systems - inexpensive, easy to set up and easy to use. All thanks to VoIP and the speech technology that underlies the user interface.
May 2007
The acquisition of TellMe closes.
September 2007
In the mobile space, Tellme announces a deal with Sprint to incorporate Tellme's voice search technology with Live Search into certain phones.
Meanwhile, the first Ford cars hit the market in the USA with Sync - hands-free speech technology for voice dialing, messaging and media control within the car.
October 2007
Office Communications Server 2007 is released as the flagship of Microsoft's Unified Communications strategy. Bundled with OCS 2007 is the latest version of Microsoft Speech Server - now called Office Communications Server 2007 Speech Server (oh yes). It's a significant upgrade from Speech Server 2004, including native VoIP support, graphical dialog editing, conversational grammars, and rich data mining and tuning tools.
And - what a month - Live Search for Windows Mobile goes live with speech recognition. The speech team blog has more details of the kinds of searches possible. And you don't even need a mobile phone to make free 411 calls using the Live Search speech technology. Insider details from Long Zheng's interview with Program Manager Oliver Scholz.
So what's to come in 2008?
Let me say only that we have not been sitting around (well, actually, that's not quite true, I have been sitting around for the last month, since I was out on paternity leave. Only it wasn't really sitting around, there was a lot to do in terms of coping with the newborn's data streams and all that, but I wasn't building software, that's what I meant, now let me rescue my point) - all the teams behind these releases have been planning and executing on the next waves since even before the dates above, so huge momentum has already built in a number of areas, old and new, and we'll start to see evidence of this as the year progresses.
And - did I mention that we're hiring in a number of speech technology-related areas? Please contact me for details if you're interested.
