Sakhr launches Arabic ASR 4.0 speech recognition engine

KUN0024 4 GEN 0205 KUWAIT /KUNA-FXO6 ECO-KUWAIT-TECHNICAL-SOFTWARE Sakhr launches Arabic ASR 4.0 speech recognition engine KUWAIT, April 22 (KUNA) -- Sakhr Software Company announced Thursday announced the availability of its engine Sakhr's ASR 4.0 speech-recognition software package. The director of audio products at the company Jihad Salman said in a press release that the software contains new functions to ease application development and integration, increase accuracy and improve application usability. Salman added that the ASR engine enables (IVR) systems to understand people's natural Arabic speech through spoken words in different Arabic accents. With the new software, developers can create robust and easy-to-use application interfaces designed to increase customer self-service, shorten application process time and boost customer satisfaction levels, he said. Salman added that the software is designed to enable highly accurate, scalable, and easy to deploy voice solutions ranging from directory assistance, banking solutions, auto-attendant systems, product ordering, solutions for visually impaired and customer care to industry specific applications including airline reservations, brokerage, and many more. He also said that it delivers unparalleled accuracy, often exceeding 95 percent in both wireless and landline deployments and exceptionally in noisy environments. It allows natural human-like dialogues through its robust grammar based barge-in feature, he added. Meanwhile, Dell, the US computer giant, recently announced that Al Alamiah Group has been awarded the title "Platinum Partner". This announcement comes as Al Alamiah Group receives two more international awards from Dell for the Group's performance during 2003. "We consider receiving this prestigious title, and the two key awards, to be the fruits of the joint efforts between our Group and Dell in serving the markets of the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait," said the director of business at Al Alamiah Group Fahad Al Sharekh. Al Sharekh added that the awards which were presented by Pim Dale, Managing Director, Dell, during the annual conference for Dell distributors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The conference was held in the Spanish capital, Madrid, from 31 March to 2 April 2004. On the company's activities in 2003, Al Sharekh said that Al Alamiah distributed and serviced over 42 thousand computers in the offices in Saudi Arabia alone. The Group also provided solutions for over 1,200 different Dell network servers, storage systems and solutions. He added that this outstanding performance places his company in a position which enabled it to snatch the title of Dell's Desktop Partner from amongst 110 competing distributors all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Meanwhile, the vice president of Al Alamiah Group and Chairman of Al Alamiah Group in Saudi Arabia Hamed Al Sharekh, said that the company was awarded "Best IT Solutions Provider" for its outstanding presence and exceptional performance within regional markets, as well as for its capability to fulfill the demands, needs and requirements of its clients, be they ministries, organizations or companies. The award was presented during GITEX Riyadh 2004, he said. He added that Al Alamiah Group is the largest IT contractor in the region, and includes nine companies, all of which specialize in ICT. The Group's head office is located in the Kuwaiti capital. The three companies operating in Saudi Arabia form the "Al Alamiah Group KSA", with its head office located at the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and this group in its turn, is part of the mother group, he said. Sakhr Software Company was founded in Kuwait in 1982, and was relocated in Cairo in 1990. A leading Arabic software company, Sakhr develops software specifically tailored to the needs of the Arabic market and Arabic language users. (end) hmd.ema KUNA 221210 Apr 04NNNN