The product shipped a month late and is due for an update this year
Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates unveiled Speech Server 2004, Microsoft says it's happy with adoption of its first speech-recognition server. Some Microsoft partners who sell the product, however, say it has had a bit of a false start.
When Microsoft proclaimed it would bring speech recognition to the masses, Gary Hannah, president and CEO of speech specialist Pronexus Inc., set ambitious goals for his company. He said he established a separate Speech Server division and "bet a significant part of the farm" on the new Microsoft product.
But when the Ottawa-based company closes its books on March 31, revenue for Pronexus' Speech Server business will be about a third of what it budgeted last year, Hannah said. "It is slower than we'd like," he said. Hannah blamed a marketing effort by Microsoft that was weaker than he expected.
|