Vocalis runs SpeechMail Pilot with Novell

Phone Access to Email Provides More Functionality

Vocalis, the international speech technology group, and Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net services software, today announced an agreement to add telephone access to Novell GroupWise® email through Vocalis SpeechMail. Enhancing Novell's powerful knowledge platform, this alliance will provide easy voice access to the Novell GroupWise business communication backbone. Over 300 Novell GroupWise corporate customers will participate in this pilot program.

"In order to truly take advantage of the power of eBusiness, companies need to have fast, efficient access to critical business information - so they can quickly act on the needs of customers, partners and co-workers," said Chip DiComo, Network Manager for Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, a valued Novell Groupwise customer. "The combination of Vocalis SpeechMail and Novell's Internet Messaging System (NIMS) makes that information access easier then ever. Using extremely reliable speech recognition technology, , SpeechMail gives us telephone access to email messages in NIMS through any telephone using simple voice commands - and that gives Hellmann an advantage in the fast-moving Net economy."

"The opportunity to provide more functionality to Novell's GroupWise product is an excellent opportunity for both Vocalis SpeechMail and Novell GroupWise users" said Mike Williams, Director of Business Development at Vocalis. "SpeechMail will provide Novell customers with further powerful functionality enabling remote access to their email account."

"Phone access to email offers the communication convenience required for success in the twenty-first century, and compliments the impressive suite of intranet and Internet services offered by GroupWise," added Leif Pedersen, Director of Product Management for Novell GroupWise. "This type of universal access to Net services software like GroupWise is an important aspect of Novell's one Net vision."

Vocalis SpeechMail enables a user to manage email by telephone using a combination of advanced speech recognition, and text-to-speech technologies. Using spoken commands, the user can send, retrieve and delete email without a computer or direct Internet access. Over 50 leading international Internet Service Providers currently use Vocalis SpeechMail, including BT Internet, Cable & Wireless, and UUNET.

Novell GroupWise is the knowledge platform that delivers a wide array of Net services software, including messaging, calendaring, document management and workflow, across all types of networks and all leading operating systems. GroupWise enables communication across intranets, extranets and the Internet, simply and easily, and manages e-mail, faxes, documents, spreadsheets, images, schedules, discussions and tasks.