AVST and NEC Corporation of America Expand Global Footprint For Unified Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 5, 2010 --

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. and IRVING, Texas, April 5, 2010 – Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) and NEC Corporation of America (NEC) today announced a long-term strategic technology relationship including the integration of Active Voice, a division of NEC, into AVST. In addition to seamlessly integrating AVST’s CallXpress® Unified Communications (UC) platform with NEC’s world class IP telephony and UC solutions, AVST will continue to manufacture, support and enhance specific Active Voice product offerings for NEC, its channel partners and the independent Active Voice channel.

This relationship increases the global footprint of both companies for UC and the addition of the Active Voice division significantly increases AVST’s addressable customer base with a combined 140,000 systems sold worldwide, to date. Additionally, the integration expands AVST’s position in the UC marketplace with a broader set of product offerings, access to additional distribution channels and expanded engineering resources for accelerated innovation. For NEC, the partnership provides integration of its advanced solutions with AVST’s CallXpress UC platform and expanded sales channel opportunities. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

The new relationship further validates the commitment of both companies to deliver world class UC solutions for small, medium and enterprise-class customers that are highly interoperable, scalable and tailored to meet the needs of individual businesses. AVST brings three decades of experience and leadership in the UC marketplace and leverages its core strength of delivering solutions that transform individual, group and enterprise productivity while enabling organizations to maximize the return on their strategic telecom and IT infrastructure investments. NEC, a leading provider and integrator of advanced communications solutions, continues to offer advanced unified communications for businesses and vertical organizations that meet business process improvement needs.

“We are honored and privileged to enter into this long term strategic technology relationship with NEC. Extending our relationship with one of the most prestigious global UC solution providers in the market while maintaining our strong independent and interoperable product offerings is a positive step for our customers and our channel,” said Hardy Myers, President & CEO of AVST. “We are also very excited to integrate the Active Voice team and its products into AVST, thereby enabling us to extend our global reach and accelerate our position in the UC market.”

“AVST has been a technology and distribution partner of NEC for many years,” said Ram Menghani, General Manager, Product Management for NEC Corporation of America. “The expanded technology relationship and the corresponding acquisition of Active Voice announced today, reflects our strong mutual commitment to our customers and expanding NEC’s global position in the UC market. We believe th

active voice     AVST     NEC     Unified Communications