The rise of cloud computing and cloud applications has grabbed a significant share of media attention of late. But while many focus on storage or shared computing applications, less attention has been paid to the need to support cloud services with traditional capabilities, such as voice.

As analysts Opus Research point out, voice is increasingly required in many applications that are moving to the cloud, particularly those that require interaction with agents or deliver commerce services. A number of independent voice providers have taken an early lead in this domain, but perhaps it’s time to think again about the role that telcos and network operators can play.

Telcos and network operators have been deploying what are effectively cloud-based media processing solutions for years. They have experience and a proven track record of delivering media processing for large-scale applications. The move towards IMS core network infrastructure and session control has included a critical component, the Media Resource Function (MRF), which provides cloud-based robust voice and video processing capabilities for a range of services. Importantly, the MRF comes with standardised interfaces that simplify application development and ensure that multiple applications can share the same resources, such as VoiceXML and CCXML. In other words, it’s media processing as a shared resource for the cloud.

The MRF is ideally placed to support the voice and video processing requirements of cloud-based service providers, accessible as a service from the telco network and via well-understood interfaces. What’s more, voice and video need real-time transport and latency functionality – the ability to deliver the QoS demanded for a  conversational experience. Telcos can leverage MRF deployments to create a proposition, both for their own cloud services and for those offered by non-traditional OTT players.

What’s needed is the kind of scalable, flexible MRF that can support interaction with third party application as well with service in the operator network. Why not talk to us to see how we can help open up the world of cloud-based voice?

Telesoft Technologies announced today that it had won another order to supply the ARNE IVR to a value added services (VAS) provider in India. The simple but feature rich architecture of the ARNE IVR allows VoiceXML/CCXML compliant applications to be seamlessly ported to the media platform and ensures rapid deployment in the field.

ARNE IVRThe ARNE IVR provides a cost effective VAS platform on which operators and system integrators can build innovative new applications, creating additional revenue streams. The ARNE IVR inherently supports multi-tenanting, allowing service providers to host multiple applications from multiple providers on the same system. Consolidation reduces carbon footprint and expenditure while simplifying support.

“The VoiceXML/CCXML compliant interpreter and proven telecom interfaces allow developers to port voice and video applications into the ARNE IVR and deploy them into fixed, cellular and next-generation networks in a matter of hours,” said Steve Patton, Product Manager, Telesoft Technologies.

A powerful, yet competitively priced VAS platform, the ARNE IVR features up to 240 simultaneous media channels in a compact rack mounted chassis. It has built-in SS7/ISUP signaling protocol software for call control, an MRCP interface for text-to-speech (TTS) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) and built-in in video streaming capability. A straightforward configuration system ensures simple ‘plug and play’ setup in the field.