Genesys, a provider of omnichannel customer experience and contact center solutions, has acquired SpeechStorm, a provider of self-service applications for mobile, Web, and interactive voice response (IVR) channels. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SpeechStorm, which is based in Northern Ireland, has been a Genesys partner since 2010. It operates offices in the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States. SpeechStorm's reported revenue for the year was $3.4 million. The company had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Belfast-based IT firm Kainos prior to a management buyout in 2010. Kainos divested a majority stake in the business at that time and has had no operational involvement since then.
Genesys is based in Daly City, Calif., and employs more than 2,600 people. It recently launched the App Foundry, a customer service applications marketplace.
The SpeechStorm acquisition comes almost immediately after Genesys announced a partnership with Australian unified communications provider Generation-e. The stated goal of that deal is to deliver integrated collaboration and communications solutions to mid-sized companies in Australia. With the SpeechStorm acquisition, Genesys brings additional omnichannel self-service capabilities to the Genesys Customer Experience Platform, enhancing its Self-Service IVR and Web Engagement solutions, merging self-service and agent assistance to deliver highly personalized customer experiences. Customers can now create a single self-service application and make it available simultaneously across multiple customer touchpoints, including mobile, Web, and traditional IVR environments.
With Genesys omnichannel self-service solutions, consumers can engage with companies through either voice or digital channels and seamlessly transition to assisted service when required, providing the agent with the full context and history of the interaction..
With the SpeechStorm acquisition, Genesys customers will have access to a catalog of more than 70 pre-built, rapidly deployable self-service applications optimized for common self-service needs, such as bill payment and change of address.
"As our customers embrace the challenge of personalizing the customer experience and managing customer jpourneys, self-service solutions are the first places they need to examine in making that transformation," said Paul Segre, CEO of Genesys, in a statement. "With the addition of SpeechStorm, we’re setting a new standard for both how companies create omnichannel self-service applications and design highly personalised journeys across touchpoints and channels to deliver an exceptional customer experience."