I just learned that Cloudvox is launching this week and it got me thinking.
Cloudvox is one of the companies like client Voxygen, Voxeo, Twilio and also client ifByPhone and Ribbit which has grasped the power of voice APIs and made them available to just about everyone.
What does all this mean?
Well for starters, voice API's become more deployable. In an era where cloud computing and open source technology are taking hold, the need for easy to use libraries of code is evident.
A company that either develops API, uses them to their nth degree or knows how to manage and deploy them, ala pal Thomas Howe, is going to be part of the Voice 3.0 era.
Watch for other companies to take on a similar approach.
Andy, I fully agree with your analysis.
You mention newcomers and startups, but I'd like to mention that traditional telcos are also understanding the power of Voice APIs
See: http://www.orangepartner.com/site/enuk/access_orange_apis/instant_apis/click_to_call_api/p_click_to_call_api.jsp
Paul
Orange
Posted by: twitter.com/pgonin | October 29, 2009 at 03:16 PM
Andy, thanks for the analysis and the mention.
As many of you know, Voxeo has been delivering an open-API voice network for ten years now.
We've seen immense success in that time thanks to the over 100,000 registered members of our developer programs and over 400 technology partners. In fact three of the companies you list above are using Voxeo technology for part of their services.
It's amazing what can happen when you break down the exclusive country club mentality of the voice industry. Our developers and partners *really* are the proof. They've helped us drive from myself and an idea--"Make Telephony Simple" in 1999 to nearly 150 Voxeo employees in the US, UK, Germany, and China; running seven Voxeo voice hosting centers with nearly 100,000 lines of capacity in the US, EU, and Asia in 2009.
Voxeo does much more than just voice today: we have open API, XML, and Eclipse-based development platforms that let you easily build applications that can work universally via voice, SMS, IM, Twitter, and more.
If Voxeo can help any of you with absolutely anything at all, please let us know. You can also use all of our platforms and services absolutely free by visiting
http://www.voxeo.com/free
Best,
-Jonathan Taylor
-CEO, Voxeo
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718101245 | October 13, 2009 at 06:02 PM
Would love to know more...
Posted by: Andy Abramson | October 13, 2009 at 04:36 PM
Good call! In fact, babyTEL is just about to release their API. We're very excited about it. The next version of our facebook app, which is due for release momentarily, will be an example of our how our API works. Let me know if you want to have a look!
Posted by: twitter.com/babyTELme | October 13, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Sure Chris..send me the details.
Posted by: Andy Abramson | October 13, 2009 at 01:08 AM
Andy,
You'd probably be interested in some of the ways PBworks is using voice APIs to incorporate voice into our collaboration tools. Let me know if you want a demo.
Posted by: twitter.com/chrisyeh | October 12, 2009 at 07:13 PM
Hi Andy,
Good thoughts. Just wanted to provide a link to my company, Twilio, in case people want to learn more: http://www.twilio.com
Cheers,
-jeff
Twilio.com
Posted by: Twilio | October 11, 2009 at 10:27 PM
You missed the first one, Andy... it's Ribbit, now BT.
marc.
Posted by: twitter.com/marca56 | October 11, 2009 at 11:34 AM