JOIN US Microsoft Corp and 24/7 Inc, on Tuesday, announced from Washington, an agreement to merge the former’s natural user interfaces (NUIs) and data analytics at cloud scale (Big Data) with 24/7 Inc.
The agreement includes 24/7 Inc acquiring Microsoft’s interactive self-service assets (clients, people and technologies). It also includes an R&D partnership, long-term IP licensing and Microsoft taking an undisclosed equity stake in 24/7 Inc.
24/7 Inc is based in Campbell, Calif., and has about 9,000 employees in India, Philipines and other centres. The company was launched in the year 2000 and has raised over $20 million from Sequoia Capital and other investors, according to co-founder and Chief Executive PV Kannan.
Details of the Microsoft partnership are not disclosed, but as a result of it, Kannan expects revenue of $250 million this year, as compared to $190 million last year.
In addition, 24/7 has acquired Voxify earlier this year, a Microsoft partner to create automated call center agents.
Microsoft has pioneered the use of NUIs, including gestures and speech, across a broad range of devices, and the broad adoption of NUIs by consumers has changed the way people interact with technology, companies and one another. The company 24/7 Inc is a leading innovator in harnessing the power of Big Data (cloud) for customer service.
“With this agreement, Microsoft and 24/7 are combining technologies that span interactive self-service across mobile, Web and voice channels, Big Data analytics, and speech and conversational interfaces to create a next-generation cloud platform for customer service,” said S Nagarajan, co-founder and chief people officer of the company.
The combined Predictive Experience (PX) platform will manage more than 2.5 billion speech and online self-service interactions annually.
24/7 Inc will utilize Microsoft Tell me speech and natural language technologies for natural user experiences in customer service.