PARIS, FRANCE - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA, NYSE: ALA) today announced its intention for its Genesys subsidiary to acquire privately held VoiceGenie in an undisclosed cash transaction. The deal is expected to close in a few weeks.

Founded in 2000, VoiceGenie is a leader in voice self service solutions, with a software platform based on Voice XML, an open standard used for developing self service applications by both enterprises and carriers. Voice XML is a critical underlying technology that is classically used in contact centers for customer voice self-service; widely deployed by telecom providers to support multi media services such as directory assistance, navigation direction and virtual receptionists; and increasingly applied to speech-enabled enterprise applications such as order status. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with currently 90 people, VoiceGenie has established a strong position in the worldwide Voice Portal market, serving some of the largest carriers and application service providers (ASPs), including Verizon, AT&T, and Orange.

The combination of both companies will make Alcatel's Genesys the undisputed leader in a fast-developing market that is expected to double in the next three years, with nearly one-fourth of the market, almost two and a half times the size of its nearest competitor. Genesys expects to accelerate the trend away from legacy, proprietary IVRs (interactive voice response) to new Voice XML software standards. In addition, Genesys will expand its offerings for Service Providers allowing them to deploy a wide variety of internal and network services, including managed services.

"By acquiring VoiceGenie, just three months after acquiring GMK, a leading provider of self service solutions in Brazil, we reaffirm our commitment to the voice self service market," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO of Genesys. "VoiceGenie is extremely well-respected for its technology and its market presence, especially in North America. VoiceGenie is the perfect choice for Genesys to strengthen its leadership in the self-service industry by bringing an incredible pool of talent, complementary technologies and partners. This move will accelerate our strategy of delivering pure software solutions through flexible deployment models."

"We believe the market wants to see a clear leader emerge that is dedicated to standards-based solutions that make it easier and faster to deploy speech-enabled applications," said Thomas Charlton, VoiceGenie president and CEO. "Together with Genesys, we will build the market leader, with global scale, and establish Voice XML as a universal platform."

About VoiceGenie
Founded in 2000, VoiceGenie is a leader in Voice Self Service solutions, with a software platform based on Voice XML, an open standard used for developing self service applications by both enterprises and carriers. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with currently 90 people, VoiceGenie has established a strong position in the worldwide Voice Portal market, serving some of the largest North American carriers and ASPs, such as Verizon, AT&T, and Rogers Telecom.
 
About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc
Genesys, an Alcatel company, is 100 percent focused on software for contact centers. Leading companies in the Global 2000 and Fortune 1000 use Genesys to deliver interactions that drive better business. With 3,300 customers in 80 countries, Genesys directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day. Genesys allows enterprises to achieve key business objectives by tying together customer interactions, people and customer information in both traditional telephony and IP environments. Sophisticated routing and reporting across voice, e-mail, documents and Web interactions, coupled with integrated self service, ensure that customers are quickly connected to the right resource - the first time. Genesys solutions stop customer frustration and allow enterprises to deliver superior customer satisfaction and improved business results. For more information visit us at www.genesyslab.com

About Alcatel
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world. With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: www.alcatel.com

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