Voice response systems have begun to show up everywhere, from stockbrokerages to ticket sellers to travel agencies. The technology works. And now a small company in Columbia, S.C., hopes to put it to work for IT.Conita Technologies sells tools that let IT departments create customized “voice portals,” which employees can use to access disparate corporate data sources, ranging from e-mail to CRM?even weather reports. The goal is to make voice a “highly effective personal productivity tool,” says President and CEO Jeffrey McElroy. Conita Personal Virtual Assistant (PVA) uses basic scripting tools to integrate with nearly any application, allowing users to simply speak a request into any phone and receive voice feedback. For instance, a user could call the PVA extension, log in with a code number and ask to read e-mail, send new messages or receive a list of new sales opportunities. Companies can even take advantage of existing Web code (such as JavaScript, VBScript and Perl) to quickly create new PVA applications. Pricing for the PVA server begins at around $40,000 to support 250 to 300 users. For more information, visit www.conita.com. Related content feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe