Speech recognition features are cropping up in cell phone address books and customer service hotlines everywhere. IT and business professionals want to know when the technology will be ready for widespread enterprise use. It can't replace the keyboard yet, but it can boost productivity for specific users.

Reality Check

Speech Recognition (SR) software vendors insist that the technology is enterprise-ready, citing reduced training times and accuracy rates of 98% or higher. While these figures are not untrue, prospective adopters need to understand the full context before making any purchasing decisions.

Identifying the Ideal SR User

Although SR software is not quite ready for widespread enterprise use, it does have its place in the mainstream work environment. Many enterprises will have a number of users who can benefit from SR. A strong candidate for this technology meets the following criteria:

• Types more slowly than average (20 wpm or less). This is often due to limitations in mobility...