Voicegain, the leading Privacy-first Voice AI platform for enterprises and AI SaaS companies, is thrilled to announce the successful completion of a System and Organizational Control (SOC) 2 Type 2 Audit performed by Johanson LLP. This achievement underscores Voicegain's ongoing commitment to the highest standards of security, availability, and confidentiality for customer data.

Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the SOC 2 Information security audit provides a report on the examination of controls relevant to the trust services criteria categories covering security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Voicegain’s SOC 2 Type 2 report did not have any noted exceptions and was therefore issued with a “clean” audit opinion from Johanson LLP. The SOC 2 Type 2 certification is widely recognized as a rigorous measure of an organization’s systems and controls over an extended period.

"As a Privacy first Voice AI Platform, data protection and trust are at the heart of Voicegain. Whether you are a developer working for a startup using our APIs or a Fortune 500 enterprise user of our platform, you shouldn’t have to worry about the controls in place for your sensitive voice data. It has been close to 2 years since we embarked on our SOC 2 Type 1 journey and I am really proud of what our team has accomplished. We look forward to providing businesses worldwide with Voice AI solutions that deliver true peace of mind when it comes to security and compliance" said Dr Jacek Jarmulak, Co-founder, CTO & CISO Of Voicegain.

What Is SOC2 Type 2?

Service Organization Control 2(SOC2) is a set of criteria established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to assess controls relevant to the security, availability, and processing integrity of the systems a service organization uses to process users’ data and the confidentiality and privacy of the information processed by these systems. SOC 2 compliance is important for Voice AI platforms like Voicegain, as it demonstrates that we have implemented controls to safeguard users’ data.

There are two types of SOC 2 compliance:

1. SOC 2 Type 1: Validates that an organization has established appropriate controls at a specific point in time. Voicegain's successful audit established this as of Jul 14 2023.
2. SOC 2 Type 2: Confirms that an organization has maintained and operated those controls over a period of time, typically 6 to 12 months. Voicegain's latest report covers this for the period July 2024 to Jan 2025.

Implications for Voicegain Users

From a functional standpoint, achieving SOC 2 Type 2 compliance doesn’t change anything. Our APIs and Apps will work exactly as they always have and as expected. However SOC 2 Type 2 compliance means that we have established a set of controls and processes to ensure the security of our users’ data. This compliance demonstrates that we have the necessary measures in place to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access and disclosure.

What’s Next? Increasing the Maturity of our security process

Our commitment to security doesn’t end with SOC 2 Type 2. We are looking forward to increasing the maturity of the entire security process. This includes the following:

• Establishing a Continuous Security Monitoring Program
  • Tools and processes for ongoing detection and response (SIEM, SOC, endpoint protection).
• Developing an Incident Response and Business Continuity Culture
  • Regular tabletop exercises, disaster recovery drills, and documented processes.
• Hardening Third-Party Risk Management
  • Vendor risk assessments, contract language, and ongoing monitoring of partners’ security posture.
• Security Awareness and Training
  • Regular phishing simulations, role-based security training, and compliance training to ensure staff remain vigilant.
• Adopting a “Privacy by Design” Mindset
  • Integrate privacy considerations early in every new product or feature development cycle.

"We understand that in today's fast moving industry landscape, data security is non-negotiable," added Arun Santhebennur, Co-founder & CEO of Voicegain. "By achieving SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, we aim to set a high watermark in the Voice AI market. Our customers can have full confidence that their sensitive information is protected throughout its lifecycle."

To request a copy of our SOC 2 Type 2 report, please email security.it@voicegain.ai

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Nuance just announced that the Nuance Recognizer which is a MRCP grammar-based ASR will reach EOL in May 2027. This decision affects a significant number of on-premise speech-enabled IVR systems that rely on the Nuance Recognizer, creating uncertainty for many businesses.

If you are impacted by this decision, this post outlines an immediate fix while preparing companies for an AI future.

Why is Nuance Ending Support for Recognizer?

The decision appears to be driven by two primary factors:

1. Transition to Modern AI Solutions: Traditional grammar-based speech recognition is being replaced by large-vocabulary Speech-to-Text (STT) systems, which are better suited for the era of AI-powered phone agents. These systems enable natural, conversational interactions, making them far superior to decision-tree-based IVRs.
2. Shift to Cloud-Based Platforms: Contact center vendors are migrating their solutions to the cloud, leaving behind older protocols like MRCP (used for on-premise VoiceXML-based IVRs). Modern STT offerings, such as those from Google and Nuance, use gRPC protocols, signaling a move toward cloud-native solutions.

Nuance’s Upgrade Options May Not Work

Nuance provides two upgrade options, but neither is fully compatible with existing IVRs:

1. Cloud-Based Grammar Recognizer: While this option supports grammars, it uses a gRPC-based API that is incompatible with VoiceXML-based IVR platforms.
2. Large-Vocabulary STT: Designed for conversational AI voice bots, this option requires a complete app rewrite to utilize conversational AI—making it a more time-intensive and expensive solution.

Challenges for Businesses

The EOL announcement introduces two major hurdles for businesses:

1. Costly App Rewrites: Transitioning to AI-powered phone agents requires a complete rewrite of IVR applications, which can be expensive. Many businesses are reluctant to undertake this on Nuance's timeline.
2. On-Premise Feature Gap: While cloud solutions offer many advantages, businesses with strict privacy and control requirements often prefer modern features in on-premise contact center environments.

If your business relies on Nuance’s MRCP-based ASR (as of November 2024), now is the time to plan for a replacement. Below, we outline a solution that allows you to continue using your existing IVR without major disruptions.

Voicegain MRCP ASR as "drop-in" replacement for Nuance MRCP ASR

Voicegain offers a seamless alternative to Nuance's grammar-based MRCP ASR. Our platform:

• Supports Existing IVR Apps: Voicegain natively supports traditional SRGS/grXML grammars and MRCP (versions 1 and 2). Your current VoiceXML-based IVR can continue running without changes.
• Simple Replacement: Switching to Voicegain is as easy as updating your IVR to point to our ASR server instead of Nuance’s—just replace the IP address of Nuance with that of Voicegain ASR in the VoiceXML platform configuration settings.

This allows you to maintain your current IVR workflow until you're ready to upgrade on your terms.

Future-Proof with Agentic AI

Over the next few years, many businesses will transition to generative AI-powered phone agents to improve caller experiences and increase automation rates. While this is a promising future, businesses shouldn’t feel forced to move to the cloud just to access these capabilities.

Voicegain’s deep-learning-based large-vocabulary STT engine is designed to evolve with your needs:

• Scalable and Flexible: Built using NVIDIA GPUs for high-throughput processing, our platform also supports CPU-optimized deployment in containerized environments for smaller workloads.
• Future-Ready: When you decide to build a Gen-AI-powered phone agent, Voicegain’s STT engine will be ready to integrate into your existing tech stack.

‍Test this today

To discuss your upgrade options, email us at sales@voicegain.ai. If you'd like to test our solution, sign up for a free developer account (no credit card required) and get 1,500 free hours of usage. Visit the link in the instructions, and once signed up, contact support@voicegain.ai to request MRCP access.

Start future-proofing your IVR system today with Voicegain.

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