Idealsoft Selects Wizzard Software's Speech Technology for Homeland Security Products

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2004--Wizzard Software (OTCBB:WIZD - News) announced today that it has expanded its relationship with Idealsoft, the maker of Asvaco Assessment Tools for homeland security compliance. Idealsoft will license Wizzard's Voice Tools and AT&T Natural Voices TTS engine and pay Wizzard a royalty for all copies of Asvaco shipped with these products. Additionally, Wizzard has agreed to offer Asvaco products through its newly awarded GSA schedule to state, local and federal government agencies generating a portion of each sale as revenue for Wizzard. The Asvaco Assessment Tools fall under the homeland security compliance sector of the software industry. Using these tools, police and other emergency assessment experts are able to evaluate potential threats to schools, hospitals, energy facilities, shipping ports, airports and other "high profile" points of interest by answering a serious of predetermined questions based on the type of facility. The assessment data generated by Asvaco is then provided to "first responders" (police, fire, EMT, etc.) allowing them to prepare for what they may encounter while rushing in their vehicles to an emergency situation. The data can be accessed in the vehicle in real time and read "out loud", using Wizzard's Text-To-Speech and Voice Tools products, allowing the first responder to keep their eyes on the road and focus on getting to the scene quickly, safely and well informed. "We are very pleased to have the resources and technology to support and assist our partner Idealsoft in providing a suite of software applications that solve specific problems for critical American infrastructure protection, public safety, and emergency management", said Wizzard CFO, Gordon Berry. "The people at Idealsoft are of the highest quality and it shows in their products and in the services they provide for the security of our country." "We have hundreds of businesses, government agencies, software programmers and technologists coming to Wizzard each week with new ideas for the use of speech technology", says Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Software. "Recently, a few truly unique ideas have been presented to Wizzard and we have moved aggressively to provide the right speech technology and work closely with the new partner using our resources to both of our collective benefits. This is the first of what we believe are several very new and exciting products that can benefit by the addition of Wizzard's speech technology." With the recently announced significant increases in government, military and homeland security spending, in addition to the U.S. Congress amended Rehabilitation Act (508) to require federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with visual disabilities, Wizzard recently applied for and was awarded a five year, Federal Supply Service (FSS) contract by the General Services Administrations creating for federal, state and local government organizations a streamlined process to acquire speech related software products and professional services. Wizzard is aggressively building a strong portfolio of government and government related customers including: United States Postal Service -As previously announced, the US Postal Service has developed and implemented award-winning software to comply with mandates issued by federal legislation known as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The project objective is to make the BSA software easier to use, improve processing, and increase effectiveness through the use of speech recognition to identify, track and report suspicious activity patterns, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism initiatives, thus placing the USPS in compliance with the legislation. Once completed, this product can be offered to banks and other financial institutions who must maintain compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. United States Army - The US Army testing laboratory tests the accuracy of weapons such as the long-range artillery rounds. Wizzard developed an application, deployed on a portable computer, which allows the individual conducting the tests to verbally record statistical target data at the point of impact. With minor modifications, this product can be used for other military weapons accuracy tests and will be offered to several branches of the U.S. Military. United States Navy - By including text-to-speech technology from Wizzard Software in pilot flight simulators, the U.S. Navy is using speech technology to simulate a plane in flight using verbal instructions "from the tower" that communicate with the student/trainee. Wizzard provided an experienced speech expert who assisted the Navy contractor in revising its original approach and provided products and consulting services during the development cycle. About Idealsoft Idealsoft, Inc., the makers of Asvaco(TM), is a software engineering and development company that was established in 1998. Idealsoft spent three years developing Asvaco(TM), the most comprehensive professional assessment software product in the industry. More information on Idealsoft can be found at www.asvaco.com . About Wizzard Software Founded in 1996, Wizzard Software has become a leader in the speech technology application development market. Wizzard architects solutions to business problems using its expertise in consulting, speech development tools and building speech based applications for the Desktop and Internet. Wizzard has achieved global recognition because of its expertise with voice communication whether it is via PC or telephone. Wizzard's successes have lead to expanding opportunities in both the government and commercial sectors. More information can be found in Wizzard's Investor's Corner at www.wizzardsoftware.com .