SpeechCycle, though smaller than the other vendors featured, has returned as a leader in professional services after winning in 2007. This past year, the company released nRich Grammar Factory, a vendor-independent subscription service for building grammars, and two versions of its transformational services suite. The company scored fairly high across all criteria, only stumbling in cost and company direction. “They’re moderately expensive,” says one analyst, “but you get your money’s worth.”

In direction, SpeechCycle received mixed scores due to a recent shift in company focus. Others, however, felt that the company’s innovation more than made up for it, with one consultant remarking, “That’s the single strongest area: how innovative they’ve been, how good Roberto Pieraccini and others have been in coming up with new ideas for them.”