The journey had begun years earlier.  In the early 1970s, we were building systems that connected machines and people. Even then, the challenge was not just processing information—it was delivering it.  Voice became the breakthrough. It carried tone, urgency, and meaning well beyond data.  We began experimenting with ways to digitize and deliver voice. Primitive by today’s standards, but powerful enough to prove a point:  The voice itself became the message.

In May 1980, we launched the Voicemail® Service.  Storage was expensive with limited storage so one-to-one messaging was not practical. We focused on one-to-many and found many opportunities for Voicemail.  Airlines scheduling flight crews, Movie studios sending daily filming schedules,  Grocery chains distributed daily price changes on produce.  Voicemail quickly became a broadcast system for time critical information everywhere and any time!