Telepresence Options - Industry Press Releases

Polycom Expands Telepresence Applications With New Customizable Telepresence Solutions

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:03:45 -0500

PLEASANTON, CA -- Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communication solutions, today announced a new line of highly adaptable immersive telepresence solutions -- Polycom Architected Telepresence Experience(TM) (Polycom ATX) 300. Based on Polycom's industry leading visual communication technology and designed for flexibility, the Polycom ATX 300 solutions can be customized by qualified audio/visual (AV) integrators to address vertical industry applications or precisely meet an organization's unique collaboration and/or room requirements.

The Polycom ATX 300 is a telepresence kit featuring technology components and software that is combined with planning, design, and implementation services from qualified AV integrator partners to create customized solutions for a broad range of industries and applications. The system can be used to create unique immersive telepresence environments customized with displays, furniture, lighting, acoustics, décor, etc. Customers may also be able to incorporate existing furniture or components to reduce costs and adapt the system to unique room requirements. Polycom ATX solutions are based on established video conferencing standards and open interoperability, so organizations can use them with existing video conferencing systems and with the estimated two million standards-based video conferencing and telepresence systems in use today.

"Customers have really embraced the concept of an immersive video communications experience, but increasingly want their own variation of a telepresence solution," said Michael Brandofino, executive vice president, video and unified communications, AVI-SPL. "Polycom has been the quickest to respond to that need with the Polycom ATX solution, which enables us to create solutions tailored for each customer. Coupled with ConferencePoint(TM), our comprehensive managed video services, we are able to support our customers' video communication needs from the desktop to the Polycom ATX immersive telepresence room."

"The opportunities for telepresence are limited only by imagination. The ability for people to see each other clearly and share information and content instantly across distances can be applied to virtually any industry to enhance collaboration, improve productivity and reduce costs," said Youssef Saleh, vice president and general manager, Telepresence and Vertical Solutions, Polycom. "With the ability to customize telepresence for specific business needs, Polycom and its certified partners are helping customers create exciting new applications that are transforming how they operate and expanding what is possible in their businesses."

For example, in the enterprise market the Polycom ATX can be adapted into research and development environments to accelerate time-to-market for new products by connecting global teams and creating tighter collaboration with partners and supplies. In manufacturing environments, telepresence can be integrated to enable effective remote quality assurance for facilities anywhere in the world by enabling people in other locations to see and examine products as they come off the line in real time.

"We are extremely pleased that Polycom has delivered an immersive telepresence solution that is very flexible," said Zhang Huarong, chairman and president, Hua Jian Group. "The solution is being fully customized, at the right price point, to our unique requirements as a manufacturer with geographically dispersed plants around the country."

For industries like healthcare, the Polycom ATX can be used to create medical training studios, such as interactive operating room environments, where physicians can watch live surgeries over telepresence. In education, the Polycom ATX 300 can be adapted with installed-room audio devices, ceiling microphones, document cameras and other audio/visual systems to address a range of distance learning applications such as telepresence-enabled lecture halls or highly interactive classrooms between branch campuses.

The customizable Polycom ATX 300 solutions complement an existing broad portfolio of Polycom immersive, room and personal telepresence solutions and supporting infrastructure, management and video recording, streaming and content management solutions that enable comprehensive, enterprise-wide visual communication.

Organizations of all sizes and across industries are adopting visual communication to enable people and teams to work more effectively and efficiently across distances both within and across organizations. By reducing the need to travel, companies can increase productivity of employees, lower operating costs and reduce travel-associated carbon emissions. The value of the video conferencing market is set to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8 percent between 2008 and 2013, rising from $3.8 billion to $8.6 billion according to Gartner, Inc. (1)

About Polycom Telepresence

-- Polycom telepresence provides a natural, high-definition visual
    communication experience that allows people to collaborate more effectively
    across distances.
-- Polycom offers the broadest range of fully interoperable telepresence
    solutions to meet customers' varying application, space and budget
    requirements. Standards-based, Polycom solutions can be deployed within any
    unified communications (UC) environment and feature integration with
    leading UC platforms from Microsoft, IBM, Avaya, Nortel, BroadSoft and
    others.
-- Polycom is the industry leader in telepresence, having shipped nearly
    70,000 telepresence solutions through September 2009. Polycom has leading
    market share for the total installed video communication market (41
    percent) and leading market share for units shipped for the first half of
    2009 (35 percent) (Wainhouse Research, Sept. 2009).
-- Polycom telepresence customers include industry leaders in business,
    entertainment, education, financial services, healthcare and government.
    Examples include: Turner Broadcasting Systems, Georgetown University,
    NASDAQ, Duke University, Amgen, NATO, Atari, Regus, and Zurich Financial.

Global Leader in ENIG Chemistry Chooses BrightCom Telepresence for Competitive Edge

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:02:34 -0500

Uyemura International Corp. selects BrightCom's Telepresence and Video Conferencing infrastructure for real-time communication and collaboration between technicians, sales representatives and customers.

Huntington Beach, CA - November 16, 2009 - BrightCom, the performance
leader in integrated telepresence and video conferencing solutions, announced today that Uyemura International Corp, a supplier of chemical finishing technology solutions, specializing in PCB finishes selected BrightCom's telepresence and video conferencing infrastructure for the Uyemura USA division. Uyemura USA plans to use the system to connect technical and sales teams across the nation to their headquarters in Ontario, California and Technical Center in Southington, Connecticut. Future plans include providing Uyemura's customer base with a channel to speak to Uyemura's sales and technical teams for project management.

According to Tony Salbino, Project Engineering Manager of Uyemura USA, "Uyemura's operations span across the nation making in-person communication, decision-making and collaboration difficult and costly. We needed a solution that would enable our technical and sales teams to communicate and send information to each other in real-time. We also wanted the ability to reach out to our customers in new and effective ways."

Uyemura selected BrightCom's Visual Collaboration Server (VCS), a processor based, single network appliance that provides Uyemura with meeting scheduling, administration and a complete set of integrated video and web conferencing capabilities. Uyemura's sales and technical teams as well as executive management can log-in to their secured online meeting environment and schedule or start spontaneous meetings.

VCS powers BrightCom's Lumina Telepresence and ClearView Video Conferencing with high definition, standard definition video and audio broadcasts to be shown in a multi-screen layout chosen by the meeting moderator. Along side multiple data broadcasts, VCS can display up to 16 video broadcasts with an unlimited amount of meeting participants broadcasting from desktop web cams, conference rooms or telepresence suites around the world.

VCS also provides a full set of web conferencing features. Documents, spreadsheets, high resolution images and video clips can be shared in native formats, utilizing low amounts of bandwidth. Meeting participants can also leverage the software-based conferencing system to remote control other participant's desktops, cooperatively markup documents and pass control of the meeting to any participant.

"BrightCom's solutions have so much potential for our US operations," continued Mr. Salbino. "Our executive, sales and technical teams who are spread out across the country will be able to instantly connect via the VCS online environment to share and mark up presentations, customer data, and technical data sheets. It has already proven useful in our initial testing of the system for our President to connect with our teams while out of the office."

For added quality of service, Uyemura is in the process of implementing a Multiprotocal Label Switching system to create a direct pipeline from their California and Connecticut offices. By implementing a direct connection, Uyemura can eliminate dependence on Data Link Layer technology, as well as the need for multiple Layer 2 networks to accommodate different types of data transfers. Ultimately, this technology prioritizes the video and data exchange for Uyemura's meetings and presentations critical for teamwork and customer relationships
.

Once the US communications are implemented, Uyemura also hopes to apply BrightCom's solutions to connect their overseas operations in the Asia Pacific. Recently executives of Uyemura were prevented from traveling to their Japanese facilities for three to four months, due to Japanese governmental regulations for the prevention of "swine flu" or H1N1, causing set backs in operations.

Mr. Salbino concluded, "Above all else, however, Uyemura prides itself on customer service. We hope that BrightCom's conferencing solutions will allow us to create stronger relationships with our clients and enable us to respond to their needs faster and more efficiently."

"BrightCom is thrilled to be working with Uyemura," said Bob McCandless, CEO of BrightCom. "We are always excited to have our customers share with us their innovative ways of using our systems. Implementing VCS will lay a solid foundation for Uyemura's conferencing needs. We hope to work with them very closely as they continue to innovate and interact with their customers."

For more information about BrightCom's Lumina Telepresence, ClearView HD Conferencing, Visual Collaboration System, or other telepresence and video conferencing services provided by BrightCom, please call 877-483-9737, visit BrightCom at www.brightcom.com or visit BrightCom on TMCnet on their Telepresence Channel at www.tmcnet.com/channels/telepresence.

About Uyemura USA

Uyemura USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of C. Uyemura & Co, Ltd., Osaka, Japan. Uyemura is best known for their work in the development of specialty chemical processes for the electronics and PWB (printed wiring board) industry. Uyemura is the world leader in electroless nickel/immersion gold systems ("KAT") as well as electroless golds, including AuBel and TMX . These products are also used for semiconductor packaging. Uyemura's revolutionary acid copper chemistries quickly gained wide acceptance for their ability to greatly improve product quality and yield in plating PWB products. Uyemura USA is also a major supplier of electrolytic (Auruna) golds from Umicore-GT, and industry leading copper etchants from MEC. Other markets, such as apparel, food equipment, automotive and medical device manufacturing, use Uyemura technologies to distinguish their products, gain market share or improve quality. To learn more about Uyemura, please visit them at www.uyemura.com.

About BrightCom

BrightCom specializes in creating flexible and affordable video and telepresence conferencing solutions. With unique integrated data and video conferencing solutions, BrightCom offers a wide range of options to connect people and content from home offices, mobile devices, desktops or conference rooms. BrightCom's Visual Collaboration System 2.0 provides a powerful conferencing infrastructure for real-time interactive data sharing. Alongside VCS 2.0, BrightCom's Lumina Telepresence allows for life-like, instant communication empowering businesses with a fully immersive environment for natural collaboration and conversation. BrightCom's ClearView Conferencing solutions allow for crystal clear HD or standard video and audio broadcasts giving business the face to face connection vital for effective communication. BrightCom's integrated video and audio solutions have helped thousands of businesses across the nation to reduce operational costs, diminish corporate carbon footprint and push the boundaries of communication within their industry. To learn more about BrightCom's quality telepresence and video conferencing with in-depth collaboration features but without a costly investment on bandwidth upgrades, call 877-483-9737 or visit them at www.BrightCom.com.

Logitech to Acquire LifeSize Communications

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:13:30 -0500

Logitech International, a leader in PC video communication, today announced that it has agreed to acquire privately held LifeSize Communications of Austin, Texas for $405 million in cash

FREMONT, Calif. and ROMANEL-SUR-MORGES, Switzerland, Nov. 10, 2009 -- Logitech International (Nasdaq: LOGI), a leader in PC video communication, today announced that it has agreed to acquire privately held LifeSize Communications of Austin, Texas for $405 million in cash. LifeSize is a global leader in high definition (HD) video communication solutions, with more than 9,000 video conferencing customers across 80 countries in large enterprises, small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) and public healthcare, education and government organizations.

LifeSize's industry leading HD video conferencing solutions provide superior quality of experience and are flexible, easy to use, install and manage - with unmatched price/performance.

"We expect this acquisition to enable Logitech to extend our leadership in video communication beyond the desktop," said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer. "Together we can make life-like, HD-quality video communication as mainstream and seamless as a telephone, for meeting participants in the boardroom, at their office desk, in a remote-location meeting room, telecommuting from home or on the go with a laptop."

"LifeSize was founded on the vision of providing life-like visual-communication solutions to change the way the world communicates," said Craig Malloy, LifeSize co-founder and chief executive officer. "We believe that together with Logitech, we can realize that vision for all enterprises - private and public - and small and medium businesses. Our combined proven innovation can accelerate mainstream adoption of video communication by anyone, anywhere."

Logitech and LifeSize plan to pursue existing and new relationships with unified communications, collaboration and VoIP industry partners and competitors to drive the development of an open eco-system for interoperable video communication.

Logitech and LifeSize also expect to further video communication growth by leveraging their combined technology expertise as well as Logitech's world-class manufacturing and supply chain operations, extensive R&D, expertise in user experience and globally recognized brand.

Logitech plans for LifeSize to operate as a separate division in Austin under the leadership of Mr. Malloy as the LifeSize Communications chief executive officer, reporting to Mr. Quindlen. LifeSize expects approximately $90 million in revenue in CY 2009, with CY 2010 revenue expected to grow between 40 percent and 60 percent. Logitech expects the acquisition to be neutral to slightly positive to its operating income (excluding acquisition-related charges) in FY 2011, ending March 31, 2011, and positive thereafter.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust approval, and is expected to close in December.
Webcast

Logitech will hold its Analyst and Investor Day in New York City on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A discussion of this acquisition will be included in the briefing. A live webcast of the briefing, along with presentation slides, will be available on the Logitech corporate Web site at http://ir.logitech.com.
About Logitech

Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Glowpoint Reports Third Quarter Results

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:05:51 -0500

Posts Record Subscription Revenue and Increase in Positive Operating Income

HILLSIDE, N.J.--- Glowpoint, Inc. (OTCBB: GLOW), a leading provider of advanced video communications solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009, yielding record subscription related revenues and a continuance of positive operating income.

Total revenue for the quarter was $6.54 million, an increase of more than 7.8% from the same period a year ago. Monthly recurring subscription and related revenue for the quarter was $5.03 million of such amount, up 16.2% year-over-year. Gross margin for the quarter increased to $3.22 million, a year-over-year increase of 32.2%. Total operating expenses were only 47.1% of revenues versus 50.8% in the same period a year ago and 50.2% last quarter. The third quarter income from operations was $0.14 million, which was an improvement from last quarter's income of $0.04 million and a loss of $0.64 million from the year ago period. The income from operations was primarily attributable to increased revenue from VNOC managed services and Telepresence interExchange Network (TEN) related services, improved gross margins, and containment of operating expenses.

Key highlights for the third quarter of 2009 include:

    -- Positive Operating Income: Glowpoint reported an increase in income from
        operations following its posting of positive operating income for the
        first time the previous quarter.
    -- Record Recurring Revenue from Subscription: Record quarterly
        subscription revenue of $5.03 million in the third quarter, driven by
        continued growth of its managed service solutions which is billed on a
        monthly recurring basis. Recurring revenue sources accounted for nearly
        77% of total revenue in the quarter.
    -- Strong Gross Margin: Gross margin of $3.22 million and gross margin
        percentage of 49.2%, driven by continued operating scale and efficiency
        with optimization of costs.
    -- Elimination of Preferred Stock Dividends: Dividends on Glowpoint's
        preferred stock, which were to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009, have
        been eliminated until January 2013, thereby avoiding payments of more
        than $5.2 million.
    -- Warrant Exchange: Glowpoint completed an exchange transaction that
        cancelled warrants to acquire 39.1 million shares by issuing 17.4
        million shares of common stock.

"The video industry is undergoing a massive transformation, and Glowpoint continues to be recognized as a leader in developing and distributing the applications that are driving many of the innovations behind it. Leading market analysts are now increasing the telepresence and video conferencing industry's growth projections, Gartner recently reported, "The value of the videoconferencing market as a whole is set to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8% between 2008 and 2013, rising from $3.8 billion to $8.6 Billion.... Services revenue will grow stronger than revenue from endpoints or infrastructure..."1. Telepresence and video conferencing are now being discussed as components of the unified communications and cloud computing markets. When combining these projections with the consolidation and strategies within the Unified Communications market, we see great opportunities not only in the overall market size, but also a specific opportunity for Glowpoint to achieve broad market share for our cloud based video services," said Joe Laezza, Glowpoint's President and Co-CEO.

"Our continuation of generating positive income from operations is a result of Glowpoint's steady focus and successful execution of our business plan. We are proud of what we have achieved, and are very excited to have moved the company to generating income for the second consecutive quarter," said Dave Robinson, Glowpoint's Co-CEO. "We're also pleased to report record subscription revenue, which is the core of our recurring revenue business model, and report year-over-year revenue growth. We believe progress will continue in the fourth quarter of 2009, with year-over-year and sequential margin improvement and year-over-year subscription revenue growth of at least 10%, setting up a strong 2010, when economic conditions are forecasted to improve and industry analysts project that the growth for managed video services and B2B exchange services will begin to accelerate significantly."

Teleconference

Glowpoint will host a conference call at 4:30 pm EST today to discuss the results and field questions from investors. Interested participants should call (877) 407-1869 and use passcode 200973. International participants should call (201) 689-8044 and use the same passcode.

This call is being audio webcast by TalkPoint and can be accessed at Glowpoint's website at http://www.glowpoint.com or by linking directly to http://video.webcasts.com/events/glow001/32830. Institutional investors can also access the call via Thomson Reuters' password-protected event management site, StreetEvents: http://www.streetevents.com.

A recording of the webcast will be available beginning November 10, 2009 and will remain archived through November 10, 2010. To listen to the audio webcast, go to www.glowpoint.com or directly at http://video.webcasts.com/events/glow001/32830.

About Glowpoint

Glowpoint, Inc. (OTCBB: GLOW) is a leading provider of advanced video communications solutions. Glowpoint's suite of robust telepresence and video communications solutions enables organizations to communicate with each other over disparate networks and technology platforms. Glowpoint supports thousands of video communications systems in more than 35 countries with its 24/7 video management services. Glowpoint also powers major broadcasters, Fortune 500 companies, as well as global carriers and video equipment manufacturers - and their customers - worldwide. To learn more, visit www.glowpoint.com.

Verizon Business Cited as a Managed Global MPLS Services Leader by Independent Analyst Firm

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:09:15 -0500

New Report Recognizes Company's Global WAN Execution, Overall Strategy, Commitment to Invest

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Nov. 9 -- Forrester Research has named Verizon Business a leader in delivering global managed multiprotocol switching label services in the independent analyst firm's October 2009 report, "The Forrester WAVE(TM): Managed Global MPLS Services, Q4 2009." (1)

Forrester analyzed the managed global MPLS services market by evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of providers against an extensive set of 54 criteria grouped into three categories: current offerings, strategy and market presence.

Specifically, the report notes, "Verizon also received a very high score for its overall strategy...and received top marks for its very strong and credible value proposition for MNCs looking for managed multiregional/global MPLS solutions." Further, the report cited the strength of the company's portfolio and features: "Verizon has a strong current offering for managed global MPLS services, including the broadest CoS/QoS capabilities for prioritizing data/application traffic and the widest choice of standard port bandwidth options in different geographic regions."

In addition, the report found the company "also articulated the strongest commitment to invest in enhancing its global IP network and its MPLS services portfolio for 2009 and 2010."

Verizon Business' global MPLS-based networking solutions include Private IP, the company's layer 3 virtual private network, and Ethernet Virtual Private Line and Virtual Private LAN Service, its layer 2 virtual private networking services.

About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with one of the world's most connected IP networks to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today's extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees -- enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment. Many of the world's largest businesses and governments -- including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions -- rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

(1) "The Forrester WAVE(TM): Managed Global MPLS Services, Q4 2009," by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D. with Christine Ferrusi Ross, Phil Sayer, and Sean Galvin (October, 2009)

SOURCE Verizon Business

Telepresence Solutions by BrightCom Demonstrated at Presence 2009

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:57:39 -0500

BrightCom will showcase integrated video, audio and data telepresence solutions including the L37, first of their new line of Lumina Telepresence at Presence 2009, November 11th-13th.

Los Angeles, CA - November 4, 2009 - BrightCom, the performance leader in integrated telepresence and video conferencing solutions, announced today their exhibition at Presence 2009, The 12th Annual International Workshop on Presence sponsored by the International Society for Presence Research at the Marina del Rey Hotel in Los Angeles, California. BrightCom's L37 and ClearView 1052 HD Mobile Video Conferencing
solution will be on display.

The International Society for Presence Research defines telepresence as a psychological state or subjective perception in which a person fails to accurately and completely acknowledge the role of technology in an experience, thus offering human communication an experience similar to an in person meeting. The PRESENCE conferences provide a relaxed and enjoyable forum for presentation of presence scholarship and applications and (especially in the planned format this year), discussion sessions that allow attendees to join together in synthesizing and expanding our collective knowledge and visions for the future regarding this compelling topic.

On November 11th, BrightCom will demonstrate their integrated Lumina Telepresence solution, the L37. The L37 is a modular telepresence workstation for 2 to 6 people to instantly connect and collaborate in a fully immersive telepresence environment. The solution allows participants and their colleagues, customers and partners in conference rooms and offices across the world feel as though they are in the same room.

Attendees of Presence 2009 will be able to experience BrightCom's integrated telepresence solutions, an approach that combines the natural ease of life-like conversation with Web conferencing features including desktop sharing, remote desktop control, data sharing and cooperative data markup. Additionally, BrightCom will exhibit how Lumina Telepresence and ClearView Video Conferencing allow attendees to conduct instant meetings without plugging their laptops into the system and instead, connect via a secured, online meeting client.

"BrightCom is honored to be included in the International Society for Presence Research's Presence 2009," said Bob McCandless, CEO of BrightCom. "We are always eager to take as much insight and as many ideas as we can from the academic community as we progress with our vision of integrated telepresence and video conferencing solutions."

Several keynote speakers are scheduled to discuss different aspects of telepresence and its role in today's society. Speakers include Barbara Hayes-Roth, an internationally recognized expert in intelligent agents and interactive characters, Howard Lichtman, founder and President of the Human Productivity Lab, an independent research consultancy that advises organizations wanting to invest in telepresence technologies and Albert "Skip" Rizzo, Research Scientist and Research Professor at the Institute for Creative Technologies and Department of Psychiatry/School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.

To learn more about Presence 2009 please visit: www.temple.edu/ispr/conference/.

For more information about BrightCom's Lumina Telepresence, ClearView HD Conferencing, Visual Collaboration System, or other telepresence and video conferencing services provided by BrightCom, please call 877-483-9737, visit BrightCom at www.brightcom.com or visit BrightCom on TMCnet on their Telepresence Channel.

About BrightCom

BrightCom specializes in creating flexible and affordable video and telepresence conferencing solutions. With unique integrated data and video conferencing solutions, BrightCom offers a wide range of options to connect people and content from home offices, mobile devices, desktops or conference rooms. BrightCom's Visual Collaboration System 2.0 provides a powerful conferencing infrastructure for real-time interactive data sharing. Alongside VCS 2.0, BrightCom's Lumina Telepresence allows for life-like, instant communication empowering businesses with a fully immersive environment for natural collaboration and conversation. BrightCom's ClearView Conferencing solutions allow for crystal clear HD or standard video and audio broadcasts giving business the face to face connection vital for effective communication. BrightCom's integrated video and audio solutions have helped thousands of businesses across the nation to reduce operational costs, diminish corporate carbon footprint and push the boundaries of communication within their industry. To learn more about BrightCom's quality telepresence and video conferencing with in-depth collaboration features but without a costly investment on bandwidth upgrades, call 877-483-9737 or visit www.BrightCom.com.

Contact Information:
BrightCom

5811 McFadden Ave
Huntington Beach, CA

Contact Person:
Victoria Sauer
Marketing Manager
Phone: 877-483-9737

Web: www.brightcom.com

Author:
Victoria Sauer
e-mail
Web: www.brightcom.com
Phone: 877-483-9737

CWT and Tata Communications to Team Up to Provide Public Telepresence Facilities

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:58:58 -0500

CWT Telepresence enables clients to meet business objectives and contain costs

PARIS, November 4, 2009 -- Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), a global leader specializing in business travel management, and Tata Communications today announced they will team up to provide CWT Telepresence--an enhancement to the company's broader demand management offering--which will allow CWT clients to access the Tata Communications network of public Cisco TelePresence Suites around the world. In an economic environment that requires companies to look for ways to reduce costs, clients now have an additional solution for effectively managing their travel and meeting expenditures while realizing their business objectives. Furthermore, CWT Telepresence offers flexibility, enabling organizations to bring together employees who might not ordinarily travel to participate in meetings.

CWT Telepresence offers clients a full range of services from help in determining if and when a virtual meeting meets their business needs, through management of the reservations process in any of Tata Communications' public telepresence rooms, to regular reporting on adoption and related cost savings. In addition, CWT reinforces its position as a leading integrator of top-tier technology that enables clients to optimize their travel and meeting programs.

"CWT recognizes the intense pressure corporations are under to contain rising T&E costs and maximize return on investment," said Pauline Quere, CWT vice president, Global Products and Services management. "By incorporating telepresence into the full range of products and services in our demand management offering, CWT provides a compelling alternative and solidifies its role as a key partner in helping clients demonstrate measurable return on investment. To that end, we are very pleased to be moving forward with Tata Communications, an industry leader in the telepresence arena."

John Landau, senior vice president, Global Managed Services for Tata Communications, added: "Tata Communications became the world's first provider of public Cisco TelePresence Suites in July 2008. Today, we offer state-of-the-art private and public rooms that enable companies to boost their productivity, cut costs, and conduct meetings as often as needed while reducing their carbon footprint. Furthermore, the seamless interconnectivity of our private and public rooms through our Telepresence exchange minimizes distances across the globe and brings more people together quickly and easily.

"Using the Tata telepresence services increases the accessibility of businesses beyond major company offices to their wider ecosystem of users, including customers, suppliers, remote workers and business partners. We are excited to be working with Carlson Wagonlit Travel and look forward to helping them add a new dimension to their clients' managed travel programs," Mr. Landau added.

Tata Communications' managed telepresence technology allows small groups to use high-definition video and real-time audio to meet at any time of the day or night while in multiple locations worldwide. Equipped with life-size images and immersive technology, participants have the effective experience of sitting opposite one another in the same room. In addition to connecting and managing on-site private telepresence facilities for companies worldwide, Tata Communications manages several public rooms available on a pay-per-use basis in the United States, England, India, South Africa and the Philippines. The company also recently announced plans with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to open additional rooms worldwide in Starwood Hotels by the end of 2009.

CWT clients will also have access to Tata Communications' Global Meeting Exchange (GMX). The GMX will conveniently support business-to-business sessions on a global basis between any Cisco TelePresence rooms(public or private), irrespective of the network service provider. This pioneering global service will enable subscribers to expand the use of telepresence from an internal meeting solution to one that reaches a greater number of business partners outside of their company.

Smart demand management

Aligning the underlying drivers of demand for travel with business objectives means "traveling smarter," not necessarily traveling less. CWT Telepresence complements a full range of products and services CWT offers to help companies effectively balance business travel with business needs and control costs.

CWT Meetings & Events helps clients optimize savings, improve services, increase control, enrich attendee experiences, and reach their company's unique strategic objectives.

CWT Solutions Group, the company's global consulting arm, can help clients define and implement best practice demand management strategies based on their travel needs and their company's specific objectives.

CWT Policy Builder helps companies design a travel policy that sets clear parameters and mandates to contain costs while driving business performance. Communicating the policy to all travelers through CWT Portal helps drive compliance.

Online booking tools and CWT travel counselors can help travelers make informed decisions at the time of booking by documenting the trip purpose and proposing alternatives adapted to business needs.

Automated emails targeted to individual travelers via the award-winning CWT Policy Messenger encourage behavioral change that supports business objectives.

Consolidated data that tracks the quantity, frequency and specifications of travel as well as realized savings is available through the award-winning CWT Program Management Center.

Acknowledging the role demand management plays in a well-managed travel program, Ms. Quere said, "The key to successful demand management is to be holistic in your approach. At Carlson Wagonlit Travel, we are committed to helping our clients make and implement the best choices that will enable their employees to connect easily and efficiently with key stakeholders and drive their business to new heights."

About Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) is a global leader specializing in business travel management. Present in more than 150 countries, CWT serves companies of all sizes, as well as government institutions and non-governmental organizations. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of savings, service, security and sustainability. The company is also committed to providing best-in-class service and assistance to travelers. CWT services and solutions comprise four lines of business: Traveler & Transaction Services, Program Optimization, Safety & Security, and Meetings & Events. In 2008, sales volume for wholly owned operations and joint ventures totaled US$27.8 billion. For more information, please visit www.carlsonwagonlit.com.

About Tata Communications

Tata Communications is a leading global provider of a new world of communications. With a leadership position in emerging markets, Tata Communications leverages its advanced solutions capabilities and domain expertise across its global and pan-India network to deliver managed solutions to multi-national enterprises, service providers and Indian consumers.

The Tata Global Network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries across 400 PoPs, and nearly 1 million square feet of data center and collocation space worldwide.

Tata Communications' depth and breadth of reach in emerging markets includes leadership in Indian enterprise data services, leadership in global international voice, and strategic investments in operators in South Africa (Neotel), Sri Lanka (Tata Communications Lanka Limited), Nepal (United Telecom Limited), and subject to approval by the Chinese government, China (China Enterprise Communications).

Tata Communications Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India and its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. (NYSE: TCL)

www.tatacommunications.com

For further information on Tata Communications Telepresence Services, visit
www.tatacommunications.com/telepresence.

Orange Business Services tapped by INX to deliver global telepresence solutions

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:57:15 -0500

Value-added reseller relies on Orange for geographic reach and global integration services expertise to deliver Cisco Telepresence to end users

Orange Business Services has enhanced a three-year agreement with INX Inc. (NASDAQ: INXI), a reseller of U.S.-based IP communications solutions for enterprise organizations. INX has turned to Orange to support the global Telepresence needs of its end users for field service and maintenance support, as well as equipment procurement.

INX, a certified Cisco Authorized Technology Provider in the U.S., needed a global provider who could support its customers at their diverse locations around the world. Orange Business Services has a local presence in 166 countries and territories worldwide and operates the world's largest network optimized for Telepresence, covering 42 countries in six continents. Through its partners and indirect channels arm, Orange is able to deliver the full range of its solution portfolio to a variety of end users through reseller agreements.

With a strong presence in the U.S., INX counts many oil and energy companies among its customers. Multinational companies, such as those in the oil industry, are increasingly looking at Telepresence to increase employee productivity and collaboration. By reducing travel to far-flung locations, yet holding remote meetings as if employees were face to face, companies can drive down travel costs and save time.

"Orange Business Services enables us to expand our coverage with our clients. Our clients wanted global Telepresence solutions, and we turned to Orange because they could offer harmonized support worldwide and deliver high quality solutions," said Doug Hancock, Regional Director at INX. "With the support of Orange, we are thrilled to provide reliable one-stop-shop Telepresence services to our end users."

About INX Inc.

INX Inc. (NASDAQ: INXI ) is a leading U.S. provider of IP communications and data center solutions for enterprise organizations. We offer a suite of advanced technology solutions focused around the entire life-cycle of enterprise IP network communications and data center infrastructure. Our services are centered on the design, implementation and support of network infrastructure, including routing and switching, wireless, security, unified communications, and data center solutions such as storage and server virtualization. Our customers include enterprise organizations such as corporations, as well as federal, state and local governmental agencies. Because of our focus, expertise and experience implementing and supporting advanced technology solutions for enterprises, we believe we are well positioned to deliver superior solutions and services to our customers. Additional information about INX can be found on the Web at www.inxi.com.

About Orange

Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators.

The Group has consolidated sales of 53.5 billion euros in 2008 and a customer base of more than 189 million customers in 30 countries at Sept. 30, 2009. Orange, the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates, now covers more than two-thirds of customers. At the end of September 2009, the Group had 128.8 million mobile customers worldwide with 13.4 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers in Europe.

France Telecom-Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

The Group's strategy, which is characterized by a strong focus on innovation, convergence and effective cost management, aims to establish Orange as an integrated operator and benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. Today the Group remains focused on its core activities as a network operator, while working to develop its position in new growth activities. To meet customer expectations, the Group strives to provide products and services that are simple and user-friendly, while maintaining a sustainable and responsible business model that can be adapted to the requirements of a fast-paced and changing eco-system.

France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business Launches Global Classroom of the Future Using Cisco TelePresence

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:11:08 -0500

COLUMBIA, S.C., Nov. 3 -- The University of South Carolina's Darla Moore School of Business, ranked consistently as one of the top schools in the country for international business, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Cisco to utilize the company's revolutionary Cisco TelePresence technology to deliver a range of global Executive Education and Graduate-level business and management courses. Moore becomes one of the first business schools in the country to utilize the high-definition conferencing as a way to offer students and executives around the world a variety of "blended learning" options for participating in business education programs.

Cisco's TelePresence is designed to create live, face-to-face meeting experiences and empower participants from different locations to collaborate with each other in a life-size, high-definition environment that feels like you are in the same room with the other people you are talking with. The Moore School and Cisco are working together to deploy Cisco TelePresence and other leading collaboration technologies and professional services to bring people together from anywhere around the world in a live learning and meeting environment.

"Our collaboration with Cisco allows us to take executive learning to a whole new level," says Raymond Smith, Associate Dean of Executive Education at the Moore School. "The use of Cisco TelePresence and other technologies will fundamentally change the way we think about global learning and teaching in a way that is more visually stimulating and interactive than any vehicle ever used in educating executives."

Moore School Dean Hildy Teegen points out that the study of international business requires an understanding of the interface between the practice of management and the political, economic and socio-cultural dimensions that shape global business. "One way of achieving this is through a process of dialogue between faculty, students, business and government from different cultures and countries around the world," she says. "At the Moore School, we
now have the technological capability to bring the world closer together and make this happen in real time."

The Moore School plans to first integrate the Cisco TelePresence in its Professional MBA Program beginning in February 2010. In addition, the School will utilize the new integrated learning platform in a variety of its Executive and Graduate Degree programs - including its Master in International Business, a new Executive Master in Higher Education Management and in various programs with the School's 20 partner institutions around the world.

"Working alongside leading universities and business schools like the University of South Carolina's Moore School, together we are creating 21st century learning environments that more effectively prepare students to participate in the global economy," says Scott Westlake, Director of Market Development at Cisco. "We believe that the Moore School has the vision to use Cisco's technology in a way that will truly change the way the world learns."

About the Moore School of Business

The Moore School of Business is among the highest-ranked business schools in the world for international business education and research. Founded in 1919, the school has a history of innovative educational leadership, blending academic preparation with real-world experience through internships, consulting projects, study-abroad programs, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The Moore School offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees, as well as distinctive executive education programs. In 1998, the school was named for South Carolina native and New York financier Darla Moore, making the University of South Carolina the first major university to name its business school after a woman. For more information, visit http://www.moore.sc.edu.

About Cisco TelePresence

Cisco TelePresence combines innovative real-time video, audio, and interactive technologies to give people in distributed global locations a wide variety of face-to-face collaboration experiences. It enables new types of collaboration applications that are transforming business processes, saving resources, improving productivity and helping organizations grow globally.

Vidyo Granted Patent for Groundbreaking Video Conferencing Architecture

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:26:54 -0500

Patented VidyoRouter Architecture Delivers the Only Available Scalable Video Coding Solution that Eliminates the Multipoint Conferencing Unit

HACKENSACK, N.J.-- Vidyo Inc., the first company to deliver personal telepresence, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company a patent for its VidyoRouter(TM) architecture which delivers reliable, low latency, multipoint conferencing over any IP network including the Internet. The patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,593,032 entitled "System and Method for a Conference Server Architecture for Low Delay and Distributed Conferencing Applications") covers the key intellectual property behind Vidyo's groundbreaking video conferencing technology.

"For many years video conferencing just didn't work because the quality was inconsistent and the delays were too long for highly interactive communications," said Ofer Shapiro, CEO of Vidyo. "Telepresence remedied these problems by guaranteeing the network and eliminating the multipoint conferencing bridge, but at very high cost. This patent validates the innovation and technology behind the VidyoRouter architecture, which is based on the new H.264/SVC (Scalable Video Coding) standard, and maintains the lowest latency and most consistent quality of telepresence on the Internet and on any computer." [Click here to see a comparative demonstration of Vidyo's consistent quality.]

"When you eliminate the need for expensive networks and expensive MCUs as part of the HD multi-party video conferencing experience, then the possibilities of what can be done with video communications are endless," said Andrew W. Davis, Senior Analyst and Partner at Wainhouse Research. "Vidyo has changed the economics, the scalability and the quality of the experience. Their technology opens the door for large scale video conferencing deployments."

Vidyo's Intellectual Property

Vidyo was the first company to utilize H.264/SVC as the basis for a video conferencing solution. H.264/SVC is a video compression standard that enables a video stream to be broken into multiple resolutions, quality levels and bit rates. Utilizing this capability and Vidyo´s intellectual property, the VidyoRouter architecture offers unprecedented error resiliency while eliminating the MCU. The VidyoRouter is the first video multipoint solution that can deliver rate matching and continuous presence capabilities without an additional video encode and decode. This unique capability allows for less than half of the end-to-end latency of MCU-based solutions.

"SVC-enabled video solutions work better in environments with variable performance, such as the Internet," said Scott Morrison, Research Vice President, Enterprise Network Services, Gartner, Inc. "As a result, it will be increasingly possible to stream video communications over Internet connections for many use cases, while retaining a high-quality experience."

Although others are attempting to use the H.264/SVC standard and claiming improved quality, potential customers should exercise caution, because not all SVC products are equal in terms of quality or price. Without the VidyoRouter architecture, other SVC solutions are still dependent on using the MCU to transcode and that remains the biggest obstacle to the advancement of video conferencing.

"We've dramatically changed the business model from one that's dependent on hardware, to a software platform," said Shapiro. "The VidyoRouter reduces by several orders of magnitude the amount of processing required in the network core."

VidyoTechnology - Setting a New Bar for Video Conferencing Quality and Scalability

Until Vidyo introduced its revolutionary technology in 2008, unified communications companies wanting to deliver video over converged IP networks did not have the necessary means to provide high quality video conferencing over non-QOS IP networks. When Vidyo offered the first commercial video conferencing implementation based on H.264/SVC, it radically changed this scenario, offering unified communications solution providers and conferencing services providers the ability to integrate better point-to-point and multipoint video communication capabilities into their offerings. [Click to see example of a Vidyo conference in action.]

"When we looked for a video conferencing technology that would enable us to deliver high quality and cost-effective personal telepresence, Vidyo was clearly our only choice," said Takeshi Masuda, Executive Vice President of Telecommunications & Network Systems Division, Hitachi, Ltd. "With Vidyo's technology, we were able to build a video conferencing solution that is better than any MCU-based product. We feel that this gives us a tremendous competitive advantage."

About Vidyo, Inc.

Vidyo, Inc. pioneered Personal Telepresence enabling multi-party video conferences using a personal computer, with HD quality over converged IP networks. Leveraging its patented technologies built on the new H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) standard, Vidyo's award winning products deliver the industry's best error resilience and lowest latency videoconferencing over the Internet and general-purpose networks. Vidyo's technology for OEMs and end-to-end product solutions for enterprises support point-to-point and multi-point connections that include a variety of different platforms ranging from Mac & Windows desktops to dedicated room solutions. VidyoTechnology(TM) is used by Hitachi, Teliris, Shoretel and other major organizations and enterprises. Vidyo is based in Hackensack, New Jersey and is privately held. Learn more at www.vidyo.com.

Related: Teliris Releases 6th Generation Telepresence Platform, New CODEC, New Endpoints, New Infrastructure, New Customers