New Turnkey Solution Provides Business-Quality Video Communications Without Taxing Corporate IT Resources
Avistar Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:AVSR), a video collaboration platform provider, today announced the launch of Avistar Hosted Video Services, a fully-managed, turnkey, desktop video solution. The new enterprise-strength service provides comprehensive video communications and data-sharing capabilities without the need for companies to install and maintain onsite video infrastructure or expend valuable IT resources.
“Companies today are increasingly global and more distributed, with offices in more locations than ever before and with relatively fewer IT resources to support a growing number of employees,” said Andy Konchan, a former executive at UBS Investment Bank and ABN AMRO who oversaw large desktop videoconferencing deployments at both firms. “These companies need desktop videoconferencing to help increase the amount and quality of communication and collaboration within their firms and with their partners, thus helping to build trust relationships, break down geographical boundaries and reduce the time and cost of travel. Avistar’s hosted video solution meets these needs because it provides a quick and cost-effective way to set up desktop video conferencing and help employees collaborate more effectively while minimizing upfront investment and the impact on IT resources.”
Companies are increasingly off-loading IT activities in order to concentrate resources on mission-critical business priorities. With Avistar Hosted Video Services, businesses can outsource real-time video communications to a fully-managed solution, with low upfront costs and predictable monthly fees. The service is truly turnkey, including all necessary hardware and software, and providing end-user and IT helpdesk training as well as 24/7 access to Avistar video experts.
According to Melanie Turek, Senior Analyst at Frost & Sullivan, “As the Unified Communications (UC) market evolves, solution providers and customers need to remember that the ‘human element,’ including face-to-face interaction, is a vital component of successful business processes. Visual communications at the desktop can deliver that level of engagement and customers should demand flexible solutions that meet their infrastructure and services requirements; are easy to deploy and cost effective; and truly support the virtual workplace."
The robust bandwidth management and call routing capabilities included with Avistar Hosted Video Services help ensure that video traffic will not impact other networked applications. Additionally, Avistar is allowing businesses to choose from a variety of secure and flexible options for network connectivity. Companies can connect to an Avistar hosting center using:
* A private line that includes Avistar-provided, fully managed customer premise equipment (CPE) and supports optional encryption;
* A secure, encrypted VPN tunnel over a partner IP network, with an Avistar-provided, fully managed VPN gateway at the customer site;
* A company’s existing Internet connection, combined with an Avistar-provided, fully managed VPN gateway at the customer site that creates a secure, encrypted VPN tunnel over the Internet.
With these options and capabilities, Avistar Hosted Video Services is a simple, low-risk solution that allows companies of all sizes to quickly deploy visual communications in response to rapidly changing business environments. The new service helps companies foster richer and faster collaboration, speed decision-making and boost productivity, while also reducing travel costs and environmental impact. Because it’s available on the desktop or laptop, Avistar Hosted Video Services helps users interact spontaneously anytime, anyplace, with access to other mission-critical desktop applications. Demonstrating the value of desktop video, research conducted by Ovum indicates that the use of IP video conferencing desktops will continue to increase, with worldwide spending forecasts nearly doubling over the next four years, and eclipsing spending for room-based video conferencing systems.
The interoperability provided by Avistar’s hosted desktop video solution helps companies increase the value of their existing investments in third party, room-based systems. By linking Avistar video-enabled desks and laptops to room-based installations, companies can give more people easier access to group discussions, adding efficiencies to existing room-based assets that are often under-utilized.
“This new service is totally cool and another example of why we’re recognized as an industry leader when it comes to offering innovative solutions that solve real business challenges. It’s real-time, hosted video and data-sharing, anywhere in the world, and it’s offered at a cost that allows any firm to realize its value,” said Simon Moss, President of Avistar. “Avistar’s been in this business for more than a decade now, and our experience shows in our voice and video systems, which are incredibly powerful and easy-to-use. Our thoroughbred is clear. Our technical expertise, intellectual property and proven deployments in some of the most demanding financial institutions in the world comprise the background against which we’re able to provide high levels of quality and reliability.”
Avistar Hosted Video Services is currently available. Please contact Rob Garrigan, Vice President of Sales, at (212) 949-1316 or rgarrigan@avistar.com for pricing and additional information.
About Avistar Communications Corporation
Avistar Communications Corporation develops, markets, and supports a video over-IP collaboration platform for the enterprise, all powered by the AvistarVOS™ software. From the desktop, Avistar delivers business-quality video calling, recording, publishing to web and e-mails, video-on-demand, broadcast origination and distribution, and document sharing. Avistar video-enables business processes by integrating visual communications into the daily workflow and connecting communities of users within and across enterprises. Founded in 1993, Avistar is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in New York and London. Avistar’s technology is used in more than 40 countries.
Collaboration Properties, Inc. (CPI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Avistar Communications Corporation. CPI develops patents for presence-based interactions, wireless communications, desktop video, recorded and live media at the desktop, instant messaging, multimedia documents, data sharing and service-rich video network architecture. It holds a current portfolio of 76 patents for inventions in the primary areas of video and network technology. CPI offers licenses to its patent portfolio and Avistar’s video-enabling technologies to companies in video conferencing, rich-media services, public networking and related industries. Current licensees include Sony Corporation, Polycom, Inc., Tandberg ASA, RADVISION Ltd. and Emblaze-VCON.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including statements regarding the availability, performance, impact and benefits of Avistar’s Hosted Video Services and future use of and spending on IP video conferencing. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including such factors, among others, as technical limitations, the emergence of competitive technology and delays in the adoption or acceptance of video collaboration technology. We refer you to the documents that Avistar files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in particular the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Avistar’s annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q.
Copyright (c) 2007 Avistar Communications Corporation. All rights reserved. Avistar, AvistarVOS™, and the Avistar logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avistar Communications Corporation. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.