Avistar Intros New Platform for 'Green' Videoconferencing

Avistar Communications Corporation, a company that provides enterprise video communications solutions, announced the release of Securities Community Network (SCN), a new strategic platform to provide real time desktop video and data collaboration for buy-side and sell-side research firms and their clients.

 

SCN allows the buy- and sell-side firms to deliver timely information from desktops via a video or a Web conference based community. The network facilitates the process of delivering analysis based themes, strategies, and interpretation of breaking information from the sell-side firms to investors, as well as buy-side firms.

 

The SCN real-time video and data collaboration allows research leaders and corporate issuers to contact relevant parties within the securities industry and provide time-sensitive and valued information to their industry contacts instantly, just by a mouse click. This will help improve the quality of information and research and allow corporate clients to build stronger research and investor relationships by avoiding disruptive and costly travels.

 

There is a growing concern among companies about oil price hike. As a measure to reduce the travel expenses, the companies turn to technologies like the SCN. According to a survey conducted by UBS, a financial services firm, 42 percent of the 80 companies surveyed told that they are in the process of reducing travel expenses.

 

"Prospective members of the SCN are projecting a 70 percent reduction in their T&E budgets while increasing productivity amongst their research teams by 50 percent. These projected improvements are as a result of an ability to access a secure community network of key business partners without having to jump on airplanes for a face-to-face meeting," said Simon Moss, CEO of Avistar (News - Alert), in a statement.

 

According to Moss, SCN community is the next stage in the evolution of networked professional communities.

 

"We have an especially strong experience among financial services clients and have been able to leverage both this and our network of trusted partners and clients. This, combined with the capabilities of world class software, provides a platform for interaction that is powerful, effective, simple to deploy, and will increase in value as more and more firms, technology providers and partners join the community,” added Moss.

 

SCN will revolutionize the Financial Services supply chain with personal, face-to-face interaction available to thousands of people at a time. This real-time interaction will promote timely distribution and use of information, efficient business practices and eventually increase productivity and revenue by reducing travel expenses and valuable time of the corporate managers. Also, SCN will act as a cause to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

 

SCN will be launched as a service to select buy- and sell-side firms in September 2008. Open membership will be offered in January 2008. Avistar said that many leading buy-side, sell-side, and corporate firms have expressed early interest in the platform and will sign up over the course of this summer.

 

Avistar's desktop videoconferencing and collaboration installations are sold to more than 18,000 seats in more than 40 countries. Avistar C3 (News - Alert), the latest product from Avistar, offers instant messaging-style ability to initiate video communications across and outside the enterprise. Patented bandwidth management enables thousands of users to access desktop videoconferencing, voice over IP (VoIP) and streaming media, without requiring substantial new network investment or impairing network performance.