San Mateo, Calif. - December 4, 2008 - Avistar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: AVSR), a leading provider of unified visual communications solutions, today announced that it has teamed with ClearOne (Nasdaq: CLRO) to package its award-winning C3 desktop videoconferencing solutions with ClearOne's CHAT 50 personal speakerphone. ClearOne, a leading provider of high performance audio conferencing solutions, is one of the top two global market leaders in the tabletop audio conferencing market, and enjoys the number one spot in the installed professional audio conference market worldwide as well.
"With heightened economic concerns, corporations around the world are taking a fresh eye towards videoconferencing," said Mark Child, Director of Product Marketing - Telephony, ClearOne. "Videoconferencing does not have to be expensive, but it has to be good. And, to be effective, it has to have good audio. The crystal clear sound from the CHAT 50 and the simple-to-use and rich capabilities of Avistar C3 make working remotely as effortless as working in the office, with no communications downsides. In addition, companies enjoy the added benefit of improving their green initiatives by reducing their carbon footprint."
Simon Moss, CEO of Avistar, said, "ClearOne has earned a strong market and product leadership reputation and is in sync with how Avistar approaches the market and its customers. Avistar has enjoyed increasing momentum in distributing C3 via resellers and distributors since we began working with the indirect channel earlier this year, and ClearOne is one of the best brands for both product quality and service. Just as ClearOne only partners with the best, we only partner with winning organizations that seriously want to grow their business through videoconferencing. We believe our strategy is working quite well."
ClearOne has been in the audio conference business for more than 20 years, and Avistar's experience in the desktop videoconferencing business goes back more than a decade. This combined expertise brings a "best of breed" approach to every product each company sells. With an uncertain economy, rising travel costs and a renewed appreciation for the "human element" of communication not found in email or instant messaging, the demand for videoconferencing has taken on a new level of importance in corporations around the world. Growth in the audio market has been brisk, and expansion into desktop videoconferencing has reached new milestones. Both markets are included in the area of unified communications, which some industry analysts estimate could reach $30-40 billion by 2011.
ClearOne offers a wide range of industry leading audio conferencing products to meet the demands of companies of all sizes. "For example, a couple of very large customers in the financial services sector provide their employees with a laptop, a webcam, the Avistar videoconferencing solution, and a CHAT 50. That way, each employee can easily communicate while traveling or working remotely. This not only empowers every employee to be a teleworker, but also provides these organizations with tremendous cost savings," Child said.
About ClearOne
ClearOne is a communications solutions company that develops and sells audio conferencing systems and other related products for audio, video, and web conferencing applications. The reliability, flexibility, and performance of ClearOne's comprehensive solutions create a natural communications environment, which saves organizations time and money by enabling more effective and efficient communication.
For more information, visit www.clearone.com.
About Avistar Communications Corporation
Avistar (Nasdaq: AVSR) creates technology that provides the missing critical element in unified communications: bringing people in organizations face-to-face, through enhanced communications, for true collaboration anytime, anyplace. Its latest product, Avistar C3, draws on more than a decade of market experience to deliver a single-click desktop videoconferencing and collaboration experience that moves business communications into a new era. Available as a stand-alone solution, or integrated with existing unified communications software from other vendors, Avistar C3 provides users instant messaging-style ability to initiate video communications across and outside the enterprise. Patent protected dynamic bandwidth management enables thousands of users to access desktop videoconferencing, VoIP and streaming media, without requiring substantial new network investment or impairing network performance.
Avistar's desktop videoconferencing and collaboration installations are among the world's largest, including commitments of more than 100,000 desktop seats to be deployed in over 40 countries in the coming years. Clients report as much as a 20 percent reduction in travel expense and carbon emissions, increases in productivity and immeasurably improved relationship building within their organizations, as well as with suppliers and customers. Avistar holds a portfolio of 93 patents for inventions in video and network technology and licenses IP to videoconferencing, rich-media services, public networking and related industries. Current licensees include IBM Corporation, Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), Polycom, Inc., Tandberg ASA, Radvision Ltd., LifeSize Communications, Inc. and Emblaze-VCON.