PictureTel and IBM Sign Pan-EMEA Videoconferencing Services Deal - pan-Europe, Middle East and Africa videoconferencing services - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, March 13, 2000

PictureTel (Nasdaq:PCTL), the world leader in multimedia collaboration, has been selected by IBM to provide a pan-Europe, Middle East and Africa videoconferencing service. PictureTel will help IBM meet its objective of cutting business travel by delivering a full set of services, making videoconferencing easy and cost-effective for employees to use, and optimizing usage of multimedia collaboration in day-to-day business.

"Videoconferencing has become an essential communications tool for IBM," said Peter Atkins, IBM's Conferencing Services Manager. "We have a large number of videoconferencing systems deployed throughout the world, and have found that the planning and managing of videoconference meetings - especially those across different time zones and involving multiple locations - is a significant challenge. Using PictureTel's Conference Services means that we can concentrate fully on the meeting content, rather than the technology. We don't have to worry about establishing the connection or resolving technical issues. PictureTel makes it as simple as possible and this will encourage more people to use the service."

The 'one-stop-shop' services solution As part of a 'one-stop-shop' bridging and maintenance services solution, PictureTel will provide multilingual, pan-EMEA support for all of IBM's multipoint videoconferences, including remote call-launching, a 'Meet and Greet' video operator and optional 'Live Assist' video support for users throughout a videoconference, as well as maintenance coordination, and training. Anyone within IBM will have immediate access, via a designated phone and fax number, to videoconferencing information, conference bookings, and an end-user help desk.

An internal marketing program designed to increase the awareness of the benefits of videoconferencing and to boost the utilization of IBM's videoconferencing assets also is being run by PictureTel.

Releasing IBM's intellectual capital "We are working closely with IBM to give them a greater opportunity to release the intellectual capital of their organization," said Jon Coles, director of Sales & Marketing, for PictureTel's Enterprise Service Division in Europe.

"Organizations need to disseminate and distribute more information to wider audiences with increasingly greater time constraints. Therefore, when they have a meeting, they need to be able to focus on the meeting content without having to worry about the technology, in order to be as productive as possible. IBM appreciates that we can help them make more effective use of their global video communications equipment."

PictureTel's Conference Services In order to meet the demands of companies like IBM that want to outsource the management of their videoconferencing facilities, PictureTel offers its unique Conference Services solution. The program includes:

-- Product Support Services, such as installation, maintenance, technical support, education and training, project management and network assessment.

-- Conference Services, including call launching - dialing out and connecting multipoint meetings; data sharing - enabling participants to share computer applications and transfer files; continuous presence and mixed data rates - enabling up to nine participating sites to be viewed simultaneously on a single monitor.

-- Application Services, such as event management, briefing services and distance learning.

-- Integration and Consulting Services.

Conference Services Centers - the central point of control At the heart of the operation are PictureTel's Conference Service Centers, including the European Center in the UK. There are four centers across the globe, each with a highly focused team of skilled, multilingual personnel, dedicated to meeting customers' video, audio, data and streaming conferencing management needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each Conference Service Center is strictly monitored and quality assured to the stringent demands of the ISO9001 standard.

PictureTel has the industry's largest network of multipoint conference servers, with 12 currently installed throughout the central European continent. When a video call is launched, it is routed through the local server of choice to ensure the customer receives the lowest call cost from their country network provider.