SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avistar
Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: AVSR), has announced that California State
University, Fresno, has deployed Avistar's desktop videoconferencing
technology to enhance communication across its faculty and to build an
ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship in the Central Valley of California.
Available to users across the Fresno State Campus, Avistar brings key decision
makers face-to-face with a single click to create new efficiencies and social
interaction, reduce travel needs, and directly support the University's
educational mission.
Dr. Timothy M. Stearns, holder of the Coleman Foundation Chair in
Entrepreneurial Studies and Executive Director of the Lyles Center for
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, explains why Avistar was the preferred
choice: "Our role is to assist faculty, staff and students in their pursuit of
entrepreneurship and innovation, and to extend this ethos into the community.
With a multi-acre campus and links into local colleges across our region,
we're focused on finding innovative ways to better achieve this outcome.
Avistar provides us with instant, multi-party video, available right at our
desktop - or even remotely when we travel. It's why I describe Avistar as the
Lexus of videoconferencing systems."
CSU Fresno opted for Avistar's fully outsourced hosted video collaboration
service (SaaS), which enables infrastructure management and technical support
to be off-loaded, yet offers full product performance and reporting. This
approach also allows additional seats to be added as needed, and be
operational within minutes.
"One of our goals is to build an ecosystem in the community that supports
entrepreneurship," continues Stearns. "Effective communication is fundamental
to delivering quality in education and Avistar's technology successfully
closes the gap between instant yet inadequate email or phone interaction, and
desirable yet time consuming in-person meetings that usually require travel.
The social network that it facilitates goes back to one of the original
purposes of the Internet - a tool for educators to improve their
effectiveness. For us, Avistar brings analogous benefits.
"In Avistar, CSU Fresno saw the ability to achieve high quality
communication between multiple parties - without hassle. Information can be
gathered or disseminated with the efficiency that is inherent to face-to-face
communication. It aids education, supports quicker decision making, and keeps
key staff fully in touch, irrespective of their location," said Darren Innes,
Avistar's general manager for worldwide direct and channel sales.
About Avistar Communications Corporation
Avistar is working to define the future of unified communications and
collaboration by inventing and delivering integrated visual communications
software that helps companies of all sizes improve business results. From the
desktop, from the laptop and from conference rooms, Avistar delivers
enterprise-quality and easy-to-use audio/video conferencing, multi-party
videoconferencing, and integrated data sharing anywhere in the world. By
integrating visual communications with enterprise application software,
Avistar incorporates communications into the daily workflow and seamlessly
connects communities of users within and across enterprises.
Founded in 1993, Avistar is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with
offices in New York and London. With more than 17,000 seats sold across 40
countries, Avistar's global deployments of its unified visual communications
desktop software are among the largest in the world. Avistar holds a portfolio
of 80 patents for inventions in the primary areas of video and network
technology and offers technology and IP licenses 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.
For more information, visit www.avistar.com.
SOURCE Avistar Communications Corporation