Video conferencing goes SaaS

Logitech’s Lifesize division is claiming a lead – and is certainly one of the very early contenders – in the market of moving normally expensive, on-premise, fixed infrastructure video conferencing capabilities out onto the cloud, and onto just about any device users care to exploit with the introduction of Lifesize Cloud.

A blend of software, hardware, service and UX, Lifesize Cloud is claimed by the company to be the first and only service that provides a connected experience to anyone using smartphones, tablets, laptops and especially conference rooms.

Lifesize Cloud is delivered as SaaS and is aimed at organisations that want business-class video collaboration without eating into their budget or IT resources.

“Lifesize has nailed this user need with the introduction of Lifesize Cloud, a bold departure from the complex and costly ways of implementing video. By integrating its conference room video system with an intuitive, feature-rich hosted cloud infrastructure, it is clear that Lifesize continues to innovate.”

“There is no question that video collaboration is aggressively moving toward the cloud, while the customer need for affordable room video systems and a more simplified user experience continues to surge,” said Roopam Jain, industry director of enterprise communications and collaboration for Frost & Sullivan. “Lifesize has nailed this user need with the introduction of Lifesize Cloud, a bold departure from the complex and costly ways of implementing video. By integrating its conference room video system with an intuitive, feature-rich hosted cloud infrastructure, it is clear that Lifesize continues to innovate.”

The company claims the service is pioneering a new way to collaborate and connect employees. Unlike competitive offerings, including costly traditional on-premise video solutions, free consumer applications, and `meet-me’ Web and video services, Lifesize Cloud enables natural communication instantly or scheduled and is purpose-built for organizations of all sizes to implement an affordable, simple and scalable video conferencing solution with little to no need for IT involvement.

“The demand for video communication in business is skyrocketing, driven primarily by free, consumer-focused applications,” said Craig Malloy, founder and chief executive officer of Lifesize. “As a result, users now expect to have the same simple experience in the office, connected across laptops and mobile devices. Lifesize delivers a way to completely, cost effectively and efficiently enable every person in your company with the highest quality video collaboration. We are able to do this because we have spent the last 11 years building an innovative product portfolio with all of the pieces necessary for this vision to come to life.”

Key features of the service include the ability to provide users with a connected experience on any device. It works seamlessly with smartphones, laptops, tablets and telephones and its Icon room video system works right out of the box: simply connect to the network and log in with your credentials. It also offers unlimited guest capability to connect with individuals outside of an organisation.

It workswith a shared internal company directory, which auto-populates instantly on every device being used, and features click to call, check presence status, connect instantly or in scheduled calls, have single and group calls, and share presentations. Every user and virtual meeting can have up to 25-way calls in HD video or audio for, admins no longer need to manage scarce multiparty bridging ports.

The service is now available in the USA, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Norway and Switzerland, and will be available through the Lifesize Worldwide Partner Network. There is also a fully featured, free, 14-day trial available here.