As communication giants such as Cisco tout virtual meetings as the future of business, InfoStreet adds integrated conference calling to its suite of business management software.
Management software and software as a service provider InfoStreet announced the addition of integrated conference
calling capabilities to StreetSmart, a suite of Web-based small business
management software. The service, which will be provided at no extra charge, is
integrated into the Calender application to facilitate convenience and improved
workflow.
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InfoStreet said this offering reflects a larger move by the
company to provide big business software and services to the small business
sector at prices they can afford. In addition, rather than provide a flat
conference calling system, InfoStreet has integrated this feature into the
aforementioned Calendaring application. Now, when users go to plan a meeting or
send a meeting request/invite, one-click functionality will allow them to
automatically have a unique conference number and call ID generated and
included in the invite.
For recurring meetings, the system will maintain the same
call details each time for added convenience. In addition to anytime/anywhere
Web access, calendared items can also be synchronized with Outlook, Palm and
Pocket PCs. Siamak Farah, CEO of InfoStreet, said todays work environment is
all about collaboration, noting virtual meetings are on the rise due to the
tight economic climate. Whether it is collaboration with colleagues or clients
or perspective customers, having the ability to connect people together easily
and at no extra cost is a paramount, said Farah. We know that our
customers will quickly benefit and enjoy this StreetSmart feature enhancement.
As noted, virtual meetings are seen as a way to reduce
businesses communications expenses at a time when IT and travel budgets are tight.
This August, American Express jumped into the virtual meeting space, unveiling
the pilot program for
eXpert, an offering
that expands businesses options for virtual meetings and helps companies
determine whether a particular meeting would be better done online or
face-to-face.
At Ciscos partner summit this June, company CEO John
Chambers said collaboration and communication will be primarily video-based,
predicting that within the next few years, 90 percent of all network traffic
will be around video, and video will continue to play a larger role in
communication and collaboration. Cisco also now uses
Telepresence for its biggest internal meetings. A recent sales meeting that in
the past would have required bringing employees in from all over the world for
an average of $4,300 a person cost only $437 each.
