September 19, 1994
Palo Alto, California
Hewlett-Packard Company and InSoft, Inc. today
announced they have an agreement to co-develop and sell
the workstation industry's 1st H.261-based desktop
videoconferencing product. Based on InSoft's Communique!, the
industry-leading desktop videoconferencing product, and
HP Series 700 workstations, the H.261 release of Communique!
will provide high-quality video fidelity over low
bandwidths. With this agreement, customers will be able
to purchase a complete solution from HP for their desktop
conferencing needs, including network management tools.
The new version of Communique! will be
compatible with InSoft's existing Communique!
product line which supports collaboration and
videoconferencing across diverse desktop systems and
networks. This solution enhances communication and
therefore improves productivity and teamwork among
dispersed workgroups by providing an easy-to-use,
standards-based videoconferencing product that integrates
real-time video with fully interactive, point-and-click
conferencing tools, such as application sharing, a
WhiteBoard, audio controls, text and graphics. Communique!
will operate over wide-area networks and any
TCP/IP-compliant network, including Ethernet, ISDN and
ATM.
The agreement with InSoft, along with HP's MPower
product, will allow HP to offer a variety of multimedia
solutions for both commercial and technical workstation
customers. "With MPower and Communique!, HP
continues the transformation of the workstation into a
communication center, putting tools for effective
face-to-face communication at the fingertips of
designers, project managers and knowledge workers who
rely on interaction and up-to-date information to do
their jobs," said Mark A. Canepa, general manager of
HP's Workstation Systems Division. "In addition,
because Communique! is based on standards, HP
customers can deploy desktop videoconferencing within
their existing networking infrastructure and thereby
protect their investment."
"This agreement unites 2 industry leaders that
have independently shared a common mission: to deliver
open, interoperable enterprise solutions that stimulate
personal communications and productivity from the
desktop," said Daniel L. Harple, Jr., InSoft
Chairman & CEO. "The relationship with HP
validates the significance of the InSoft desktop
conferencing architecture and product line, and our
ability to address the needs of the market."
Communique! supporting H.261 is expected to be
available in Q2'95. InSoft currently markets a version of
Communique! that runs on HP Series 700
workstations; this version will be interoperable with the
H.261 release.
InSoft is a worldwide leader in the technology and
sales of workgroup collaboration, desktop conferencing
and distributed digital video solutions. Its products are
marketed directly to commercial and government end user,
through leading systems manufacturers and value-added
resellers for applications such as financial services,
computer-aided design, engineering and exploration,
health care, entertainment, legal, telecommunications,
and a myriad of other information technology
applications.
HP is the 2nd largest computer supplier in the United
States, with computer revenue in excess of $15.9 billion
in its 1993 fiscal year.
Hewlett-Packard Company is an international
manufacturer of measurement and computational products
and systems recognized for excellence in quality and
support. The company's products and services are used in
industry, business, engineering, science, medicine and
education in approximately 110 countries. HP has 97900
employees and had revenue of $20.3 billion in its 1993
fiscal year.
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