When it comes to organizations’ needs for Web meeting technology, the future is bright, according to the head of a Canada-based provider of VoIP software.

 

As more companies increasingly leverage the Internet for communication and look to bridge geographic boundaries, cost-saving technology, such as VoIP Web meetings and video conferencing, there will be no shortage of the demand, Joe Compta, president and CEO, Bradon Technologies Ltd., told TMCnet.

 

But changes are afoot. Rather than using desktop computers or laptops to make VoIP calls, businesses are using other devices, such as smartphones, to access the Internet for the calls, he said.

 

“We see a potential transition in the approach telecom carriers will take to generate revenue streams in the future,” Compta said in an interview, printed in full below. “Instead of wireless network call plans making up the bulk of carrier revenue streams, we see a shift where callers will use the Internet on their smartphones to initiate VoIP calls instead.”

 

And Bradon Technologies can help companies fit that future vision in a number of ways. Compta recently spoke with TMCnet about how the company’s SAViiDesk and BTAC audio codec technologies help the firm stand apart from competitors.

Our exchange follows.

 

Joe Compta (pictured below):SAViiDesk is able to provide more flexibility to meeting participants in how and where meetings can be held, the equipment required for the meetings, the quality of the meetings and the cost of the meetings. In short, SAViiDesk allows for 100 percent VoIP Web meetings comprising audio, video and desktop sharing without the use of a telephone. It is the ideal Web meeting application to be delivered over mobile smartphones. Currently, multiple participants can view VoIP presentations using Blackberry devices including the Storm and Bold on GSM networks and smartphones running Microsoft (News - Alert) Windows Mobile 5.0/6.0/6.5. It does not have to be installed and it provides maximum security.

 

SAViiDesk was built from the ground up as a VoIP conferencing application. The underlying proprietary audio codec technology (BTAC) was designed by Bradon from scratch and there is no other codec in the marketplace that compares to it. BTAC exhibits superior encoding and decoding technology and high audio compression levels, all while utilizing low CPU resources. Other VoIP-enabled Web meeting applications use inferior 'frame dependent' audio codec technology which causes a severe degradation in the quality of the presentation as the number of simultaneous users increases. SAViiDesk's unique technology eliminates this problem.

 

 

JD: Bradon recently developed a reseller administrative interface to SAViiDesk, which allows telecom, Internet service providers, software development and other companies to white label the application and offer it as a value-added service to their customer base. As an example, a business customer of an ISP would have the ability to subscribe to the application and then upload their logo, choose a color scheme and select their own domain address as the landing page for host and participant access.

 

 

JD: The future of companies’ needs for Web-based meeting tools is a combination of Web and mobile access flexibility without sacrificing the quality of the experience, but still delivered at a lower cost. In conjunction with this are advances in mobile technology and the opening up of restrictions wireless carriers have put on VoIP applications delivered over smartphones. With AT&T’s (News - Alert) recent announcement that it is giving Apple the green light to enable VoIP applications for iPhone (News - Alert) on their 3G network, we see a potential transition in the approach telecom carriers will take to generate revenue streams in the future. 

 

Instead of wireless network call plans making up the bulk of carrier revenue streams, we see a shift where callers will use the Internet on their smartphones to initiate VoIP calls instead. The good news for carriers is that the potential to generate revenue by offering value-added services is profound. With next generation LTE (News - Alert) and IMS, fee-based packaged service offerings for operators can include: web/audio/video conferencing, service convergence (such as caller-ID on TV), presence services, full duplex video telephony, instant messaging, unified messaging, multimedia advertising, multiparty gaming, video streaming, push-to-talk and other services.

 

These developments have great significance for countries like China and India and other emerging markets. By investing in broadband technology, they can deliver internet access and cell phone capability to millions of people through VoIP on smartphones, all without having to make the massive infrastructure investment required for mobile phone delivery.