Netbriefings, a webcasting and video conferencing service provider that specializes in helping businesses communicate through video, has been selected to webcast the US - China Virtual Symposium November 11-14.The event, presented by Wainhouse Research in conjunction with Drexel University and the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network focuses on the theme “Building Virtual Global Communities.” The symposium incorporates live webcasts, short video, blogs, live presentations and a host of other forms of communication.

Wainhouse Research Analyst, Stacy Austin-Li:

We are very excited about both the quality and accessibility of the program. The broad range of technologies — from traditional videoconferencing to the open source e-learning platform Moodle and video blogging and streaming tools provided by Netbriefings – speaks more about the variety of tools available than the pursuit of any ‘wow factor.’ Each collaborative technology was selected on the basis of its ability to help create community and involve participants without presenting new barriers to access, and we welcome interested parties to drop-in any time by visiting www.global-symposium.com.

Netbriefings video messaging services will be used by presenters to provide video enabled presentations for the on-demand and online portions of the conference. In addition, participants will be invited to use Proclaim as a social networking community building tool in which they will be able to share video snippets about their experiences at the symposium.

A recent survey of 1400 Chief Information Officers by the staffing firm, Robert Hall Technology indicates that while CIOs appreciate and frequently use video conferencing, online training and collaboration software, they aren’t familiar with or very interested in web 2.0 apps such as blogs and wikis.

CIOs on Video Conferencing, Online Training, and Collaboration Tools

Of the 1400 CIOs who responded to the survey, 47% reported that they currently use online training, with another 13% planning to use it in the next five years. Among the same respondents, 34% said they use video conferencing software today with another 18% planning on using it in the next five years. Telepresence and collaborative workspaces are used by 24% of CIOs with another 19% planning on using those tools in the next five years.

CIOs on Web 2.0 Applications

While CIOs are using many of the larger, more prevalent online communication and online collaboration tools, the same can not be said for web 2.0 applications. Of the 1400 CIOs who responded to the survey, 67% have no intention of using tagging software in their websites, 72% aren’t planning to ever use blogs; 74% of the respondents do not even understand what a “wiki” is, and 84% of the same set of respondents have no plans on using or integrating “virtual worlds” into their systems.

It’s not surprising that CIOs don’t plan to use virtual worlds, and may not have time or interest in personal or company blogs, but it is surprising that they have a lack of interest in wikis. By design, wikis are perfect for IT departments to report lessons learned, track projects and report and correct errors in the system. It may be that the CIOs who reported that they don’t use wikis, just aren’t aware that their IT department does.

In the face of rising fuel costs, many companies are turning to online collaboration and video conferencing services to reduce travel costs and at the same time help protect the environment. This current push for video conference services have left many companies scrambling to find the appropriate IT solution for their company, and the Marriott Hotels are looking to provide the solution, or at least be a stop-gap solution for companies that need an immediate solution.

Marriott International Hotels are installing Hewlett Packard’s Halo telepresence centers in key hotels around the world. The Halo telepresence system is a complete video conference solution that has a physical semi-circle conference table, with large LCD television screens that make up the other half of the table. The result is what appears to be a round conference table, half with people physically present, and the other half at any other location that has a similar Halo setup. The technology allows very realistic conferencing, without the hassle and costs of conventional travel.

Marriott Spokesman, John Wolfe:

It’s an opportunity to open up a new line of business that we currently don’t have.

A study conducted by Orbitz Business and Business Traveller magazine found that 79% of corporate travel managers are feeling some pressure to cut travel expenditures and 42% are exploring alternatives to business travel, including web conferencing and video conferencing services.

Teleprescense systems like Hewlett Packard’s Halo can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The availability of these systems at key Marriott hotels will provide easy access to companies that only need to occassionaly use the technology, and for companies that plan to purchase the technology but would like to use it first. No date has been set on when Marriott and HP plan on rolling out the service.

InstantConference, the dedicated on-demand reservation-less online conference service, answers the need for company-wide, user-managed online conferencing at an affordable price with the release of a new enterprise service. Featuring low-cost monthly plans starting at $25/month and toll free rates as low as 3.5 cents per minute, this fully-featured online meeting service can be set up and managed in a few minutes with an online administrator account.

InstantConference CEO, Alex Cory:

InstantConference Enterprise was developed with feedback from executives in small businesses and divisions of larger companies who were looking for a simple and centrally managed service at highly competitive prices. We have launched a service that offers a comprehensive suite of user-managed conferencing tools within a company organized platform.

InstantConference Enterprise targets the market for centrally-managed online conferencing services with a high-value mix of free and premium features. Company administrators can easily sign up and manage accounts by division and employee, using centrally-managed online billing and review, plus creation, and deletion of employee accounts. Employees are automatically provided with their own user-managed accounts, which include free online conferencing, free recording and storage, large scale online conferences, free desktop sharing, and very low cost toll free online conferencing. Both InstantConference and InstantConference enterprise services also come with moderator controls, dedicated conferencing numbers, and an easy-to-use online account management system.

InstantConference Enterprise Overview

Monthly Plans:

* $25/month – purchase unlimited Toll Free 800 minutes at 5.5¢/minute
* $50/month- purchase unlimited Toll Free 800 minutes at 4.5¢/minute
* $100/month- purchase unlimited Toll Free 800 minutes at 3.5¢/minute

Enterprise Features include:

* Administrator account management tools for easy sign-up and management of all employees
* Convenient monthly billing plans centralized on one administrator account
* Access to both free(a) and toll free 800 dial-in numbers
* Toll Free rates starting as low as 3.5¢/minute
* Unlimited recording, downloading and 30 days storage
* Online Moderator controls for extra security and control
* Conference activity and transaction summaries
* Up to 250 callers on every online conference
* Unlimited desktop sharing
* Dedicated online conference bridges
* 24 hour reservation-less access