Lease to own video conferencing: Ideal for small businesses.

As a small to medium size business owner, you may find taking your company into the video conferencing world a scary proposition. Video conferencing is a great way for your business to save time and money travelling, while maintaining the face-2-face customer service your clients deserve. However, coming up with a lump sum capital to fit out an entire video conference room may be too big a strain on your budget.

To assist business of all sizes with high quality, low cost video conferencing systems, Chorus Call Australia and Video Conferencing Australia recently launched our “lease to own” video conferencing packages. For a small monthly payment over 24 or even 36 months, your company can receive a fully installed, fully supported and effective video conferencing solution.

With small-medium size business in mind, we have created packages with an AVER or LifeSize unit, a commercial grade screen with either wall mounting or cart to suit your office circumstances. To get connected immediately and to any device, each order will receive a free 3 month subscription to Australia’s only hosted ClearSea mobile video conferencing solution. This unique product allows your executives to use their tablets, phones or home PC’s to video directly into your video boardroom.

At the end of the lease period you own the video conferencing equipment; or you can choose to trade up for the newest technology receiving a 10% discount on you next arrangement. What’s not to like?

There are significant business advantages to having your video conferencing solution financially structured this way. Firstly, having a monthly operational cost means it can be expensed in the period instead of having capital expenditure that you need to depreciate at the ATO’s whim. Secondly, with packages starting for as little as $350 per month cash flow is not harmed. Imagine a fully installed, supported video conference solution for less than $350 per month!

Beyond the financial structuring is the power of the video conference solution. Video, either mobile or room based is a growing force in how we do business. Video delivers increased engagement in meetings be it internal or external. This can lead to better business results. To take your business to the next level of communication with video, please see our VCA website on www.videoconferencingaustralia.com.au or call us on 1300 369 829.

Chorus Call Australia and Video Conferencing Australia are conferencing specialists. Established in 2003 we provide a complete suite of conferencing services to enable your company to collaborate more effectively.

CCA and VCA.

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Chorus Call and LifeSize Video Conferencing

For over 2 years now Chorus Call Australia and Video Conferencing Australia have been engaged with LifeSize by selling their equipment in the Australian market. Over that time we have built significant expertise with all our sales people (save one recalcitrant) achieving sales expert and having multiple certified technical experts across Australia.   On the volume front we are undoubtedly one of, if not the most effective, and prolific supplier of the LifeSize product in Australia and New Zealand.

Over that time we have come to appreciate the quality and focus of the LifeSize product set. The LifeSize mid market offering is excellent. The Icon 600 series code has an unrivaled user interface using a spectacularly low bandwidth, while achieving HD video conferencing. Add to this a price point that is 70% of its nearest competition and you have a winner. Contributing to LifeSize’s mid market strength in Australia is Chorus Call’s ability to offer a unique solution of a hosted mobility, ClearSea, and a virtual bridge solution, on a monthly subscription basis instead of asking mid tier organisations to take on their own infrastructure.

Next week we will go into the benefits and massive savings an organisation can achieve by moving to a cloud or hosted video conferencing solution but for now the key message is that if you are looking for a 2-5 site solution that is cost effective, with great user experience, with simple and effective hosted add-ons of mobility and bridging, contact Chorus Call Australia or Video Conferencing Australia for a solution that can’t be offered anywhere else in the market.

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Chorus Call Australia partnerships with Avaya

Chorus Call Australia has announced an agreement with Avaya to sell the Radvision product range.

Morley Foster, Managing Director Chorus Call Australia, said “…the quality of the Radvision product range, including their mobility solution is one of, if not the best, solution in the market today. By adding this solution range to our product set we offer a more complete solution to the mid and enterprise video market”

With a large global customer base, Radvision is an undisputed industry leader in interactive voice and video over IP technologies, developer protocol stacks and toolkits. The technology behind these award-winning developer tools is the foundation of the company’s strong portfolio of carrier-grade unified communications products that deliver high-quality solutions and across-the-board connectivity – from desktops to mobile networks.

Radvisions’ powerful suite of products and developer tools enable the delivery of unified visual communications to residential homes, 3G mobile operators, and enterprises worldwide. Radvision also offers a wide range of professional turnkey project management services and customized deployments of unified communications on converged networks.

When asked why Chorus Call was partnering with Avaya Morley continued “.. as I mentioned they have a strong technical solution, but equally important is how they have engaged the Australia and New Zealand Market. They have shown over the last 6 months the willingness to engage with partners and put strong people on the ground to assist in gaining market share.”

Chorus Call Australia is an Australian based supplier of audio, video and web conferencing services. Established in 2003 it has become the leader in high touch audio to enterprise and delivery of video solutions to the Australian mid market

Further Questions contact Chorus Call Australia, 1800 98 88 98

www.choruscall.com.au

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Chrous Call Australia launches hosted Mobility Solution.

Chorus Call Australia, has deployed LifeSize ClearSea and LifeSize UVC Multipoint to enable its users to collaborate in high-definition video on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. The service allows Chorus Call clients to remain connected beyond the boardroom by using laptops, Android phone, tablets and devices to participate in video conferencing calls.

LifeSize ClearSea allows mobile users to seamlessly and securely connect to any standards-based video collaboration system or infrastructure within seconds, while LifeSize UVC Multipoint brings scalability to the solution, enabling the connection of multiple parties. In addition to high definition video and audio, LifeSize ClearSea offers collaboration tools such as real-time data sharing, text chat, far-end camera control, easy switching of camera views and a centralised contact list.

Chorus Call is the first Australian organisation to offer LifeSize ClearSea as a video conferencing service to clients. It has deployed the solution across a number of data centres throughout the country to ensure consistently fast response times for all users, no matter where they are located.

With mobile device use on the rise, tools like LifeSize ClearSea are incredibly valuable for businesses of all sizes. Since being previewed to Chorus Call clients in November 2012, more than 70 organisations have already signed up for the mobile and desktop service. The majority of these organisations are using LifeSize ClearSea as a complement to their existing room or desktop-based video conferencing arrangements, enabling executives who are away from the office to continue to check in to meetings and discuss issues with staff.

“Work patterns are changing and the need for workplace flexibility is only going to increase,” said Morley Foster, chief executive officer of Chorus Call Australia. “A lot of customers are looking for a mobile capability that doesn’t require investing capital in building their own solution. They also want security and the ability to add participants without any degradation of service. LifeSize ClearSea allows us to meet this need by providing a scalable, high-definition video communication service that crosses all major platforms, offers excellent resolution and is easy to use.”

“Technology has become so pervasive that people expect it to work any time, any place,” added Simon Claringbold, general manager and vice president of LifeSize, Asia Pacific. “They aren’t interested in the details and they don’t like making allowances for services that can’t cater for their particular device or circumstances. Chorus Call recognises this and makes video communications a simple process for organisations to keep everyone connected.”

Sign up for a FREE TRIAL of this exciting new product.

About Chorus Call
Launched in 2003, Chorus Call Australia has quickly become the preferred supplier of organisations seeking quality and value in the conferencing service provider. Chorus Call’s state of the art conferencing services include telephone conferencing, video conferencing, web streaming, announcement and investor relations services, data sharing and video room hire services.

About LifeSize

LifeSize is a pioneer and world leader in high-definition video collaboration. Designed to make video conferencing truly universal, our full range of open standards-based systems offer enterprise-class, IT-friendly technologies that enable genuine human interaction over any distance. Founded in 2003 and acquired by Logitech in 2009, LifeSize, with its commitment to relentless innovation, continues to extend the highest-quality video conferencing capabilities to anyone, anywhere.

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How much is your time worth…?

One of the lesser known services available as an alternative to travel is video conferencing room hire.  The Chorus Call offices have video enabled board rooms that are listed on various local and international aggregator web sites, as well as promoted to our local community and customers.  Chorus Call Australia also linked up with many local and international room hire agencies to provide a single point of contact for room rentals around Australia and the globe.  With Australia suffering the “tyranny of distance” (Anyone who has done the LA or London flights knows exactly what I am talking about) the option of renting a board room and having a high definition video conference is very attractive.

Lets look at the economics of the decisions.  Renting a site in Los Angeles will cost about $250 per hour, with the same cost here in Australia. Remember to always look for IP transmission capable rooms and the cost of transmission should be included in the cost of the room.   If your meeting goes for 2 hours, total incremental cost of the solution is $1000.  On the face of it this looks a bit expensive, but people forget to look at the opportunity cost.  Sure your economy return airfare to LA might only be $1500 to $2000, but how much is lost by the 26 hour return flight?  How much is your time really worth? What could be accomplished as an alternative to the travel?  Even at minimum wage it more than pays for the cost of the board room rentals. This doesn’t not even touch upon cabs, accommodation, meals etc…

If you can hook your business travel up with some fun in the sun or catch up with friends, great. If it is one of those meeting that has to be face to face, then so be it. The reality is that only those who don’t travel think it is glamorous.  Mostly its airports, cramped seating, bad food, time away from family and cold hotels.  We have many customers who have progressed from flights to renting  video room, to now buying their own video gear. Clearly, they have put a value on their time.

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Premium Investor Relations Services

Many people are not aware that August is one of the two times a year most Australian listed companies report earnings.  Typically this is done using conferencing service suppliers like Chorus Call Australia.  Chorus Call both directly, and through partnerships with event managers and investor relations professionals, will hold over 100 investor and media briefings by ASX listed companies this August.  Getting these calls right is no simple task. Companies rely on us to ensure that the analysts or media covering their company can get access to their key management and ask their questions or receive the desired message.  The technology has to be right , the systems have to be tried and tested and most importantly the operators managing the call have to have extensive experience controlling the call to ensure an appropriate flow.

Chorus Call Australia and all of the global offices have focused on this business for years.  Last year the Chorus Call group handled over 2300 media and investor calls globally.  On any given day our Australian based operators can be helping on calls in Germany, Canada, Switzerland or the US, amongst just a few or our global network.  This network allows us to call on these trained staff, of the Chorus Call group of companies, when we have our peak periods in August and February every year.  Some of the other expertise we bring to the investor relations field are the proprietary systems and technology we have developed over the years to give our clients the best possible result.  Some of these include a system to view, control and adjust participant states directly from the CEO’s boardroom.  Others include a web interface that allows participants to preregister participation and questions and custom messaging to all participants.  When IR professionals are looking to put this key task into the hands of a conferencing company they should be looking directly at what experience they have in delivering these calls, because if it goes wrong it can be damaging to the company brand.

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Maximising Your Video Conferencing Experience

Maximising Your Video Conferencing Experience

As businesses continue to find better ways to conduct their meetings and make business processes more efficient, technology continues to rise to the occasion and serves as a reliable partner in not only expediting processes and providing unparalleled convenience, but also steadily increasing return of investments and company savings. One of these advantageous technological advancements getting more widely used throughout an extensive range of businesses is video conferencing.

In today’s modern corporate setting where businesses are more often going global and linking with other businesses to form lucrative new ventures, video conferencing has become an indispensible communication medium. Through video conferencing, companies from opposite sides of the world can conduct their business efficiently in the comfort of their own offices, and the millions usually spent by companies for travel expenses are saved.

With such innovative and beneficial business and conferencing solutions at our fingertips, we must ensure that it is used to in the right manner to produce all the benefits it can offer. Not all members of a business may be comfortable with such innovative conferencing solutions and would prefer the old but costly methods of conducting a meeting. To make sure the experience is pleasant for everyone and consequently, easily adopted as part of a company’s standard procedures, certain steps must be followed. Below are some of these steps businesses can follow in order to ensure all members have a positive first impression and make the most of their video conferencing service.

Before Video Conferencing

· Ensure that all members involved are familiar and comfortable with using video conferencing. This may involve self-guided education, trainings and promotional programs for easy and effective adoption to the system.

· Schedule video conferences and inform all involved people and parties ahead of time.

· Create an agenda to make sure the video conference goes smoothly and tackles all necessary topics. Share this agenda in advance so all those involved will know what to expect and think ahead of what other points they may want to discuss.

· Choose or have a facilitator who can effectively manage the flow of the meeting.

· Have all needed items ready (products, charts, etc.).

· Check that all the hardware (microphones, speakers, camera, lighting) are functioning properly and are suitable for the meeting. The camera should be positioned straight at the people involved showing their upper torso up to their head, and lights should be above the camera, not beside or in front of it.

· Dress appropriately for the meeting. Because a video conference displays all users in one screen, it can be very easy to spot differences or distracting details, like brightly coloured outfits or dangling jewellery.

· Put off or in silent mode all electronic gadgets that may disrupt the meeting.

· Recording meetings is one great advantage of video conferencing and can be very useful for any company. Before you start recording though, you must ask permission from those involved as not everyone may feel comfortable with being recorded.

· If speaking with users from another country and culture, make sure to familiarise yourself with their basic speaking etiquette.

During Video Conferencing

· Speak clearly and slowly, and properly introduce those in attendance.

· Follow the flow of the agenda and pay attention to the proceedings.

· Be polite. Do not interrupt those speaking or make distracting movements or noises. Eating would not be recommended during the meeting as this can cause a lot of noise and be very distracting.

· Try to engage everyone involved. Make them feel their importance in the meeting. Much of the success of your very first video conference and the many to follow will depend upon the users’ initial reactions, so make them feel that it is a success with their participation.

· Do not disclose private or highly classified information during the meeting, such as passwords and sensitive company information.

When you need specialists to provide your business with exceptional conferencing systems, in Australia you can call on Chorus Call. Chorus Call is the preferred supplier for many companies and organisations seeking quality, value and accommodating customer service. They provide state of the art conferencing services including video conferencing, telephone conferencing, web streaming and IR communications. Chorus Call Australia will make sure that all your video conferencing experiences will produce nothing but positive feedback and great results.

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Investor Relations Chorus Call Style

With 11 global locations Chorus Call has build its reputation on being the best provider of Investor Relations Calls. Our offices in Switzerland, South Africa, India, Brazil, the US, Canada and beyond have worked for years with the top listed companies in their markets to deliver high quality operator managed event calls.

To the untrained eye delivering this type of service may seem simple, and when it goes perfectly that is exactly how it should seem. In reality there are lots of activities undertaken to make it a seamless event. Chorus Call Australia has launched a new web site (Click Here) to outline our experience and capabilities in this very important aspect of any listed companies market communication.

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Welcome to 2012

First of all I wanted to thank everyone for a great 2011. It was a great year with much accomplished and many new developments in the market. Similarly, it has been a great start to 2012 with lots going on in the Australian conferencing market. The first thing I wanted to talk about was the Federal Government Telehealth incentive. This is a fantastic idea put forward by the Federal government to give incentive to regional and rural based medical and aged care practitioners to adopt video conferencing. The first year incentive form the government is over $6000, dropping to around $4000 in July 2012. Chorus Call has developed a product specifically designed for this market. By marrying a LifeSize HD, PTZ Passport unit to a battery powered Ergotron Styleview cart Chorus call is offering a complete package at not much over $7000. These mobile carts are specifically designed for the hospital or aged care environment. They boast 2 hour fully rechargeable battery pack, an anti microbial coating and ergonomic height adjustment. We already have talked about how good the LifeSize units are. Designed specifically for IP HD conferencing these units are quickly catching on at the expense of Polycom and Cisco.

The response has been tremendous. Practitioners are really happy that a finished bundle can be delivered and supported with payment terms that allow for very little out of pocket expense. We have seen some of the packages out there and are a shocked as our customers. We currently have a couple of demonstration carts we are lending to people to have a look at.

Give us a call if you are interested. If you want more information email us or give us a call on 1800 98 88 98.

www.choruscall.com.au

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Merry Christmas

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev’rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”

With thanks to Johnny Mathis and others who croon this song into the hearts of all at this time of the year.

As the years go flashing by, 2011 has been challenging for many and for all sorts of reasons starting with tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis. Dictators deposed and further hope for democracy in third world countries, this globe and the people on it have suffered again while others prosper and it is the endearing human spirit of never giving up, constant attempts at improvement that drive us forward.

Currently it is all quiet with, hopefully, less dramatic weather conditions and some improved economic stability in Europe and the USA. While our politicians beat each other (internally and externally) into senseless negativity.

Our mining and China fuelled economy is performing better than most, unemployment is low and interest rates are moving down, none of this enjoyed as fears for 2012 become hedged against production and performance with the populace very wary.

Chorus Call Australia has had an interesting year more than holding its own and continually striving to provide better, faster and smarter solutions to our existing and future clients.

Teleconferencing remains strong and the backbone while Videoconferencing moves faster up the rungs as improved and less costly hardware and software begin to open up the world even more than before.

We wish all of our customers and staff a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What more can we say?

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.”

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