VC players come face to face

ATLANTA: PGi, a provider of meeting and collaboration solutions, and AVI-SPL have announced a strategic alliance to provide tailored video conferencing solutions to organizations worldwide that demand the virtues of face-to-face meetings combined with the ease and efficiency of Internet-based tools. As a part of the arrangement, AVI-SPL, the largest global integrator of audio visual systems and services, will offer its customers PGi’s award-winning PGi audio, Web and event-collaboration services. “Video is top of mind with our customers and speeds up decision making in a more competitive business climate,” said David Guthrie, CTO, PGi. “As organizations slash travel budgets -- U.S. companies cut travel 30 per cent to 40 per cent last year and the use of videoconferencing rose 136 per cent -- the need for video conferencing choices abound. By working together with AVI-SPL, we will be able to help our customers select the right kind of video conferencing to suit their needs.”

By joining forces with AVI-SPL, PGi is now able to offer its customers an extensive suite of video conferencing solutions, including hardware, design-build, infrastructure, network and services. The alliance between the two allows customers to easily find any video meeting technology they need, from desktop computer cameras to telepresence.

As per a press release, this new venture expands AVI-SPL’s capabilities to offer PGi audio, event and web collaboration solutions to the AVI-SPL installed base of enterprise customers with revenues of $420 million.

When it comes to business meetings, seeing is believing. Relationships are forged when people get together. Trust is solidified in that moment. With advances in Internet-enabled communications, expensive travel is no longer the only solution for relationship-building. Video conferencing accelerates business decisions, makes training more convenient and creates connections among collaborating staff, colleagues and customers, as the company states.

“The synergies between our two companies make this new relationship significant with PGi adding video to its portfolio and AVI-SPL now providing audio, event and web conferencing solutions,” said AVI-SPL CEO, John Zettel. “We share a strong customer focus and have already begun working together to an overwhelmingly positive response.”