Glowpoint Expands Cloud B2B Exchange Services to Lead Intercompany Visual Communication Growth

ORLANDO, Fla., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Glowpoint, Inc. (NYSE Amex: GLOW) a leading global provider of cloud managed video services, today announced expanded business-to-business (B2B) video exchange services that will allow business customers to collaborate with more partners using visual communication easily, securely, and cost effectively from the cloud.

The expanded B2B visual communication capabilities from Glowpoint's OpenVideo™ cloud include seamless access to customers and partners on all of the leading multi-vendor global B2B exchanges, easy on-line scheduling capabilities for B2B calls, and B2B video call support for Cisco CTS systems. All of the new features and capabilities are supported and delivered via the OpenVideo™ cloud platform, including a new innovative Multi-Protocol Video Trunk™ that provides a single, cost effective connection to the cloud and opens up wider access to customers and partners on other B2B exchanges.

"Glowpoint is focused on making easy, secure business-to-business visual communications a reality for customers," stated Joe Laezza, Glowpoint's President and CEO. "Our next generation B2B service features and capabilities will allow customers to reach more partners using visual communications and increase utilization, allowing them to realize greater return on their investment in video. We are leveraging our OpenVideo™ cloud architecture, and our key partnerships, to make this happen."

Innovative New Trunking Option to OpenVideo™

As part of the new B2B visual communication capabilities, Glowpoint introduced the Multi-Protocol Video Trunk™ (MPVT), an innovative new cloud trunking option that supports all of the major signaling protocols for today's generation of visual communications. The MPVT supports inbound and outbound calling for video systems utilizing H.323, SIP, and the Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP) over a single transport link. This provides business customers with a single connection to the OpenVideo™ cloud to access multiple B2B exchanges while utilizing the widest range of desktop, conference room, and immersive telepresence video solutions from leading manufacturers such as Cisco and Polycom.

"The Multi-Protocol Video Trunk™ provides an efficient and cost effective way to reach more partners and customers utilizing visual communication, " said Anil Balani, Senior Vice President of Technology at Glowpoint. "It allows enterprises to connect to multiple exchanges without requiring them to disconnect or reconfigure existing connections to exchanges, or change their current dialing plans. The MPVT enables immersive B2B visual collaboration across boundaries like never before."

The MPVT also allows business customers to register their entire private network to the OpenVideo™ cloud, instead of registering what could be hundreds of endpoints individually. This provides IT managers with a more efficient way to provide B2B video calling capabilities, including ad-hoc point-to-point calling using simple DIDs and URIs.

Glowpoint will partner with a number of Tier I and II MPLS network providers to deliver the MPVT, including Tata Communications, Level 3 (Global Crossing), Masergy, XO, Qwest, PCCW and Verizon Business. Glowpoint is also interconnected to the Equinix Ethernet Carrier Exchange to provide native Layer 2 Ethernet services in support of the MPVT.

Access to Other B2B Exchanges from OpenVideo™

Through continued partnership with Tata Communications, Glowpoint will now be offering direct B2B calling from the OpenVideo™ cloud to customers and partners on the Global Meeting Exchange (GMX). This will allow Glowpoint and Tata to provide customers with access to more partners for B2B video calling, while eliminating the need for multiple connections to different B2B exchanges. The GMX also provides access to exchanges operated by other service providers, including BT.

"With this partnership, and our new Multi-Protocol Video Trunk™, Glowpoint's OpenVideo™ cloud now provides the widest access for B2B visual communication of any cloud services provider for video on the market today," said Darren Podrabsky, Vice President of Marketing and Channels for Glowpoint. "By providing seamless access from OpenVideo™ to literally thousands of customers, Glowpoint is creating connected business communities of interest that will help our customers and partners realize the full value of their investment in visual communications."

To support anticipated B2B call volumes, Glowpoint will also be providing B2B call support for Cisco CTS systems on the OpenVideo™ cloud, including support for three screen and single screen immersive systems.

Connectivity between OpenVideo™ and the GMX is part of continued support for the Global Meeting Alliance (GMA), a coalition of service providers united in the common goal of interconnecting business video communities worldwide. Glowpoint is also an active member of the Open Visual Communications Consortium (OVCC), and will participate in the initial wave of operators offering the OVCC compliant B2B service in the Fall of 2012.

 Easy Online Scheduling

Glowpoint will be rolling out the capability to easily schedule B2B calls on-line via the CustomerPoint web portal, eliminating the need to schedule calls over the phone and coordinate extensively with the customer or partner. The new CustomerPoint capabilities will include the ability to search, view, and schedule rooms by customer, city, and video endpoint type, as well as the capability to view the real time status of B2B public rooms.

Glowpoint operates the world's largest global, multi-vendor B2B exchange for video, with nearly 450 businesses directly connected. Since inception, the company has enabled over 3 million minutes of B2B calls for business customers, and there are currently over 40,000 endpoints certified and reachable for B2B calling via the OpenVideo™ cloud. Leading analysts such as Gartner research predict that B2B video calling will grow by more than 200% between 2012 and 2015. Frost and Sullivan predict that intercompany calling will represent nearly 40% of all video calls in North America by 2015.

The expanded B2B visual communication services will be available from Glowpoint and through partners in June of 2012. Beta programs are available beginning in April, 2012. Glowpoint will be demonstrating the expanded B2B services at the Enterprise Connect event in Orlando Florida, from March 26 through March 28, in booth #333.

Supporting Resources:

• Glowpoint's B2B Exchange Services for Visual Communication: http://www.glowpoint.com/exchange-services

About Glowpoint
Glowpoint, Inc. (NYSE Amex: GLOW) provides cloud managed video services that make the delivery of consistently high-quality videoconferencing and telepresence service as simple as using the internet, between any technology, network and business. Using our OpenVideo™ cloud architecture, Glowpoint enables organizations of all sizes to adopt business-class video easily, scale instantly and collaborate openly, yet securely across technology boundaries – to realize the full value of visual communications. To learn more please visit www.glowpoint.com.

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SOURCE Glowpoint, Inc.