The new Virtual Office remote conference serving Funet customers

02.12.2009

The Virtual Office remote conference service tailored for higher education institutions is now available for use by Funet member organizations. The service is installed in the Funet network hosted by CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd, and its operation, support and maintenance are handled by Videra Ltd.

Virtual Office is a tailored selection of remote conference alternatives ranging from work station telepresence to an all-inclusive high-quality meeting room package. For the end user, it represents an easy-to-use solution on a turnkey principle including, for example, Videra’s bridge service for multipoint video conferencing. The monthly fee-based payment system makes Virtual Office a safe investment.

Virtual Office utilizes CSC’s national videoconference connecting service (CSC Gate), which means it is compatible with the existing Funet and other research and education videoconferencing services and equipment. In addition to the traditional video conferencing services, the service offering is now supplemented with personal video conferencing, Virtual Office Mobile, which streamlines cooperation practices by offering high-definition image and data distribution services.

Hanken School of Economics and Oulu University of Applied Sciences are the first customers of the revamped service; they adopted the service by shifting directly from the Virtual Office business version. Hanken has been using the Funet version since early autumn 2009. – We valued the favorable costs and the extensive connections provided by the Funet network as the most tempting benefits of Virtual Office. We have been satisfied with the service; Funnet connections clearly provide added value, says Kuno Öhrman, IT Director at Hanken.

Additional information

Harri Kuusisto

Development Manager, CSC

tel. +358 (0)9 457 2054

harri.kuusisto (at) csc.fi

Jani Lehtola

Key Account Manager, Videra Ltd

tel. +358 (0)42 4676 201

jani.lehtola (at) videra.com

CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd. is a non-profit limited company administered by the Ministry of Education. Having core competences in modeling, computing and information services, CSC provides versatile IT services, support and resources for academia, research institutes, and companies. CSC provides Finland's widest selection of scientific software and databases and Finland's most powerful supercomputers that researchers can use via the Funet network.

Videra Ltd is the leading Nordic remote conferencing service supplier. At the fiscal period ended May 2009, the net sales increased from EUR 6.5 million to approximately EUR 10 million, and the forecast for the current period is EUR 14 million. The Board of Directors is chaired by Pekka Vennamo. Videra supplies remote conferencing services in terms of saved time and costs to a wide range of customers: large corporations, public administration, small and medium sized companies, and for training purposes. The Videra Virtual Care business section supplies tailored senior citizens’ home care and healthcare solutions.