VCON, Mitel Forge IP Video Pact

Under a joint development and distribution agreement, Mitel plans to integrate VCON's Media Xchange Manager videoconferencing technology with Mitel's IP PBX product, the Mitel 3300 Integrated Communications Platform.

"For users with VCON and Mitel technology installed, if you call someone and you both have videoconferencing capabilities, a light will flash on the phone. If you push the button, video automatically comes up on your PC display," said Gordon Daugherty, president of VCON, Austin, Texas.

Features such as call transferring and call conferencing remain on the IP handset, Daugherty said.

Voice First should appeal to midsize and large customers, particularly those with multiple offices, said Keith Askew, CTO of ProLogic Communications, a Sacramento, Calif., integrator that specializes in VoIP.

"It [seems as though it has some good bandwidth management capabilities, but I'm keen to see how it works," Askew said. "[Videoconferencing customers want to look at people, not chunks of people."

The videoconferencing market has floundered in recent years as calls often fail because recipients don't have their machines turned on or because of equipment failure, said Andrew Davis, managing partner at Wainhouse Research.

However, more companies are considering videoconferencing as an alternative to business travel because of cost and security concerns, observers said.

Voice First and all the equipment needed to deliver it will carry the Mitel brand name and will be distributed through Ottawa-based Mitel's solution provider partners, Daugherty said.

Voice First, scheduled to ship next quarter, will be priced at about $1,500 per user for a desktop setup and $4,500 for a conference room setup.