Open Beta introduces a fresh new approach to business conversations.
OTTAWA–June 25, 2008—iotum™ today launched the open beta of Calliflower, a visual conference calling service designed to meet the growing conferencing needs of business. As a result of iotum’s positive experience with more than 200,000 users on Facebook, Calliflower expands iotum’s market reach to the rest of the Web. Calliflower features iotum’s signature Web interface—an easy to use, interactive dashboard that makes organizing and participating in multi-party calls simple and engaging.
The free beta launches concurrently with Calliflower Communiqués, a seminar series designed to highlight the unique capabilities of Calliflower, and features high-profile guests interviewed live on the Calliflower service. An evening with William Shatner— famous for his role as Captain Kirk, captain of the starship USS Enterprise in the long-running Star Trek television and movie series—kicks off the program at 6:30 p.m. PDT June 26.
“Today’s businesses want rich conversations. We are building on our social networking expertise to transform traditional conference calling by making it more interactive and interesting without the premium price,” said iotum CEO Alec Saunders. “Calliflower keeps folks from ‘vegging out’ on long, static calls, while creating opportunities for participants to really listen, join in and ‘talk business.’” Calliflower is designed for sharing media and building conversations with the goal of making the entire experience—before, during and after the call —easy and more productive. The service extends beyond traditional calling by providing unique, comprehensive and easy to use tools at no extra cost.
Features
Calliflower streamlines the process of organizing and managing calls by offering:
Caller visualization: See names, pictures and caller status in real time as everyone joins, participates and leaves the call. Callers are identified as they join the call, with their names and (if desired) pictures. The status of their lines (mike open, closed, hand raised to ask a question) is also visible to everyone.
Intuitive conference controls: Participants can access conference controls, the live wall and more from a simple Web interface.
Interactive chat: Participants can engage in a group chat before, after and during the call to share information without interrupting the flow of conversation. From sharing a link or an image to asking a relevant question, the multiparty IM opens a second channel for participants to have richer and more engaging calls.
Call archives: Handouts, agendas and links to files can remain accessible to the right people, long after the call is over.
Invitations and reminders: Receive call invitations and reminders by email or SMS with all the information moderators and participants need.
Easy calendar integration: Manage call invitations, updates and RSVPs with an attached iCal that integrates with any major calendar solution.
PINless connectivity: The participating caller’s phone number becomes the personal PIN, which seamlessly connects callers to every call from anywhere.
MP3 recordings: Moderators can record any call from the Web interface or from the phone. Recordings are available to every participant as MP3 files seconds after the conference is over or the recording is stopped.
About iotum
iotum, a Voice 2.0 company, sets out to reinvent business conversations and shape a world of relevant communications where devices, social networks andWeb services work seamlessly together to let people communicate with whom they want, when they want and on the device they want. iotum’s business is to design and provide a simple, supportive and intuitive environment to enrich business conversations. iotum’s products and services bring greater meaning and productivity to typically stale and static multiparty communications and meet the growing teleconferencing needs of a broad range of customers across many industries. Iotum’s flagship service, Calliflower, makes it easy for people to plan and participate in engaging and meaningful conference calls that bridge business and social networks, and follow up afterward.
