Interop: IBM Licenses Avistar's C3 Technology For Lotus Sametime

Avistar Communications reported Tuesday that IBM has licensed its C3 bandwidth management technology, which IBM plans to utilize for its unified communications (UC) and collaboration solutions.

As part of its presence at this week's Interop New York conference and expo, Avistar said the move will help IBM beef up its videoconferencing capabilities without its unified communications service being degraded, and C3 won't require network upgrades or additional overhead either.

"Many industry vendors claim VoIP and desktop videoconferencing capabilities, but the reality is that they are unable to deliver rich media at scale without significant network upgrades," Avistar CEO Simon Moss said in a statement. "This relationship with IBM is another milestone in Avistar's efforts to power important unified communications software in the industry through the creative deployment of patented technology."

Avistar has more than 83 patents in video and network technology. The company has licensed its intellectual property to several firms, including Polycom, Radvision, Sony, and Tandberg, as well as IBM.

Avistar indicated that its videoconferencing technology will work well with IBM's Lotus Sametime platform, which already offers integrated unified communications tools like instant messaging, VoIP, video chatting, and Web conferencing.

Bruce Morse, VP of UC and collaboration at IBM Lotus, said Avistar's C3 integrates well with other applications, too. "Working together, we hope to solve some of the toughest bandwidth management challenges plaguing the industry," Morse said in a statement.

Avistar's videoconferencing technology automatically adjusts to link with external VoIP services and other UC features, including IM clients and advanced video environments.

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