New China on-demand digital conferencing deal

Professionals in China will have greater access to on-demand audio and web conferencing, thanks to a new arrangement between two prominent communications organisations.

The agreement -- to launch new conferencing and collaboration solutions into China -- has been announced by Premiere Global Services, a global provider of business process improvement solutions and communication solutions organization China Enterprise Netcom Corporation Limited (China Entercom).

According to the announcement, the agreement will give Chinese customers 'more access to high quality, on-demand, competitive reservationless event and Web conferencing services'.

China Entercom, which already provides a wide range of telecom services and IT solutions to enterprises throughout the region, will market Premiere Global's full-featured, international conferencing and collaboration applications -- including audio, event and Web conferencing -- to their China-based customers. Premiere Global will provide technical service and support.

Established player

China Enterprise Communications Limited (China Entercom or CEC) is a value-added telecommunications services and integrated IT solutions provider headquartered in Beijing. It was awarded a nationwide IP-VPN service license by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in January, the first telecom valued-added service license granted to a non-facilities based service provider.

CEC has network reach and service capabilities throughout China. It has its own IP-VPN Point-of-Presence (POP) in 24 cities in China, including dual or multiple POP facilities in tier-one cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

China Entercom's major shareholders, China International Trust and Investment Corporation Group (CITIC), and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) have strong financial and government backgrounds

Under the deal, Premiere Global customers, doing business in China, can leverage China Entercom's extensive data and voice network including local, national and international toll-free access numbers.

Compelling growth potential

Researchers Frost & Sullivan believe that the growth potential for audio and web conferencing services in China is 'truly compelling". The total market for web and audio conferencing services in China is forecast to reach $174.1 million by 2013, reflecting a 22.5 percent compound annual growth rate.

"Rising awareness and a change in cultural preferences along with strong market expansion is accelerating adoption, leading to rapid growth in new users each year," said Roopam Jain, Frost & Sullivan's Principal Analyst for Conferencing and Collaboration.

Dennis Choo, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Premiere Global Services said that globalization continued to be a fact of doing business,"so it was important that we reach this milestone with China Entercom to support the multinational conferencing needs of our customers," he said.

"Companies worldwide are looking for additional ways to save money in this challenging economy. By working with China Entercom, we can provide our customers around the world with a more cost-effective way to collaborate."