Companies choosing Lifesize as global enterprise standard; Travel savings, productivity gains accelerating global adoption

Lifesize Communications, the global leader in high definition video communications, recorded record sales in the second half of 2008 and close to 150% growth for the full year as more and more companies, governments and organizations turn to HD video conference & telepresence solutions to reduce travel expenses, increase productivity and improve business performance.

“We are pleased with our industry-leading growth and believe that the opportunity for HD video to deliver value has never been greater,” said Craig Malloy, CEO, Lifesize Communications. “Because the benefits of HD video are so clear, compelling and measurable, many Lifesize customers are accelerating their video communication system deployments.”

Lifesize continues to appeal to a wide range of customers, from those new to video to large companies and universities with established video networks, many of which are now standardizing on Lifesize to provide enterprise-wide high definition video communication solutions.

“Lifesize has made significant gains in 2008 to become a key vendor in the videoconferencing market. Lifesize has been a leader in developing HD video conferencing systems that have raised the bar in terms of quality, flexibility and price/performance, compelling the competition to offer lower-priced high-performance products,” said Roopam Jain, Frost & Sullivan “Lifesize was the first to first to bring 720p/60fps videoconferencing units to market and the first to offer HD video conferencing under $5000. We expect Lifesize to continue gaining traction, making it a serious contender in this growing market.”

Sales growth was strong across all regions and product lines, as customers worldwide embraced the Lifesize value proposition. Lifesize offers the most compelling HD video value, combining a superior quality of experience, unique flexibility and unmatched price performance, enabled by a superior architecture.

“Our product design philosophy has been simple: the true benefits of video are realized when you can deliver high quality that is accessible to everyone,” said Casey King, CTO, Lifesize Communications. “Lifesize was built for wide deployment of high definition video, and our HD architecture delivers a competitive advantage in video quality, bandwidth efficiency, deployment flexibility and price performance. In 2008, our new products extended our technology lead.”

In April, Lifesize made HD video even more affordable with the introduction of Lifesize® Express™ with Focus™, the world’s first high definition video communication system with a retail price below $5000 (US MSRP). In October, Lifesize introduced Lifesize® Room 200™, the first Full HD video communications solution and Lifesize® Conference 200™, the first Full HD telepresence solution, delivering standards-based 1080p at 30 frames per second and 720p at 60 frames per second for the most rich, immersive video communications experience available today.

Lifesize also enhanced the company’s infrastructure and management products, allowing for wide deployment. Lifesize now offers not only the best video experience, but delivers that experience through an enterprise-class set of management products that can operate seamlessly in the most sophisticated IT environments.

“No other IT investment can deliver the immediate and measurable results like Lifesize HD video,” said Adam Taylor, Lifesize Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Service. “In the current economic climate, CIOs, IT and telecom managers are re-evaluating projects in terms of ROI, TCO and payback time. And in that environment, Lifesize HD video becomes the top priority.”

Lifesize HD video conferencing systems earned critical praise throughout the year, including being named one of the “10 most influential biztech products of 2008” by Jason Hiner, Editor in Chief of TechRepublic. Awards included INTERNET TELEPHONY® Magazine’s 11th Annual Product of the Year Award, the Videoconferencing Company of the Year award from Videoconferencing Insight, VON® Magazine’s Inaugural Innovator Award, and Unified Communications® Magazine’s First Annual Product of the Year Award and Excellence Award.

Both of Lifesize’s major employment locations were honored as well. In Austin, Texas, Lifesize’s headquarters was named as one of Austin’s “Best Places to Work” by the Austin Business Journal for the third consecutive year. Lifesize’s engineering development center in Bangalore, India, was named as one of the top 25 “Best Places to Work” in India by Smart Techie magazine.

In 2008, Lifesize expanded the organization by more than 70%, continuing to hire through Q4. “Lifesize is hiring – and doing it well. We continue to attract and retain A+ people who are designing, building, marketing, selling and supporting the products that are changing the way the world works,” said Malloy.

“Interest in high definition video has never been greater. Companies believe this is the right time for HD video and that Lifesize is the right solution for their needs,” said Malloy. “We see time and again that companies that explore HD video for cost reductions quickly realize that it’s really a productivity booster that changes the way they do business. It’s exciting that Lifesize products are helping companies survive and thrive in this environment.”