PLANO, TX--(Marketwire - March 18, 2008) - ESPRE Solutions, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: EPRT), a Dallas-based company with patented best-in-class video compression technology, today announced that its spin-off offering free online collaboration has launched a pre-beta enrollment site. The spin-off, formerly called "Blideo," has been renamed "OpenACircle."
OpenACircle.com is a unique collaboration environment for on-the-go business professionals at small to medium-sized companies, providing free online collaboration spaces called "circles." These collaboration "circles" provide users both asynchronous and synchronous communications tools that are all free of charge.
"Today's collaboration products are tools rather than collaboration environments," said Andy Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer at OpenACircle. "OpenACircle.com was designed to provide people who work together with persistent online meeting places for all forms of live and asynchronous communication. It's a mash-up of online tools, incorporating the social networking aspects of Facebook, the business collaboration tools of solutions like WebEx and GoToMeeting, and the real-time collaboration features of solutions like Skype."
Another key differentiator is OpenACircle's simplicity. As the name suggests, a user simply "opens a circle," then uploads any files, documents, photos, etc. they wish to share privately with people they invite into the circle. At the click of a button, members of the circle can initiate a live collaboration session in which they can share their desktops, video conference, chat, and more. Unlike with other live collaboration tools, the entire session can be archived and stored in the circle for future reference. The circle is always open for its members to meet, exchange information and work together.
"Up to now, collaboration has been just a series of events," said Wilson. "Now, there's a permanent, online place for collaboration to take place."
Pre-enrollment for the OpenACircle.com Beta begins today. Registration is open to the public, but the company will initially limit the number of users in the Beta, to allow for a gradual scaling of the business. The private beta is intended to provide critical feedback on the user interface and product features as OpenACircle.com prepares for a full public launch in the summer of 2008.
Rick Bansal, OpenACircle's Chief Technology Officer, adds, "As we prepare to launch our multi-phase beta test, the OpenACircle.com enrollment site will help us find the right population of users for each stage -- users who fit our demographic target, are self-selected, and are eager to participate in our test. While many companies use the term "beta" as a marketing ploy, we truly are interested in customer feedback for possible product improvements."
As internal testing begins for OpenACircle, integration will also begin with the company's new audio partner, FreeConferenceCall.com. The audio bridging technology is expected to be included in the upcoming beta release.
Blideo has successfully raised $3 million in its initial rounds of funding, which is being used to fund development through ESPRE Solutions, as well as marketing initiatives.
Users who would like to participate in the OpenACircle.com beta test program can sign up today at http://www.openarcicle.com/
About ESPRE Solutions, Inc.:
Plano, Texas-based ESPRE Solutions is a public company (PINKSHEETS: EPRT) that is reinventing how enterprises and individuals work and exchange information and ideas by providing a truly viable solution for live, high-quality multi-media video collaboration. ESPRE Solutions harnesses the power of collaboration to extract the benefits of visually connecting global work groups and individuals to create, share, and deliver live video content over the Internet. ESPRE Solutions' ESPRE Live 3.0 ™ media engine provides an integrated toolkit solution for solutions integrators and developers to create applications for business and personal communications. ESPRE's business strategy focuses on building strong partnerships, investing in companies that define the leading edge of video collaboration, and developing businesses to bring its growing suite of SDKs and APIs to the market. To learn more about ESPRE Solutions, or to experience the company's pioneering video compression technology, visit http://www.ESPRESolution.com/
About Blideo, Inc. dba OpenACircle.com
Incubated and spun off by ESPRE Solutions, Inc., Blideo is being developed as the first fully equipped, completely FREE online collaboration environment for small and medium-sized businesses.
SAFE HARBOR
Forward-looking statements made in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provision of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements made by ESPRE Solutions, Inc. are not a guarantee of future performance.
By: Katrina McBride
Internet Marketing Strategy
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