Astound Leads the Way in Web Conferencing in South Asia.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2000

Astound Inc., the leading provider of complete web conferencing solutions, helped establish a milestone for the South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC). SEARCC is a regional organization composed of computer societies and organizations from sixteen (16) Asia-Pacific countries.

Victor Magdaraog ([e-mail]), a member of the SEARCC2000 Conference Steering Committee and Team Leader of the web conferencing committee, was tasked by the SEARCC President, Mr. Gus Lagman, with the responsibility of exploring "web conferencing solutions" for their upcoming regional conferences that were to be held in Manila, Philippines. The main conference theme was focused on "E- knowledge, Learning in a Wired World," and involved several schools across the country. Over a period of two days, sixteen live sessions were included in the web conference and was attended by 300 participants. The main purpose of the web conference was to demonstrate the technological advancements in distance learning. In addition to the web conference, a parallel three-points internet-based videoconference was also organized.

Astound answered the realities and specifications of the Philippine tech environment. The benefits of using the Astound solution were clearly evident. Magdaraog was challenged with the fact that the level of Internet technology and reach is not that widespread in the Philippines. Astound was the only solution that solved the technical questions. Complications such as low telephone density and difficulty of connecting to the web made audio streaming with web content the priority on Magdaraog's list. All other solutions reviewed required two phone lines, where Astound used only one. Through the Astound Conference Center, SEARCC was able to connect all attendees, where normally, the current technology in the Philippines allowed only three participants in an audio conference call. Astound made this possible by streaming the audio through the presentation so that all attendees could listen to the conference from their desktop by using audio tools such as RealPlayer. The fact that Astound also requires low bandwidth made it effortless for those participating to attend and follow the seminars.

SEARCC vision for e-Learning in Asia

According to Magdaraog, e-Learning is still in the early stages of implementation and use, though he feels that would change quickly because, "Web conferencing is very appropriate for the region considering the geographical difficulties and reliability of transportation." The Astound solution will help jumpstart e-Learning applications and awareness in this part of the world due to the ease and accessibility to the service and such features as synchronized video and audio streaming, application sharing and robust, multimedia presentation tools. "The large challenge is getting the content experts to quickly author their own work without the tedious process of learning new software applications. Astound helps overcome this hurdle by using tools that content experts are already familiar with, PowerPoint and the Internet." Magdaraog continues to say; "The SEARCC web conference demonstrated that this tool can be very effective for teacher training and updates. This solution will also help increase business productivity through more cost effective and timely business meetings and conferences."

About SEARCC

SEARCC is a confederation of the National Professional Information Technology bodies of the Philippines, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. The concept of a regional computer confederation grew out of the first regional computer conference held in Singapore in September 1976 under the auspices of the International Federation for Information Processing and implemented by the Singapore Computer Society. The Charter and Constitution of SEARCC was signed in Singapore on the 28th February 1978. Six national societies from the region, the Hong Kong Computer Society, Indonesia Computer Society, Malaysian National Computer Confederation, Philippine Computer Society, Singapore Computer Society and Computer Association of Thailand were the founding signatories. SEARCC sponsors this annual conference and it rotates around Asia. Last year it was held in Singapore and next year it will be held in New Zealand. This was the first time ever that the conference was web cast.

About Astound Incorporated

Founded in 1996, Astound Incorporated is a leading provider of Web conferencing and collaboration services, enabling companies to communicate in real time with their employees, customers and partners. With over 250,000 users of its award-winning presentation software, Astound Incorporated has leveraged this experience to launch the Astound Conference Center.

Requiring only a Web browser, the Astound Conference Center is the ideal way for businesses to conduct live interactive meetings, deliver high impact presentations, demonstrations and training via the web to audiences of one to five thousand.

The company has corporate headquarters in Toronto, Canada, with U.S.-based offices in Los Altos, California. For more information, call 1-877-ASTOUND (278-6863) or visit the company's Web site at www.astound.com.