Inter@ct web boardcast aims to become third global standard

Malaysian company iBroadNet (www.ibroadnet.com) wants to create a global breakthrough by making its Inter@ct video streaming technology the world’s third universal standard in Internet streaming, after industry leaders RealPlayer and Microsoft’s Media Player.

Analysts see this as a significant turning point for Asia, as almost all major technologies used today on the Internet originate from the United States and in the case of sophisticated software such as streaming, the two current standards have had no serious competition until now.

Unlike either Real Player or Microsoft’s Media Player, Inter@ct combines the three main communication media - video, voice, and text data - a first in the world - into one fully integrated system that allows users to see each other, hear and speak in real-time or retrieve recordings online using low bandwidth phone lines.

Underpinning its ease of use, executives of iBroadNet were able to show at a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur how easily anyone with a computer could send e-mail with text, presentation graphics, voice and video of themselves over a normal dial-up phone line at a click of a mouse.

The technology is easy to use and executives at iBroadNet point out that it brings about a substantial difference in increasing corporate productivity, while in a learning environment it creates a quantum leap in the effectives of educators.

For corporate users, Inter@ct allows live broadcast of online events to thousands of prospects quickly and cost-effectively, making it an ideal tool for corporate communication, executive presentations and distance training.

Educators will experience a boost in their productivity as Inter@ct makes it possible for all students to access a broadcast simultaneously, irrespective of the actual location of the educator or presenter.

With the value of business transactions over the Internet in Asia predicted to soar to between US$250 billion and US$300 billion within three years, from just US$6 billion to US$8 billion in 1999, according to US consulting and accounting company Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the potential for e-business and education enablers such as Inter@ct is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Inter@act is now configured as a pay-per-use service over the Internet for web broadcasts and online participation in e-learning under its global classroom initiative, human resource training, e-business, e-conferencing and several other modules for business.

According to Lim Say Thean, chief executive of iBroadNet, “Inter@ct is a powerful tool that boosts company productivity because of its ability to reach out to great numbers of prospects without executives leaving the office.

“This is something that can never be done through conventional communications methods. Corporate executives and educators can now author presentation material in a very short time and then have them record the presentation or beam it straightaway as a live broadcast over the Internet.

“Sales performance can improve significantly with Interact, permitting prospects to instantly determine their interest and need for the products and services presented from the comfort of their own office.”

Lim went on to say that iBroadNet is eyeing a global market and will aggressively promote Inter@ct for the fast growing education market, while targeting corporations to use it as a daily business tool.

He added that iBroadNet.com’s revenue model was based on the application service provider (ASP) model, Web portal customization and pay-per-use services.

Touching on the company’s strategy of forging alliances with world class IT companies to assist in its global growth, Lim revealed, “Computing giant Hewlett Packard had discovered the global potential of Inter@act and became an early partner to iBroadNet, providing us with the IT backbone for our internet broadcasting system.”