Back in August of this year when CallWave, Inc. acquired WebMessenger, the company had big plans for the technology, which it recently announced.

For those needing a little refresher, WebMessenger first got its start in 2002, providing a sort of "Trillian for your mobile" platform that quickly moved into enterprise markets. WebMessenger was designed to allow users to securely correspond via IM over all major public networks using smartphones.

CallWave develops unified communication applications for enterprise collaboration and conferencing. It has recently announced its new Web-based application, called FUZE. The new product was made possible by technology that allows mobile device integration with Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS), which it picked up from its WebMessenger acquisition.

Sharing an image with FUZE. Click for a larger image.

FUZE is an interoperable, browser-based collaboration service that lets users host online meetings that can be conducted in high definition video, and with documents and images shared in sync over virtually any Internet-enabled device, including mobile phones and Internet-connected computers.

Uniquely FUZE

Jeff Cavins, President and CEO of CallWave says the company's goal is to provide collaboration, real time communication, community and presence tools for every mobile phone and desktop platform.

Officially released in beta last week, FUZE —which works with any Internet browser, runs on Windows-, Mac- and Linux-compatible systems, and can be used on a number of mobile phones— looks set to move the company closer to its goal.

In a nutshell, the FUZE service is designed to provide synchronized high-definition video collaboration with high quality audio conferencing along with secure instant messaging and managed presence in an easy-to-use service.

To do this, FUZE expands on WebMessenger technology to provide an enterprise-class collaboration and conferencing solution for mobile workforces. FUZE, through its browser-based service provides the means to conduct mobile meetings by initiating calls, delivering presentations and instant messaging with meeting attendees, regardless if they are in the office in front of their computer or out in the field with an iPhone or Windows Mobile device.

Sharing a presentation with FUZE. Click for a larger image.

Cavins also said that, in addition to the functional features of FUZE, the platform also offers a very secure meeting environment with secure IM chat and 128-bit SSL encryption, as well as single-session tokens to maximize the security of each meeting. In addition, the company claims that its hosted collaboration service provides 99.99 percent uptime and unlimited scalability.

FUZE Offers HD Video Collaboration

FUZE introduces several new features to enterprise cross-platform real time conferencing. First, the service offers users a feature called "FETCH" which lets moderators bring additional attendees into meetings on the fly. Because FUZE is a hosted, browser-based service, there is no need to download client software, an added bonus for organizations with a diversity of platforms. Another featureunique to FUZE is its high-definition video collaboration with high-fidelity audio conferencing. In video collaboration, users can share high definition images and video, which can be viewed, edited and annotated on the fly during the collaborative meeting. FUZE synchronizes the participants' content so everyone views the latest changes in real time.

Outside its basic business applications, the high-definition video collaboration could make FUZE attractive to other industries such as medicine and health, where X-rays and similar media can be shared between multiple professionals and edited, notated, and discussed in real-time. The motion picture industry is another industry where the video sharing capabilities of FUZE would enable post-production teams to collaborate with directors, regardless of where the professional is globally.

WebMessenger Revisited

CallWave has also announced a new version of WebMessenger, which is available in addition to the FUZE service.

The new version extends OCS to all mobile phones, including the Apple iPhone, making it the first enterprise unified communications solution for Apple's popular mobile phones. It also provides mobile extensibility for the Cisco Unity Platform.

The new WebMessenger also federates instant messaging and IP telephony and presence technology across leading platforms, letting mobile professionals collaborate on any service in a secure environment. In addition to supporting the iPhone, CallWave's WebMessenger also extends Microsoft OCS to BlackBerry and Nokia smartphones.

Pricing and Demos

FUZE is available for a free trial and instant access at www.fuzemeeting.com. FUZE introductory pricing is $19 per month for annual subscribers and $29 per month for monthly subscribers.