(openPR) - Applause offers affordable high-definition video, voice, chat and desktop sharing in one easy-to-use application.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – July 2, 2009 – Appia Communications announced today the launch of Applause, an on-demand service designed to make business-quality voice, video and desktop sharing accessible to companies and organizations of all sizes.

Applause is a pay-as-you-go service available online at www.applausevideo.com. Conference hosts purchase minutes of use as needed.

“The benefits of video communication have been recognized for some time, and are especially pronounced in a slow economy and as organizations seek to reduce their carbon footprints,” said Victor von Schlegell, president of Appia Communications.

“The video communication market is divided into two tiers,” continued von Schlegell. “At the high end are solutions such as HP Halo, Cisco’s TelePresence, Tandberg and Polycom. These are most suitable for conference rooms and are very expensive. At the other end are desktop solutions, such as WebEx, MegaMeeting and many others. These are lower in cost, but do not include high-definition and are therefore not appropriate for conference room settings.

“Applause enables both remote users and conference rooms to collaborate at resolutions up to 1280x720. The service displays video at 30 frames per second, so images are lifelike. Applause doesn’t require reservations or proprietary equipment, and end-to-end encryption is standard.

“Our goal was to make it easy and affordable for almost any organization. Applause does this.”

For more information and a free live demonstration, please visit www.applausevideo.com or call 877-277-4297.

About Appia Communications

Appia Communications is a leading provider of managed IT and telecommunications services, enabling small and midsize companies and organizations to benefit from Internet Protocol technology for far less than the cost of an in-house implementation. Appia’s managed solutions help customers reduce costs, enhance employee productivity, improve customer care, and compete more effectively against much larger enterprises.

Headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan, Appia has operations in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, and other markets in North America and Europe. Appia was named to Inc. magazine’s list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in both 2007 and 2008, and was named one of the world’s Top Five Managed Service Providers on the 2008-2009 MSPmentor 100.

For more information, please visit www.appiaservices.com or call 877-277-4297. Appia is a Cisco Powered Network and holds advanced Cisco communications certifications.

Appia Communications
1030 Hastings St, Suite 100
Traverse City, MI 49686
USA
877-277-4297
info@appiaservices.com
www.appiaservices.com
www.applausevideo.com

Matt Cowall
Communications Manager
877-277-4297
matt@appiaservices.com