MSP Mentor 100: Glowpoint Focuses On Video

The fourth-annual MSPmentor 100 survey continues through December 17. In the meantime, we continue to check in with managed services providers that landed on our third-annual MSPmentor 100 list. This time we’re taking a look at Glowpoint, which specializes in enterprise-level video solutions. I recently had the chance to speak with Anil Balani, senior VP of product, and Jonathan Brust, VP of marketing, about Glowpoint’s progress in 2010. They had two themes to share with me: growth and video. Read on for the details.

First up, growth: Burst detailed that Glowpoint has grown 11 percent year over year, from 3Q 2009 to 3Q 2010. When January 2011 rolls around, Glowpoint will be in the process of expanding its facility and moving to a new location.

Balani offered up some perspective on that growth, noting it has come mostly from enterprise customers that are looking to converge video in the workplace. Convergence means multi-protocol clients and soft clients, which translates to supporting a variety of video-chatting hardware and software. And yes, that includes Skype and Google chat video.

Speaking of video, the company is bent on making video a must-have technology in the enterprise. Glowpoint’s latest undertaking is the OpenVideo platform, scheduled for release in early 2011 and ostensibly an effort to increase as many video-enabled endpoints as possible while leveraging downmarket clients (such as the aforementioned Skype and Google chat video). What’s more, Balani said, Glowpoint has partnered with several new wholesale partners, including Polycom and BroadSoft to address the evolving video market. The company sees it as a way of investing in video services without the capital expenditure.

But Glowpoint’s main mission is to provide video calling regardless of video technology or network infrastructure. The company aims to be the backbone between these video services and is working hard to simply the process. Using Glowpoint’s cloud, an enterprise can save on video costs. Glowpoint recently provided integration with Cisco Telepresence solutions, and hosted UC, along with a partnership with Equinix for that cloud implementation.

“Glowpoint [wants to] proliferate video,” Balani summarized. “That’s why we’re focused on open standards. Creating a video exchange for interoperability between third-party video devices [like] Cisco and Polycom, as well as support for desktop clients — that’s our focus for 2011.”

Sign up for MSPmentor’s Weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. Follow us via RSS, Facebook, Identi.ca and Twitter. Check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com. Read our editorial disclosure here.