The company currently has a range of video conferencing products ranging from entry level (Rs 60,000) to high-end (Rs 30 lakh) across four main categories: desktop, compact, value and studio.Currently claiming a market share of approximately 70 per cent in India, Picture Tel operates through a three partner channel network (Siemens, Neutron and CMS Computers).

Speaking to eFE, Picture Tel director and country head (South Asia) TN Sundar said that the iPower platform was built on the new concept of a communicative collaborative super server powered by the Pentium III processor.

``With this unit one can make regular video conference calls, also access the Net for information and make presentations simultaneously. This brings in the concept of convergence of media on a single unit which can run on the existing networks,'' Sundar said.

Video conferencing units could be implemented across all networks including those on leased lines, VSATs, ISDN, ATM backbones and LAN/WANs-and bandwidth was not an issue, he added.

The latest product (970) consists of an NT server loaded with specific software to facilitate certain intelligence features. The monitor for enabling the interactive session could range from a television screen, a PC monitor, to a simple white board on which the image can be projected. ``The system has certain intelligence features that can enable interactivity even on the white board - like facilitating the unit to capture the data directly from the board and transmit it during the call,'' said the company regional manager Max Arafa.

According to industry expectations, multi-media devices like these were likely to replace conventional devices like telephones and PCs as this was capable of integrating all functions into one single unit thus pushing up productivity levels, Arafa said.

Picture Tel is targeting four key segments for its systems: corporate, government, educational institutions and large multi-location organisations. ``While the European countries like Scandinavia, Sweden and Finland are extremely quick on the technology uptake, India is soon catching up and is therefore is a key market,'' he said.

The Indian market for video conferencing products was estimated to be around 10,000 units and Picture Tel was targeting sales of close to 1000 units across its entire product range this year, compared to 500 units last year, Arafa said.