SMART and Cisco Deliver Enhanced Interactive Collaboration

Dec. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- SMART Technologies Inc.  (TSX: SMA), a leading provider of collaboration solutions, announces that its SMART Board® 600 and 800 series interactive whiteboards and SMART Board interactive displays can now be combined with the Cisco TelePresence® systems to deliver enhanced interactive collaboration. With both companies signing a formal interoperability agreement, customers can integrate the industry-leading Cisco TelePresence experience, using patent-pending Cisco TelePresence Synch, with industry-leading SMART products to offer seamless collaboration in meeting rooms and classrooms. The joint solution is designed to allow real-time collaboration across multiple locations via content sharing, live annotations and telepresence technologies. This adaptable and affordable solution allows customers to split their screen between video and data to ensure no element of the interaction is missed.

The integration of Cisco TelePresence Synch with a SMART Board interactive whiteboard or interactive display allows users to enjoy interactive collaboration with note- and application-sharing while communicating directly for an in-person-quality experience. Cisco TelePresence Synch enables users to engage with open applications on the interactive whiteboard or display and with high-definition audio and visual telepresence for a seamless integration of face-to-face and annotative interaction for all participants. The result is a collaborative experience that enables remote participants to see all content and hear all discussions being shared. As SMART and Cisco continue to lead the industry with new innovations and solutions, this agreement ensures continued interoperability between the best of each company’s technology products.

“Bringing Cisco TelePresence Synch to SMART Board interactive whiteboards and displays adds a critical new dimension to a distributed collaborative environment – face-to-face interaction,” said Mike Baird, Director, TelePresence Product Management, Cisco. “By combining the expertise of SMART and Cisco, together we can provide unique solutions to meet the customer demand for increasingly immersive collaboration experiences when having everyone in the same room is not possible.”

“We are pleased to be working with Cisco to add their telepresence capabilities to the collaborative technology products and applications of our business and education solutions,” says Linda Thomas, Vice President, Products, SMART Technologies. “The interoperability of SMART products and Cisco TelePresence Synch allows for enhanced collaboration and meets the needs of our growing customer base in both markets.”

About SMART
SMART Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of collaboration solutions that transform the way the world works and learns. We believe that collaboration and interaction should be easy. As the global leader in interactive whiteboards, we bring more than two decades of collaboration research and development to a broad range of easy-to-use, integrated solutions that free people from their desks and computer screens, so collaborating and learning with digital resources are more natural.

For more information, please contact

Marina Geronazzo
Manager, Public Relations      
SMART Technologies Inc.
Phone +1.403.407.5088
MarinaGeronazza@smarttech.com
smarttech.com

© 2011 SMART Technologies. SMART Board, smarttech and the SMART logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SMART Technologies in the U.S. and/or other countries. Cisco Systems, Cisco and Cisco TelePresence are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.

Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.

# # #

SMART Technologies introduced the first SMART Board interactive whiteboard in 1991 with touch control of computer applications and annotation over standard Microsoft Windows applications. Their technologies have made an impact on education and business.