Lifesize Explained

Lifesize
Foundation: (as KMV Technologies)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Founders:Craig Malloy
Michael Kenoyer
Location City:Austin, Texas
Location Country:US
Key People:Trent Waterhouse, CEO[1]
Products:Lifesize Cloud, Lifesize Icon Series, Lifesize Phone HD, CxEngage, CxConcierge
Num Employees:200+
Homepage:Lifesize

Lifesize is a video and audio telecommunications company in the United States which provides high definition videoconferencing endpoints and accessories, touchscreen conference room phones, a cloud-based video collaboration platform, and omnichannel contact center solutions under their CxEngage[2] product line. Lifesize's headquarters is located in Austin, Texas. Its Europe, Middle East and Africa regional office is located in Munich, Germany.

History

Lifesize was founded by Craig Malloy and Michael Kenoyer in January 2003. It operated in “stealth mode” under the name KMV Technologies from 2003 to 2005. Investors in Lifesize included Redpoint Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Tenaya Capital.[3] The company name change to Lifesize Communications was unveiled at the Interop trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2005. This is also when Lifesize announced its first product, Lifesize Room, which was the first high definition video conferencing endpoint brought to market.[4]

Malloy was a product manager at VTEL Corporation until 1996, when he left and founded ViaVideo. ViaVideo was acquired by Polycom in 1998. Malloy was the senior vice president and general manager of the Video Communication Division of Polycom through 2002, when he left to found his own high definition video telecommunications company.

In 2009, Logitech acquired Lifesize for US$405 million in cash. Lifesize then became a division of Logitech, but continued to operate as a separate division led by Malloy.[5] Malloy served as the Lifesize CEO from 2003 – 2012, and resumed the role in February 2014.

Lifesize was spun out of Logitech in early 2016 and is privately owned.[6] [7]

In March 2020, Lifesize announced a merger with Serenova, a contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) provider.[8]

In August 2020, Lifesize announced the acquisition of Kaptivo, a digital collaboration company based in Cambridge, UK.[9]

In February 2021, former 8x8 President, Kim Niederman was appointed CEO.[10]

In 2023, Lifesize launched CxConcierge, a live customer service solution that allows companies to offer instant customer support assistance via on-demand video calls.[11]

On May 17, 2023, Lifesize filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[12]

Technology

Lifesize is a Video Conferencing and Collaboration business, based in Austin, Texas, that provides technology for face-to-face communications, including high definition videoconferencing, sometimes known as telepresence. The company brought their video communication technology to market in 2005.[13]

Lifesize product portfolio includes high definition endpoints and accessories,[14] NAT/firewall traversal, touchscreen conference room phones, ISDN gateways, Multipoint Control Units and management systems, as well as mobile video conferencing software and a cloud-based IaaS offering for video conferencing. Lifesize also offers a recording and sharing service called Lifesize Cloud Amplify. In 2016, Lifesize brought huddle room systems to the market with Smartframing camera technology embedded.[15]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Meet the management . Lifesize web site . September 2, 2021 .
  2. Web site: Lifesize CxEngage - the Human-Centric Cloud Contact Center .
  3. Web site: Logitech Takes on Cisco, to Buy LifeSize for $405M. Om Malik. gigaom.com. 26 March 2015.
  4. Web site: LifeSize setting telepresence pace . 2010-05-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721004240/http://connectedplanetonline.com/video/news/lifesize-telepresence-gear-0220/ . 2011-07-21 .
  5. New York Times. Logitech Breaks Into Videoconferencing, The New York Times, November 11, 2009.
  6. Web site: Press Releases. www.lifesize.com. 2020-03-22.
  7. Sead Fadilpasic, IT Pro Portal. “Lifesize splits from Logitech, continues solo.” Jan 15, 2016. Jan 18, 2016.
  8. Web site: Comms vendors Lifesize and Serenova merge CRN. 2020-03-11. www.channelweb.co.uk. en. 2020-03-11.
  9. Web site: Lifesize Acquires Kaptivo to Fuel Next Generation of Advanced Collaboration . Press release . August 20, 2020 . September 2, 2021 .
  10. Lifesize Appoints Former 8x8 (NASDAQ: EGHT) President, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Polycom (NYSE: PLT) Senior Executive Kim Niederman as New CEO . 24 February 2021 .
  11. Web site: Lifesize CxConcierge Delivers Live Customer Service . 7 March 2023 .
  12. Web site: Office Video Firm Goes Bankrupt After Remote Work Saps Sales. May 17, 2023. May 18, 2023. Bloomberg Law. en.
  13. Web site: LifeSize rocks the HD conferencing world with affordable 720p solutions. ZDNet. 26 March 2015.
  14. Web site: Lifesize Video Conferencing Solutions .
  15. Web site: Lifesize Icon 450. Videocentric.co.uk. 12 October 2016 . 18 October 2016.