StarLeaf

Last updated

StarLeaf
Company type Private company
Industry Telecommunications, Videotelephony
Founded2008;16 years ago (2008)
FoundersMark Loney, Mark Richer and William MacDonald
Headquarters Watford, Hertfordshire
Number of employees
190 (2021)

StarLeaf was a global video conferencing and collaboration software company that provided cloud-based Instant messaging, meeting and calling for business users. StarLeaf enabled people to meet and collaborate from their desktop and mobile devices, as well as via proprietary StarLeaf and third-party meeting room systems. The company was headquartered near Watford, UK, with offices throughout Europe, the Americas and Australasia.

Contents

On 9 June 2022 Starleaf Limited entered into administration [1] [2] and its services and videoconferencing platform ceased operation in October 2022.

History

StarLeaf was established in 2008 by Mark Loney, Mark Richer and William MacDonald. The trio had previously founded Calista, which offered cloud based voice services and which was purchased by Cisco Systems in 1999, [3] and  Codian, a UK-based manufacturer of video conferencing infrastructure [4] that was bought by Tandberg for $270m in 2007 [5] and subsequently became part of Cisco Systems in 2010. [6]

StarLeaf initially developed a telepresence and video meeting service that offered a range of personal and group telepresence endpoints connected via a dedicated on-premise PBX. [7]

In 2013, the company launched StarLeaf Cloud, [8] a global network managed by StarLeaf with regional points of presence, to which StarLeaf endpoints could connect from anywhere. StarLeaf ceased selling on-prem systems in favour of StarLeaf Cloud.

In the same year, the introduction of the StarLeaf Breeze software client enabled people to join StarLeaf meetings from laptops (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux) smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android), as well as from a range of StarLeaf personal videophones and meeting room systems.

In 2015, StarLeaf introduced a dedicated room system for Skype for Business/Microsoft UC. In 2018 this was rebranded as "Teamline by StarLeaf" and was extended to work with Microsoft Teams. [9] [10]

In 2017 launched their new app for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. In addition to being make calls and join meetings, it added instant messaging functionality. File sharing was added in 2018.

StarLeaf announced a partnership with Poly in 2020 to make StarLeaf services available on Poly conferencing and meeting room systems. [11]

Usage of StarLeaf grew by over 1,000% between January and April 2020 as global lockdowns led to a dramatic increase in home and remote working. [12]

In 2021, StarLeaf transitioned from hardware led sales to being a SaaS based offering. [13]

StarLeaf was VC-backed and had secured eight funding rounds totaling almost £60m, the last £12m of which came in 2019 with investment from Grafton Capital and Highland Capital Partners.

On 9 June 2022 Starleaf Limited entered into administration. [1] [2] Operations ceased in October 2022.

Functionality

The StarLeaf platform provided video calling, meetings, and messaging. Functionality was available through its apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android and through StarLeaf and third party room systems.

Meetings

Users had the ability to schedule meetings, either through the StarLeaf portal or using Outlook [14] or Google Calendar [15] plug-ins. Meetings had capacity for up to 300 video participants. [16]

Additional video conferencing and calling features included blurred and virtual backgrounds, background noise cancellation, screen sharing, in-meeting chat and participant management. [17]

Meetings could be recorded via integration with rec.vc. [18]

Calling

StarLeaf apps and devices could be used to make audio or video calls, either to other StarLeaf users, H.323 addresses, SIP addresses, or when configured with a SIP trunk, PSTN telephone numbers. [19] It is possible to add additional participants to turn the call into a meeting. [20]

Instant Messaging

Users could create one-on-one chats with other users, or create group chats with multiple users. [21]

Each message could contain an attachment, for instance a photo or document. [22] Messages could be replied to or forwarded to other chats. [23]

Chats could be archived, [24] or blocked. [25]

Room systems

StarLeaf sold its own range of room systems. The GT Mini consisted of a codec and touch screen with support for dual screens and up to two microphones. It could be used with a wide-angle camera for smaller rooms or a PTZ camera for larger rooms. [26]

The StarLeaf Huddle combined the codec and touch screen into a single device, with a wide angle camera and microphone. [27]

StarLeaf sold Pronto cable accessory for its meeting rooms which when plugged into your laptop's USB A or USB C port, instantly transferred any meetings the user had been invited to onto the room system for one touch join. It also allowed for screen sharing, even on laptops without an HDMI port. [28]

Through its partnership with Poly, [11] StarLeaf had integration with the Poly Studio X30, Studio X50 and G7500. [29]

In addition to being able to join StarLeaf meetings, StarLeaf rooms were also able to join third party meetings such as Zoom or Teams as long as they had H.323 or SIP access enabled. [30]

StarLeaf also supported SIP and H.323 endpoint registration from third party room systems. [31]

Platform

Calls via StarLeaf were encrypted [32] and the company had been ISO/IEC 27001 certified since 2019. StarLeaf provided an industry-leading 99.999% uptime guarantee (effectively no more than 5.5 minutes of unplanned downtime per year). Customers had control over where StarLeaf stored their organisation’s data (data sovereignty). [33]

The web-based StarLeaf management portal provided controls and analytics for administrators.

Architecture

StarLeaf hosted 15 points of presence (as of 2019) worldwide. [34] Each customer was assigned to a specific point of presence, in a data jurisdiction of their choosing, that contained the organisation's data and hosted any meetings. Data was replicated a second data center in the same data jurisdiction for fail-over purposes. [35]

Awards

StarLeaf received awards and recognition for both business development and video conferencing service, including:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trend Micro</span> Japanese multinational cyber security company

Trend Micro Inc. is an American-Japanese cyber security software company. The company has globally dispersed R&D in 16 locations across every continent excluding Antarctica. The company develops enterprise security software for servers, containers, & cloud computing environments, networks, and end points. Its cloud and virtualization security products provide automated security for customers of VMware, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

HCL Sametime Premium is a client–server application and middleware platform that provides real-time, unified communications and collaboration for enterprises. Those capabilities include presence information, enterprise instant messaging, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony capabilities and integration. Currently it is developed and sold by HCL Software, a division of Indian company HCL Technologies, until 2019 by the Lotus Software division of IBM.

Panda Security is a Spanish cybersecurity software company. Panda Security's core offering is an antivirus software and more recently has expanded into providing and developing cybersecurity software. This includes security products and services for both businesses and home users, as well as protection tools for systems, networks, emails, and other private information. Panda Security employs around 458 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8x8</span> American provider of Voice over IP products

8x8, Inc. is an American provider of Voice over IP products. Its products include cloud-based voice, contact center, video, mobile and unified communications for businesses. Since 2018, 8x8 manages Jitsi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scopia</span> Series of videoconferencing products

Scopia, within the computer networking and telecommunications fields, is a series of unified communications products that provide meet-me, videoconferencing and online collaboration. The Scopia products include the Scopia XT Telepresence, Scopia XT7100 Room System, Scopia XT5000 Room System, Scopia XT4300 Room System, SCOPIA XT1000 Piccolo,XT Meeting Center Room System, Scopia Firewall Traversal, Multipoint control units, Gateways, Scopia Control, Scopia Desktop Video Conferencing, and Scopia Mobile HD Video Conferencing. The Scopia products are developed and sold by Avaya and their Business Partner network.

Data loss prevention (DLP) software detects potential data breaches/data exfiltration transmissions and prevents them by monitoring, detecting and blocking sensitive data while in use, in motion, and at rest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoTo Meeting</span> Video conferencing service

GoTo Meeting, previously known as GoToMeeting, is a web conferencing tool developed by GoTo. This software facilitates online meeting, desktop sharing, and video conferencing software package that enables the user to meet with other participants via the Internet in real time. In late 2015, Citrix announced plans to spin off the GoTo Meeting business as a standalone subsidiary with a market value around $4 billion. In July 2016, Citrix and LogMeIn disclosed their agreement to merge the GoTo line of products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung SDS</span> South Korean IT company and subsidiary of Samsung Group

Samsung SDS Co., Ltd., Established in 1985 as a subsidiary of Samsung Group, is a provider of Information Technology (IT) services, including consulting, technical, and outsourcing services. SDS is also active in research and development of emerging IT technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) and outsourcing in engineering. In 2019, Samsung SDS reported a net profit of 750.4 billion won, an increase of 17.5% year-on-year. The company is estimated to have the 11th most valuable brand among global IT service companies, at US$3.7 billion as of January 2020. Samsung SDS has headquarters in South Korea and eight other overseas subsidiaries, one in America, Asia-Pacific, China, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, India, and Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifesize</span>

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 product line. Lifesize's headquarters is located in Austin, Texas. Its Europe, Middle East and Africa regional office is located in Munich, Germany.

Secureworks Inc. is an American cybersecurity company. The company has approximately 4,000 customers in more than 50 countries, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized businesses in a variety of industries.

Acquia is a software-as-a-service company co-founded by Dries Buytaert and Jay Batson to provide enterprise products, services, and technical support for the open-source web content management platform Drupal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palo Alto Networks</span> American technology company

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is an American multinational cybersecurity company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The core product is a platform that includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extend those firewalls to cover other aspects of security. The company serves over 70,000 organizations in over 150 countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100. It is home to the Unit 42 threat research team and hosts the Ignite cybersecurity conference. It is a partner organization of the World Economic Forum.

BlueJeans by Verizon is a company that provides an interoperable cloud-based video conferencing service. It is headquartered in the Santana Row district of San Jose, California. Prior to being acquired by Verizon, the company was known as "BlueJeans Network"

Tresorit is a cloud storage platform that offers functions for administration, storage, synchronization, and transfer of data using end-to-end encryption. More than 13,000 companies use Tresorit to protect confidential data and share information securely. It is also used widely by Government organizations and NGOs as well as privacy-conscious individuals to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access and data-breaches. As of today, the encryption of Tresorit has never been hacked.

Alteryx, Inc. is an American computer software company based in Irvine, California, with a development center in Broomfield, Colorado, and offices worldwide. The company's products are used for data science and analytics. The software is designed to make advanced analytics automation accessible to any data worker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuze (company)</span> American communications and software company

Fuze is a cloud communications and collaboration software platform designed for the enterprise. Fuze was acquired by 8x8. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

"X as a service" is a phrasal template for any business model in which a product use is offered as a subscription-based service rather than as an artifact owned and maintained by the customer. Originating from the software as a service concept that appeared in the 2010s with the advent of cloud computing, the template has expanded to numerous offerings in the field of information technology and beyond it. The term XaaS can mean "anything as a service".

Absolute Software Corporation is an American-Canadian company that provides products and services in the fields of endpoint security and zero trust security. It was publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and Nasdaq until it was acquired by Crosspoint Capital Partners in July 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM Cloud</span> Cloud computing services provided by IBM

IBM Cloud is a set of cloud computing services for business offered by the information technology company IBM.

Creatio is a global vendor of software to automate workflows and a CRM with no-code development.

References

  1. 1 2 "StarLeaf Falls into Administration". 9 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 "STARLEAF Ltd | Appointment of Administrators | the Gazette".
  3. ↑ Dow Jones (16 August 1999). "Cisco Systems Agrees to Buy Calista for $55 Million in Stock". Wall Street Journal .
  4. ↑ "British video conferencing companies transforming how we live during Covid-19 | Business Leader News". Business Leader. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "News" (Press release).
  6. ↑ "CISCO SYSTEMS INC (Form Type: 8-K, Filing Date: 10/05/2009)".
  7. ↑ "Starleaf Launches with "Telepresence PBX" | No Jitter".
  8. ↑ "StarLeaf takes $40M to keep growing its videoconferencing as a service business". 9 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Networks, Prodec. "StarLeaf launches Teamline for MS Teams & Skype for Business". prodec.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "StarLeaf Gets Jump on Microsoft Teams Video Support | No Jitter".
  11. 1 2 "Big News You May Have Missed". UC Today. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "Meet the boss behind StarLeaf, the UK tech firm vying with Zoom". 18 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "StarLeaf video collaboration software targets global growth with new sales and marketing leadership team". Bdaily Business News. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "Scheduling for Office 365 – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. ↑ "Scheduling for Google Calendar – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "About meetings – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Meeting controls: for desktop – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "StarLeaf integrates REC.VC recording with its cloud service – REC.VC Blog" . Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Making a call – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  20. ↑ "Call controls – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  21. ↑ "Managing groups – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  22. ↑ "File sharing – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Replying and forwarding – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Archiving a chat – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Messaging securely – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "Meeting room system - StarLeaf". 1 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  27. ↑ "Huddle room system - StarLeaf". 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  28. ↑ "Screen sharing to a room – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  29. ↑ "Poly Solutions for Starleaf". www.poly.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  30. ↑ "Green buttons for third-party meetings – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 15 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  31. ↑ "Adding H.323 endpoints to the Portal – StarLeaf Knowledge Center". 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  32. ↑ "A perfect alternative to Zoom doesn't exist". 10 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "StarLeaf Achieves ISO/IEC 27001 Certification". 18 April 2019.
  34. ↑ Campos, Guy. "StarLeaf opens US offices to support enterprise customers". AV Magazine. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  35. ↑ "SCC AVS Starleaf Video Collaboration Cloud Service". GOV.UK Digital Marketplace. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  36. ↑ "Previous winners".
  37. ↑ "Technology Fast 500 2016" (PDF). Deloitte. p. 23. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  38. ↑ "Technology Fast 500 2017" (PDF). Deloitte. p. 8. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  39. ↑ "2018 Winners".
  40. ↑ "StarLeaf Achieves Recognition in 2018 Gartner Meeting Solutions MQ". 17 October 2018.
  41. ↑ "Exploring Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions 2019". 12 September 2019.
  42. ↑ "StarLeaf | StarLeaf positioned in the Visionaries Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions". 26 October 2020.
  43. ↑ "Fast Track Closure - Fast Track".
  44. ↑ "East of England Tech 50".
  45. ↑ "The AV Awards 2020 winners revealed here!". 20 November 2020.
  46. ↑ "2021 Software Awards Winners | Cloud Computing & SaaS Awards". 27 July 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.