Conference Plus, Inc. - Company Profile

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www.conferenceplus.com

Sales

$45.3 million

Business Description

Conference Plus, Inc., founded in 1988, is a full service conferencing company that manages and hosts specific software and applications relating to
conferencing and meeting services. Conference Plus provides audio, video, and web conferencing services. Businesses and individuals use these services to hold voice, video or web conferences with many people at the same time. Conference Plus sells its services directly to large customers, including Fortune 1000 companies, and serves other customers indirectly through its private reseller program. Conference Plus is an 91.5% owned subsidiary of Westell and manages its teleconferencing and meeting services through its main operations center in Schaumburg, Illinois and a facility in Dublin, Ireland. Conference Plus services generated $48.5 million, $41.8 million and $45.3 million in revenues in fiscal 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.

Conference Plus allows multiple individuals, organizations and/or businesses to conduct conference calls using a combination of voice, video or data such as graphs or spreadsheets. Conference Plus offers conference call services that can include a blend of audio, graphics, spreadsheets or other documents that can be carried over and archived on the Internet to enhance the traditional voice conference call. By enabling the sharing of this blend of
information, Conference Plus can help organizations increase productivity and save money by reducing travel time, bringing down travel costs, and making it easier for people in remote locations to work together. Teleconference and meeting service technologies also allow organizations and individuals to collect and disseminate information faster, more accurately and without the associated
costs of face-to-face meetings.

Conference Plus is distinguished by three strategies:

o Diverse Distribution Channels
o State-of-the-Art Network and Integrated Systems
o International Reach

DIVERSE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Conference Plus has historically acted as a provider of conferencing and meeting services on a wholesale basis, managing and hosting
applications for major carriers and telecommunications resellers. A majority of Conference Plus' revenues come from indirect commercial teleconferencing services to customers who market or use Conference Plus services under their own brand name. Such companies choose to outsource and private label audio, web and video teleconferencing services to maintain continuity, save costs and focus on their core competencies. By selling into indirect or resale customers, Conference Plus effectively increases the size of their sales organization without incurring the expense necessary with a direct sales force.

Conference Plus also sells its services directly to Fortune 1000 companies through its National Accounts Sales force. This area continues to be a
strong part of the of Conference Plus's business and the Company expects to continue to invest resources in this area in order to maintain a diverse mix of revenue distribution. The deployment of this strategy is designed to improve the recognition of the Conference Plus brand, which has strategic long term benefitsto the Company.

STATE OF THE ART NETWORK AND INTEGRATED SYSTEMS

A critical part of Conference Plus' approach is its state of the art network and integrated systems. Conference Plus has a state of the art network infrastructure that enables it to take advantage of the relationships it has with major telecommunications providers to provide quality service. Conference Plus has a unique architecture that allows customers have access to all of the Conference Plus bridge and network capacity during any of their conference calls or meetings.

Conference Plus has built an integrated reservations, scheduling and billing system called Conferencing and Reservation Billing System ("CRBS") that
is a significant differentiator in the conferencing market. The CRBS system allows Conference Plus to leverage its operations on a global basis. This
reliable and scalable system is seamlessly integrated in the operational environment from the point of reservation through the billing process. This
integration allows Conference Plus to enjoy scale advantages and to be able to provide resale service to its customers.

INTERNATIONAL REACH

As customers globalize their telecommunications services, Conference Plus has expanded its operational presence internationally to meet these needs.
In addition to its main operational centers in Schaumburg, Illinois and Dublin, Ireland, Conference Plus has teleconferencing bridges located in Lombard,
Illinois and London, England. Conference Plus is able to serve the teleconferencing needs of customers headquartered anywhere in the world through
these facilities. The Conference Plus facility in Dublin, Ireland was established in 1998 to help meet the growing demand for global conferencing
service. The international market for teleconferencing is expected to grow substantially as a result of deregulation and improved networks with associated reductions in end user costs.

Conference Plus' indirect or private label customers and many of its other customers are significantly larger than, and are thus able to exert a high
degree of influence over, Conference Plus. Conference Plus depends on two customers to provide a significant percent of its revenues. A loss of one of
these customers would have a material adverse effect on Conference Plus's business. Prior to selling its services, the Company must undergo lengthy
approval and purchase processes. Evaluation can take a few months for services that vary slightly from existing services used by the prospective customer to a year or more for services based on technologies such as video or data teleconferencing or which represent a new strategic direction for the customer, as in the case with private labeling teleconference services for a Regional Bell Operating Company.

Competition in the teleconferencing business is intense and the Company expects that competition will increase due to low barriers of entry and recent
entrants into the audio teleconferencing service market. Many of Conference Plus' competitors, including AT&T, MCI Communications and Sprint Communications, have much greater name recognition, more extensive customer service and marketing capabilities and substantially greater financial, technological and personnel resources than the Company. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully compete in this market in the future or that competitive pressures will not result in price reductions that would materially
adversely affect its business and results of operations.