Visto Expands Presence in Asia Pacific
Visto Corporation today announced a significant expansion of its Asia Pacific operations to support new market growth in Asia with the opening of a world-class development center and sales offices in China and Japan, and the appointment of Antoine Blondeau as senior vice president and general manager of the Asia-Pacific region. An accomplished executive in the software and wireless telecommunications industries, Blondeau will be based in Visto’s new Tokyo office.
Visto’s new engineering center in Tianjin, China, will be a major R&D center for Visto, supporting the company?fs global product and technology vision while providing local support for wireless operators in the region. Visto’s new sales and support offices in Beijing and Tokyo will directly interface with important customers in the region.
These latest investments are part of an expanding global commitment by Visto to support the rollout of operator services worldwide built on the Visto Mobile™ 5 with ConstantSync™ push email platform. Visto Mobile with ConstantSync gives operators instantaneous, two-way push e-mail, calendar and contacts to a mobile user?fs wireless device of choice.
“With the most major wins in North America and Europe over the last 12 months, demand for our technology is now spreading rapidly throughout Asia,” said Visto Chairman, President and CEO Brian Bogosian. ?gOur plan is to support our partners with superior resources, local to each market, which has made an important difference for us in North America and Europe. Japan and China are central to our strategy of consolidating our global leadership in this market over the next 12 months. The appointment of Antoine and the opening of three additional major offices demonstrates our firm commitment to this high growth market. With Antoine’s experience and track record, we have put in place the key components required to execute this strategy.”
In the past two months, the company has announced new contracts with carriers from around the world including Vodafone, the world’s largest international mobile operator, Rogers Wireless, Canada?fs largest wireless operator and, in the United States, Nextel Communications, a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services. Visto?fs carrier-grade solution is available from more than 15 wireless operators around the world, in countries where the mobile communities are rapid growing. In China alone, the Ministry of Information Industry predicts that there will over 402 million mobile users by the end of the year.
“Mobile push email and data services represent one of the most promising technologies in the global market — particularly in the Asia Pacific region,” said Antoine Blondeau. “My conversations with wireless operators throughout Asia has convinced me that Visto has what it takes to address the requirements of this market, utilizing the technical expertise of local resources while drawing from our global experience. I am pleased to be part of the team that is driving the mass adoption of mobile email across all market segments in all countries around the globe.”
Blondeau has over 15 years of leadership experience in the software and wireless telecommunication industries. Most recently, he was vice president of salesforce.com in charge of the company’s wireless and mobile activities. He started his career with the Tokyo representation of the office of the Prime Minister of France. He also started the OEM and Asia/Pacific unit of Nortel Networks’ digital wireless terminals business. Blondeau also served as president and COO of Zi Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed user interface software company and was also president and CEO of Dejima, Inc., a developer of distributed artificial intelligence software.
About Visto
Visto delivers the leading global platform for mobile operators to provide wireless push e-mail to the broadest set of mobile devices. Visto?fs open solution enables e-mail for the mass market, targeting large enterprises, small businesses, mobile professionals and consumers. The company?fs patented Visto Mobile™ platform with ConstantSync™ technology works in real time with POP3, IMAP, Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino e-mail solutions for personal to enterprise use, providing maximum control and flexibility for the operator and choice for the customer. Visto?fs customized, brandable solutions are available through mobile operators worldwide including Cingular, Elisa, KPN, Manitoba Telecom Services, Nextel Communications, Inc., Rogers Wireless, SaskTel Mobility, SmarTone, SFR, TELUS Mobility, Vodafone, Vodafone Germany, Vodafone Greece, Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain.
Established in 1996 and headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, with offices in Seattle, London, Rome, Paris, Toronto, Tokyo, Beijing and Tianjin, China, Visto is backed by Oak Investment Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Rustic Canyon Ventures, Allegis Capital and Blueprint Ventures. For more information, visit www.visto.com or e-mail sales@visto.com.