An Israeli Co Has Recipe For “Video Chat On Steroids”

Most of us remember the day when we had our first video chat.  We were mesmerized to be able to see our mom’s new haircut, our friend’s new outfit, or our boss’ presentation, halfway around the globe, in real time.  Now a new Israeli tech company, HBR Labs , is trying to take that experience even further and give it an efficiency boost with their new product, Verishow.

Verishow is a live support and collaboration SaaS  (Software as a Service) platform, which, according HBR Labs CEO Yuval Model, can best be described as “chat on steroids”.

Essentially, the program is made to enhance customer service: Instead of dealing with some far-off customer service rep when inquiring about a product over the phone, Verishow allows you to speak face to face with a rep that can actually show you the ins and outs of a product while simultaneously showing you facts and figures about the product on an adjacent window.

Verishow also uses a consumer-friendly system that displays various independent applications to assist the customer in the chat. For example, the platform allows a potential customer to use Paypal and use the program’s electronic signature capability, which allows someone to officially sign documents electronically – all while chatting with the person on the other end of the video.

But Verishow does not only apply to customer service chats. In the work-place, Verishow makes it easier to have fully functional meetings over video and allows users to do everything they would otherwise do in a dynamic meeting.  You can see your co-workers, display a chart, and co-edit a document all at the same time.

Beyond its efficiency, the Verishow platform aims to be highly customizable.  “The App center allows users to tailor the solution to meet their specific needs and developers are free to develop and market their own applications to run on the VeriShow platform,” CEO Moed told NoCamels.

The Verishow screen is multifunctional with several onscreen applications to engage just like one would find on an iPad or similar device.  These specific applications, however, are  created especially to aid one’s experience within the Verishow program.  For example, if you want to talk to your German girlfriend’s mother who knows no English, you simply run the program’s translator app and Verishow automatically translates her German into audible English.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf2DT6NTnXA[/youtube]

Ironically, the Verishow platform was originally designed by Moed and his associates not for corporate use but for medical purposes.  The original product proposed to have users contact a physician via the program in order to have a consultation via video chat. That original idea never took off , but when companies started to contact Verishow about using it in customer service, the focus was shifted to its current phase.

“With the complexities of the physician idea, we needed to create a complex but simple platform, which in the end, worked well with a customer service as well,” Moed explained.

Verishow works on all types of computers and can even allow mobile collaboration from its Android app.  According to HBR Labs, mobile apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and the iPad will be released by the end of 2011.

Verishow can be purchased in four different pricing packages, ranging from a free version with limited capabilities to a $400/month package aimed at corporate offices.

As to whether video chat could ever replace the need for face-to-face meetings, Moed said: “We don’t envision a situation when we would be replacing real life. We are just creating more opportunities to be more efficient. We want customers to be able to make more educated decisions.”