ON24 Announces Strategic Partnership in Japan
Virtual Events Market Leader Expands Asian Market Presence
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21, 2010 – ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual event solutions, announced today a strategic partnership with ITmedia, Inc., a Softbank Group company, designed to fuel the growth of the Japanese virtual events market.
ITmedia is a leading online media company in Japan. It also produces large-scale events and provides event and seminar production services. “ITmedia believes that the virtual event will emerge as a dominant marketing and communication tool in Japan and throughout the Asia Pacific market,” said ITmedia President Toshiki Otsuki.
“We will be delivering a complete end-to-end event solution to Japanese clients through our partnership with ON24,” said Otsuki. “ITmedia’s clients are among the most exacting corporations in the world. We chose to partner with ON24 because it is a known and trusted brand in the Global 500 segment, with a proven track record.”
“The key to our successful global expansion is to offer our reliable, scalable platform through partners like ITmedia who truly understand the subtle nuances of local market conditions and with the capacity to scale in order to meet client requirements,” said ON24 CEO Sharat Sharan.
Sharan continued, “This partnership brings together two market leaders, with strengths that are truly complementary. Both companies are committed to developing the Japanese virtual events market by offering the most innovative and high-quality solutions possible.”
About ITmedia
Founded in 1999, ITmedia, a Softbank Group company, is the number one online media company serving the Japanese IT market. Its portfolio of Web sites features the top destinations for Japanese enterprise IT professionals seeking news, trends, advice and expert content to help them do their jobs. Tokyo-based Softbank Group is a leading company in the broadband services industry and an investor in all areas of broadband, including infrastructure, e-commerce, e-finance, media and marketing. Softbank Group is also the majority shareholder in Yahoo! Japan.
About ON24, Inc.
The recognized global virtual events market share leader , ON24 is the world’s leading provider of webcasting and virtual environments for corporate communications and demand generation. ON24 offers fully integrated, enterprise-wide solutions for a wide range of applications, including training, conferences, company meetings, partner expos and virtual trade shows. More than 750 organizations in publishing, technology, life sciences, government and financial services, including IBM, Cisco, United Business Media, Credit Suisse, GE Healthcare, Oracle and the National Science Foundation, rely on ON24. The company is headquartered in San Francisco.