Colibria Continues its IM and Presence Expansion

Colibria continues its advance in the Instant Messaging and Presence marketplace, opening its new Norwegian HQ, plus a Global Sales and Solution Support centre in the UK, as well as expanding its Manila operations and initiating the latest round of recruitment to launch new services.

Colibria AS, the leading international developer of mobile Instant Messaging and Presence Service solutions, announces the opening of its new Oslo-based headquarters, as well as a new UK office for its Global Sales and Solution Support operations. This latest round of corporate expansion, which is being matched by recruitment at both locations, reflects Colibria’s success and steady growth in the Mobile Instant Messaging and Presence marketplace. Colibria has also expanded its operations in the Philippines, moving to larger premises and increasing its local headcount to just under 30 staff.

The relocation in Oslo involves moving Colibria’s headquarters to prestigious new premises in the city’s Lysaker district, closer to Oslo Fjord. This represents a trebling of its previous site, providing increased scope for future staff expansion and overall business capability. In line with this expansion, Colibria is recruiting some ten new posts in the near future, with the objective of enhancing its 24/7 second-line customer support resource, as well as providing future facilities for the custom hosting of key applications.

Colibria’s new UK office is being established to provide a base for its Global Sales operation. Located in Reading, within easy reach of London and Heathrow Airport, the office is also housing the company’s new Solution Support group and Value Added Services Applications Team, under the leadership of Alex Linde. This group will provide support services direct to customers and to the company’s international sales teams. Keith Gibson, CEO of Colibria AS, commented:
"We are currently expanding Colibria’s operations on many fronts. Moving our Oslo HQ to new and much larger premises, and the opening of our Global Sales resource in the UK follows the launch of our Singapore office earlier this year. These developments are strengthening our company’s position further in the global marketplace, which is undoubtedly becoming increasingly receptive towards the deployment of IM and Presence solutions. This is particularly the case since the GSMA launched its Personal IM initiative, highlighting the end-user and business benefits of global, cross-platform IM, and the immense revenue-generating potential that it offers. Many of our customers are already launching new IM and Presence services, due to the greater interoperability and connectivity that can be achieved with Colibria’s solutions."

As a result of Colibria’s expansion programme, the company has made a number of new appointments within its management structure, appointing Lars Myhrum as Chief Operations Officer, with particular responsibility for the company’s Oslo operations. Lars Kristian Roland is now fully responsible for product management, while Anders Teslo has undertaken the new role of EVP Business Development and Support Services. Based at the new UK office, Simon Taylor has been appointed EVP Sales, with a prime focus on business development.

About Colibria Companion IM and Presence Server
The Colibria Companion IM and Presence Server represents a powerful carrier-grade instant messaging and presence enabling solution, capable of delivering certified OMA IMPS and SIP/IMS support. It has unmatched embedded client interoperability, as well as support for legacy clients – SMS, MMS, HTML, XHTML, and WAP. It incorporates a feature-rich PC client, and supports a multitude of downloadable terminal clients, including Symbian, J2ME, iMode, Microsoft Mobile Clients and BREW. Colibria’s IM and Presence platform is an established powerhouse, providing a growing number of mobile operators and strategic partners with a cost-effective, scaleable, and flexible resource on which to base a burgeoning range of compelling enhanced messaging services.

About Colibria
Established in 2000, Colibria is a leader in the field of instant messaging and presence systems, with its IM and Presence and Communities solutions deployed by a variety of mobile operators across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Colibria's new generation core network mobile platforms are scalable and flexible solutions that provide the vital infrastructure for advanced presence, messaging, and multimedia services - fully supporting IMPS, as well as ensuring a seamless use of IMPS and SIP for IMS-enabled networks. The company operates from locations in Norway, the UK, the Philippines and Singapore, and is a member of the Open Mobile Alliance, contributing extensively to the OMA IMPS forum. It is also a founding member of the COMET alliance, a global consortium committed to the delivery of end-to-end converged messaging solutions. Colibria’s investors include Northzone Ventures (www.northzone.com), Four Seasons Venture (www.fsv.no), and Ferd Venture (www.ferdventure.no).

For more information, please contact:
Liv Anne Løkka
Colibria AS
Strandveien 15
Postboks 255
1326 Lysaker
Norway
Tel: + 47 67 11 35 00
Fax: + 47 67 11 35 01
Email: lokka@colibria.com
Web: www.colibria.com

Georgina Garrett/Simon Jones
Garrett Axford
Harbour House
27 High Street
Shoreham by Sea
West Sussex
BN43 5DD, UK
Tel: +44 1273 441200
Fax: +44 1273 441300
Email: mail@garrett-axford.co.uk
Web: www.garrett-axford.co.uk