iotum, a voice 2.0 company announced that Calliflower, an interactive Web-based conferencing and collaboration service from iotum, will be promoted through the value added reseller, or “VAR,” and system integrator channels of Samsung (News - Alert) Canada.

The company has signed an exclusive agreement with Samsung Canada to offer purchasers of selected Samsung netbooks and laptops the first year of Calliflower service free and receive commissions when their customers sign up. The period of the agreement is from March 1 to April 30.

Alec Saunders (News - Alert), CEO, iotum, acknowledged that Samsung Canada’s promotion would provide a great boost to Calliflower’s long-term user base. “We’re so confident in the service and the sales channel, that we’re willing to offer the first year’s service for free – a $600 dollar value,” Saunders said. 

Calliflower from iotum features an engaging, social-networking-style visual interface to the task of conferencing and collaboration, and under standard pricing charges a $50 US monthly flat rate for unlimited use for up to two organizers.

The conferencing tool also allows participants to join through local access phone numbers in major Canadian cities and around the world, or via Skype (News - Alert) into a single conference.

In January at this year’s ITEXPO, Iotum announced Calliflower’s support for Skype calling. With Skype support, Calliflower can now be reached from any Skype-enabled PC or phone as well as from traditional Public Switched Telephone Network, or “PSTN,” phones. Callers can access Calliflower through a Skype ID - CalliflowerSkype - or via a Web button in the Calliflower UI.

The service also features intuitive controls that allow participants to see the status of other callers and raise hands to request the floor, while also providing call recording, invitations and reminders, integration with calendars, and more, the company said.

Samsung Canada views this partnership as a great way to grow customer relationships for their small-business retailers and system integrators.

“We also see the chance to promote great Canadian technology in a space – teleworking -- that’s very much in demand,” said Michael Dodgson, product marketing manager for Netbooks at Samsung Canada, in a statement. 

Samsung Canada resellers and retailers will have customers sign up for Calliflower through a Web site, entering PC serial numbers for proof of purchase and downloading the client software, company officials said.