Elance Launches First Virtual Workroom Using OpenTok

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 31, 2012) - Elance, the leading platform for online work, has announced a partnership with TokBox to launch OpenTok Video on the Elance platform. Clients and contractors can now collaborate and chat live through their virtual Workrooms.

While video chat mechanisms already exist, the partnership between both companies provides the first dedicated virtual Workroom that incorporates video chat (both one-to-one or in groups) with task-tracking and the full collaboration management suite offered by Elance.

"The virtual Workroom is the new office," said Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance. "The ability to engage face-to-face creates efficiencies and makes it easier to collaborate: OpenTok helps us provide a better Elance Workroom for our users."

Incorporating face-to-face chat, the new Elance Workrooms replicate a more natural work and communication flow: each party can see team members who are online and can initiate a video meeting instantly or they can hang out while working in different physical locations.

"Freelancing and online hiring is a major growth area despite the state of the economy," added Ian Small, CEO of TokBox. "We're excited that Elance is using the OpenTok Platform to really humanize the environment for dispersed contractors and businesses all over the world."

In addition, users have access to thousands of talented developers from the Elance network through the TokBox website. Now businesses looking to develop new OpenTok apps can find qualified developers at www.tokbox.com/devs-for-hire.

To set up your own virtual Workroom, sign up for an Elance account at www.elance.com.

About Elance
Elance, the world's leading platform for online employment, helps businesses hire and manage in the cloud.

For businesses looking to staff-up a team on an hourly or project basis, Elance offers instant access to talent and the ability to build and manage entire teams online. For independent professionals who want to work online, Elance offers access to qualified clients, a virtual workplace and guaranteed pay for great work.

The company is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, California and Oslo, Norway. For more information, visit Elance at www.elance.com.

About TokBox
OpenTok by TokBox is the leading global interactive video platform, facilitating the addition of face-to-face experiences into any web property. Offering scalable, customizable solutions for enterprises, entrepreneurs and developers through an open and flexible API as well as simple plug-n-play apps, anyone with a web presence can harness the power of real-time communications to drive user engagement within their site or service. Based in San Francisco, CA, TokBox is privately held, with venture backing from Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, DAG Ventures and Youniversity Ventures.