Calliflower is an online web application

Web application

A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...

 and conference call

Conference call

A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...

 provider that allows multiple users to dial in to a conference bridge, and to conduct web meetings, upload, share and review documents from remote locations.

The service was developed by Iotum Inc. , based on proprietary software and launched in early 2008 as a feature leaning heavily on social features on Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

.

Features

Calliflower is an audio conferencing service that provides text chat, document sharing, white-boarding and dashboard features to deliver a collaboration space on mobile or web. Up to 70 callers can participate on a call.

Users organize calls, invite participants, and then talk on the call bridge. Calliflower schedules conferences based on participants’ availability. When it’s time for the call, Calliflower sends SMS

SMS

SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

 or email

Email

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

 reminders to all participants to dial into the bridge.

Through a Flash-based collaboration widget, users can present and review documents in real time, with annotations and text being visible to all users.

User-specific PIN

PIN

PIN may be an abbreviation for:* Personal identification number, a password used to access an automated teller machine or other secured system** Blackberry PIN, an eight character hexadecimal identification number assigned to a BlackBerry device...

 codes provide highly secure entry for each user. The dashboard function allows moderators to mute or remove callers individually from call sessions in realtime.

CBS News

CBS News

CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...

 MoneyWatch describes it as "the easiest way to organize small teleconferences.".

The platform contains the following features:

• Address book
• Calendar
• Call Recording
• Call Reminders via SMS
  SMS
  SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
  
   or Email
  Email
  Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
  
  
• Document Sharing
  Collaborative software
  Collaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
  
  
• Group Management
• Keypad controls
• Mobile Dashboard controls
• Online Dashboard Call Controls
• Online Whiteboarding
  Whiteboarding
  Whiteboarding is the placement of shared files on an on-screen shared notebook or whiteboard. Videoconferencing and data conferencing software often lets the user annotate the shared documents as on a physical whiteboard....
  
  
• Presenter Mode
• Polls and Voting
• Queued Speakers
• Text Chat
  Online chat
  Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
  
  
• Unique PIN
  PIN
  PIN may be an abbreviation for:* Personal identification number, a password used to access an automated teller machine or other secured system** Blackberry PIN, an eight character hexadecimal identification number assigned to a BlackBerry device...
  
   code security access
• VOIP access via integrated Skype
  Skype
  Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
  
  

Calliflower released an iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

 version in 2009, available on the App Store

Mac App Store

The Mac App Store is a digital distribution platform for Mac OS X applications developed by Apple Inc.. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010 at Apple's "Back to the Mac" event. Apple began accepting app submissions from registered developers on November 3, 2010 in preparation for its launch...

. The mobile version of Calliflower allows users to moderate multiple parties on the call, invite guests, chat, post images and other dashboard functions. .

Technology

Calliflower is a cloud based

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....

 application that makes use of both soft switch and regular PSTN switches to provide a low-cost service through international backbones and VOIP. Direct Inward Dialing

Direct Inward Dialing

Direct inward dialing , also called direct dial-in in Europe and Oceania, is a feature offered by telephone companies for use with their customers' private branch exchange systems...

 is available on numbers throughout the world.

Document sharing and white board collaboration is built on Flash

Flash

-Book:* Flash fiction, fiction of extreme brevity* The Flash , ongoing comic book featuring the titular DC Comics hero* Flash , a 2004 science fiction novel by L. E...

 with its own proprietary back-end technology. Calliflower being browser-based supports collaborative meetings on Mac

MAC

-Aviation:* Martin's Air Charter, now Martinair* Mean Aerodynamic Chord* Merchant aircraft carrier, used during World War II by Britain and the Netherlands.* Metropolitan Airports Commission, the operator of airports in the Minneapolis-St...

, Windows, PlayBook

Playbook

Playbook may refer to:*A book that contains a script or story for a theatrical play. This written version of the composition is used in preparing for a performance**Fleury Playbook, a medieval playbook kept in a French abbey until the French Revolution...

. An iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

 version is available that does not include document sharing capability.
For basic audio conferencing, regular phone dial-in service is available, or free dial-in via desktop VOIP through Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

.

Development

Calliflower was launched by Iotum in 2008. Primary application development was done in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.
Originally developed as a free collaboration feature on Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

, it evolved into a stand-alone service by the end of 2008.

In 2010, Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

was integrated fully into the application to provide free VOIP calls.