Big news from Central Desktop and PGi

Central Desktop, like a number of big ideas, started in a basement. In 2005, Arnulf Hsu and I founded the company, inspired by our own first-hand encounters (and frustrations) with project management and online collaboration. For three years, it was just me and Arnulf, bootstrapping and building our new product. At the time, we did not realize that we were pioneering the web as one of the first pure-SAAS collaboration platforms on the market.  Eventually, we escaped the basement. We hired great people and built relationships with incredible customers. Through the whole journey, through the ups and downs, we never lost sight of the original mission: help people work together in ways they never thought possible.  From the very beginning – we wanted to build flexible tools that solved real business problems.

Today, I’m excited to share some big news about Central Desktop – news that will help us grow and advance our vision faster than ever.

Yesterday after the market closed, we announced that we were acquired by PGi (Premiere Global Services, Inc.), the world’s largest pure-play collaboration provider. By joining forces, we will lead the charge of unified collaboration.

PGi has been a global leader in the collaboration market for over 20 years; its award-winning collaboration solutions are currently used by over 45,000 enterprise customers, while more than 1.1 billion people have joined PGi-hosted virtual meetings in the last five years. Just as much as their impressive accomplishments, though, it was working with the PGi team – learning about their vision and passion for collaboration, and seeing their culture up close– that made it clear to me that this was the right opportunity for Central Desktop. I encourage you to read PGi founder and CEO Boland Jones’ perspective on this news. Together, we will make the Central Desktop brand bigger and stronger. We’re all excited about the road ahead.

Our customers can be assured that they will continue to enjoy the same great service and products – and the same familiar faces.

I want to personally thank all of the members of the Central Desktop staff and management team for their passion, talent and hard work. I’m proud of what we’ve built – it’s been quite a journey over the years and I look forward to taking it to the next level – together.

As always, you can reach me directly with any questions or comments at [email protected].