The project began in April 2004 when an IT team was assembled to implement the project as part of Toyota's new A$50 million (US$37.97 million) corporate headquarters in Victoria.

Toyota Australia's corporate IT operations manager, James Scott, said videoconferencing technology has provided the company with "smarter" communications solutions to time-critical business challenges and has "radically improved communication methods and productivity".

"Using videoconferencing for visual communications - especially between Australia and Japan - offers us effective solutions far more quickly than a succession of phone calls could," Scott said.

The new Port Melbourne headquarters gives some 340 staff a converged IP telephony solution with videoconferencing technology, wireless, and unified messaging.

"Integrated communications are vital between our Australian and Japanese operations, so implementing an advanced videoconferencing solution to drive the business in years to come was a key priority," Scott said. "The planning of our new corporate headquarters provided a catalyst for selecting and implementing a 'best-in-class' suite of videoconferencing equipment that could achieve this."