Smart Image Based Lighting (or sIBL) is a smart way of rendering your scene using HDR Images and Global Illumination. Rendering processes have always been a bit laborious, but this technique just minimises the workflow when using HDRIs and Global Illumination together. The GUI also neatly has presets. Check out the vimeo channel on the Maya installation of the sIBL-GUI. Quite nfty.

sIBL GUI QuickStart from Christian Bloch on Vimeo.

Check out the weblink from hdrlabs.com