Category Archives: Business Video Conferencing
2012
Top Five Video Conferencing Security Tips
IT security is a crucial concern for every business, regardless of what industry it operates in. A properly secured computer network doesn’t just begin and end at wireless passwords and desktop entry-points – it also needs to take into account all aspects of a company’s technology strategy, including the video conferencing systems that are installed and used by a corporation. For example, a recent article published by the New York Times detailed the findings of a computer security firm that discovered 5,000 video conferencing installations that were accessible to hackers due to a lack of the security protocols necessary to protect them.
Let’s take a look at the top five ways you can keep your video conferencing installation secure from hacking, thanks in part to the expert advice provided Cisco System’s Tor Halvorsen (@torhalvorsen) and Wainhouse Research’s Ira Weinstein (@wrvideoteam) .
Continue reading »
2012
Corporate Networks Must Prepare For Increased Video Conferencing Adoption
Video conferencing is poised to be the next crucial test for IT managers at businesses around the world in 2012, according to a report published by the Computer Business Review. With so many companies moving to embrace video conferencing as the go-to communications tool both internally and externally, corporate networks must be made ready for the increased demands in terms of bandwidth and uptime that are a requirement for using this type of technology.
One of the key takeaways when examining the need to create a robust business network capable of supporting a diverse telepresence communications strategy is to take into account the varied demands that will be made on available resources. For example, the Computer Business Review report indicates that as many as 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies are experimenting with the incorporation of tablets such as the iPad into their communications infrastructure. This means that IT managers have to look beyond the establishment of high-bandwidth, wired endpoints within an office environment and also scrutinize how video conferencing can be incorporated into wireless, VPN, and cloud services. Multiple simultaneous telepresence sessions – complete with data sharing – are another concern when planning out the bandwidth available for this type of video communication, and security policies will have to be re-examined as greater numbers of workers begin to use their own personal devices as video conferencing endpoints.
Continue reading »
2012
How Video Conferencing Professionals Used LinkedIn in January
Most Popular Discussions for January, 2012
2012 got off to a good start in the Videoconferencing Professionals LinkedIn group with the announcement that the 10,000th member had joined mid-way through January. This indicates just how vital the group has become in the video conferencing and telecommunications industry, and it also illustrates the depth of knowledge that is represented by its members.
David Danto, Director of Emerging Technologies at IMCCA (@NJDavidD), posted a link to a controversial New York Times article describing security issues surrounding poorly-implemented video conferencing installations. The article, which has also been discussed on the KBZ Communications blog, generated a number of responses from group members who, for the most part, expressed the hope that readers would understand that the issue had to do with the lack of security precautions taken by IT managers and not any flaws inherent in the technology itself.
Continue reading »
2012
How Video Conferencing Professionals Used LinkedIn in December
Continue reading »
The holiday season often means a slow-down in Internet chatter on LinkedIn, and the Videoconferencing Professionals group was no exception. That being said, there were still several interesting conversations that took place within the group during the month of December. Cari Zoch, social media manager at LifeSize Communications (@carizoch), posted a thought-provoking poll asking members what their company’s video conferencing focus would be over the course of the next year. Mobility was the clear winner, with 23 of 50 respondents marking that as their choice, but cloud services came in second with 14 votes. Sergio Garcia, manager at Unitronics Comunicaciones, S.A., pointed out that cloud services are going to enable mobile video conferencing adoption as it pushes through to the mainstream in 2012, linking the two most popular choices from the poll.
2012
Top 5 Telepresence Trends for 2012
2012 is shaping up to be an exciting time for telepresence professionals, with many pundits claiming that this is the year video conferencing breaks through to the mainstream and gains the widespread consumer and corporate acceptance that has been growing closer and closer over the past 18 months. Let’s take a look at five of the top telepresence trends as we move into 2012 and see what direction the industry looks to be heading in the near future.
1. Digital Signage
Digital video communications – and digital signage in particular – have gained a significant foothold in advertising and campus communications (both academic and corporate). Projections for digital signage market share are through the roof, with industry spending predicted to reach $5.2 billion by 2016. The next 12 months figure to factor into that impressive growth rate in an important way.
Continue reading »
2011
GIA Report Predicts Strong Global Video Conferencing Growth
A new report on the world video conferencing market has been released by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. The study offers not just an in-depth look at the factors that have lead to the increased adoption of video conferencing technology over the past several years, but also makes several projections concerning where the industry is heading.
The GIA report makes several interesting claims with regards to the factors that have driven a surging interest in video conferencing at both the small business and enterprise level. According to the report’s authors, a key reason for 2010’s spike in video communications sales was a “pent up” desire to implement new cost- and travel-saving plans following their emergence from the previous year’s recession. An increased focus on the advantages of harnessing a mobile workforce also dovetailed with the proliferation of Apple’s FaceTime as well as Skype’s video conferencing software, giving companies the ability to experiment with mobile video conferencing on a low budget before committing to more capable systems from industry leaders such as Cisco.
Continue reading »
2011
Telepresence and Video Are Pervasive in “A Day Made of Glass”
Telepresence and video are included in some amazing applications of glass in Corning’s “A Day Made of Glass”
2011
How Video Conferencing Professionals Used LinkedIn in October, 2011
Mobile Video Conferencing and Telepresence Most Popular Discussions
October’s activity in the Videoconferencing Professionals LinkedIn group showed just how much attention mobile telepresence and video conferencing is attracting across the industry. Larry Blakely, founder of Leaders in IT (@larryblakely), asked the group its opinion on how the consumerization of video conferencing will affect efforts to move the technology out of the business-to-business world and give it a wider rate of adoption. Blakely compared the current state of the industry to the early stages of the desktop publishing boom, where “good enough” became a substitute for professional-grade quality. Cari Zoch, Social Media Manager at LifeSize Communications (@carizoch), provided the most thoughtful reply, indicating that while companies which only occasionally require video conferencing services would be willing to sacrifice quality and reliability, those that have made it a core feature of their communications portfolio will continue to demand the best uninterrupted video streams available.
Emily Magrish, president of Magrish International Inc., followed up with a question of her own that asked why business-to-business providers were so focused on mobile video to begin with, as she was not sure just how many companies relied on video meetings that made use of mobile device endpoints. Several group members replied to let Magrish know that yes, mobile video conferencing was a big part of their corporate communications strategy. Todd Schmidt, video network architecture senior specialist for Alberta Health Services, described a scenario where doctors made use of mobile video conferencing in order to visually confirm the status of patients. This requires hundreds of video sessions per week over a secure broadband connection. Michael Stanton-Jones of Vodafone Group, and Leah Weston of AVI-SPL (@Leahwes1), also mentioned how mobile video conferencing allowed their company’s employees greater freedom while maintaining a strong link to headquarters.
Continue reading »
2011
Benefits of Video Conferencing When Managing a Remote Work Force
Geographically-diverse work forces are becoming more and more common in the modern business world, and a greater percentage of companies are turning towards video conferencing as an effective tool for managing these types of remote employment arrangements. Organizations looking to expand their work arrangements outside the confines of a conventional office are seeing the benefits of video conferencing and telepresence technology.
There are certain positions which have traditionally demanded that workers spend a substantial amount of time away from their desks. Sales personnel, for example, are often called upon to meet with clients at far-flung locations, in some cases traveling halfway around the world in order to make connections and demonstrate products. Offering a video link to the home office not only provides a regular two-way communications channel between traveling employees and management, but it also allows for the continuation of a sense of community by enabling the participation in group meetings on a face-to-face basis, which represents a significant upgrade over a less personal conference call from a distant hotel room.
Continue reading »
2011
Telepresence As A Business Continuity Strategy
Few events are as jarring to a business as losing communication with its key decision-makers – an eventuality that more and more companies are preparing for by turning toward telepresence. In an era where even the smallest hesitation can result in a costly missed opportunity, organizations are bolstering their executive and management communications strategies with a larger telepresence element designed to maintain business continuity in the face of extenuating circumstances.
Mobile video conferencing offers companies the opportunity to maintain contact with their most important employees, including C-level executives, should an emergency situation occur. The threat posed by a natural disaster or disruptive local or even global event that interferes with the ability of workers to access an important facility is one which all companies must plan for. Whether it’s a local flood that renders a satellite office inaccessible or whether a volcano erupting in Iceland grinds worldwide air travel to a halt, business continuity in the event of such a scenario depends on establishing the best possible communication between key members of an organization.
Continue reading »
Categories
- AV and Video Providers
- Business Video Conferencing
- Cisco Digital Media
- Cisco Digital Signs
- Cisco TelePresence
- Cisco TelePresence Tech Tip
- Cisco Video Conferencing
- Desktop Telepresence
- Distance Learning
- Federal Government
- Green Communications Technology
- Home Telepresence
- Mobile Video Products
- Mobile Video Solutions
- tele-justice
- telecommunications
- Telemedicine Video Conferencing
- Telepresence Chat
- Telepresence Cost
- TelePresence Solutions
- Telepresence Tech Tip
- Telepresence Trends
- Video Calls
- Video Conferencing
- Video Conferencing Equipment
- Video Conferencing Solutions
- Video Conferencing Systems
- Video Conferencing Tools
- VOIP Communications