6 misconceptions getting in the way of video conferencing growth

With air travel becoming an increasingly unpleasant, unpredictable, and costly experience; rising gas prices; and thousands of hours lost to travel time , it doesn’t take a genius to see that multipoint video conferencing should be pervasive across all areas of industry and government — and yet it’s not.

A recent study by Mobile Work Exchange yielded some promising numbers. If half of all federal government workers used cloud-based video conferencing, concluded the report, they would achieve an average productivity increase of 3.5 hours per week, shave about $4.95 billion from annual travel costs, and, in total, save an estimated $8 billion a year.

With such compelling returns, it’s no wonder that Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick is leading the promotion of a new bill designed to reduce federal government travel spending by 50 percent, H.R. 2643, the Stay In Place, Cut the Waste Act of 2013, by implementing the broad use of Internet video conferencing. What’s surprising is that this hasn’t already happened, and not just in government, but in education, healthcare, and retail. 

Recent analyst reports show that the mass adoption of online video conferencing is a phenomenon still waiting to happen.  For example, Infonetics Research described 2012 as a ‘rotten’ year for the traditional videoconferencing industry, and IDC’s report for the first quarter of this year was equally glum. 

Part of the problem is that the market is confused by a plethora of new offerings with widely differing functions and access methods.  A bigger issue is the very deep gap dividing two polarized segments of the industry:  high-end, high-cost, high-maintenance, boardroom-level offerings and person-to-person, low-cost, low-function products. 

The Underserved 20 Million

Stuck in the middle, there’s a miserable gap where an estimated 20 million rooms  —which should be serving small, collaboration teams; cash-strapped SMB organizations; or meetings of six people or fewer  — are waiting for an answer to their pent-up demand.  Chances are any of these groups that are currently using video have fudged together a multipart solution of counterproductive complexity or are huddling three to a chair behind a webcam and computer screen.

Even organizations with videoconferencing facilities already in place only have them in 5 percent of available meeting rooms — primarily because of the high cost of adding to a traditional system or because more affordable systems did not work with what was already there.

For the channel, these 20 million secondary conference rooms represent a $15 billion to $20 billion market opportunity to provide videoconferencing for the rest of us.  There are a growing number of solutions to serve this middle-of-the-pack segment, but momentum is slow to mount. Why? Well, although it’s difficult for the layperson to choose between cloud-based, virtualized, software-centric, browser-based, or hardware-based systems, the biggest problem lies in what people think they know, but actually don’t. 

Below are the six top misconceptions preventing more organizations and more individuals from riding the HD video conferencing wave immediately — and the answers that solutions providers can provide to put them on the right track.

1.  The equipment is too expensive. Wrong!

Even on a small budget, you can hold out for high-quality, business-class equipment that doesn’t require an IT support genius to make it work.  Standards-based, multipoint video conferencing, content sharing, and security is available at less than $1,000 per room via some of the newest, all-in-one systems.

2. It won’t work without an expensive, purpose-built video infrastructure. Wrong!

New product options mean you can use a virtual, cloud-based infrastructure instead of making a heavy investment in servers and other hardware. Some new offerings support desktop video conferencing standards to work both with existing, in-house infrastructures as well as the cloud.

3.  You need dedicated IT support to get every video call started. Wrong!

The latest solutions are designed for nontech specialists and are easy to use. Lightest on IT support and budgets are the latest all-in-one, HDTV-based systems.  Because they don’t need to be connected to a PC with separate speakers, microphone, and camera, even your Granny can use them. (And, actually, she possibly does: long term care residences are beginning to adopt video calling for virtual family visits.)

4.  New room systems must be the same brand as existing boardroom video systems. Wrong!

Newer, standard-based video conferencing software solutions work with most of the traditional videoconferencing vendors’ equipment and connect multiple different systems, fixed and mobile devices to sync up with whatever is already installed in the main conference room.

5.  You can’t mix cloud-based and on-premise. Wrong!

Cloud-based and on-premise options are now available on the same appliance-based solutions. These options can be used in the same organization using either the existing system or a cloud-based virtual infrastructure for hybrid architecture flexibility.  The flexibility allows for many creative deployment scenarios without cutting users out of the main video network.

6.  It makes sense to wait for WebRTC to become commercially available. Wrong!

WebRTC is exciting, but it is still some time away from being a useful standard. For immediate best video conferencing software needs, buy a system from a vendor that’s committed to a universal standard with WebRTC, SIP (session initiation protocol), and emerging standards in their roadmap.

If we can help more potential best video conference software users understand the truth concealed behind these misconceptions, the new class of affordable, room-based videoconference systems become an exciting and immediate way for solutions providers to seize on a massive market opportunity.

Article Source: 6 misconceptions getting in the way of video conferencing growth

Cisco, Polycom Top Vendors in Ailing Video Conferencing Equipment Space

Video collaboration is still popular, but users are migrating to software-based solutions and lower-cost systems, according to IDC analysts.

The continued shift of multipoint video conferencing to software and smaller and lower-cost systems is continuing to take its toll on a video communications equipment market that is in decline, according to IDC analysts.

The analysts found that in the second quarter, worldwide revenues for cloud-based video conferencing equipment fell 10.7 percent over the same period in 2012, coming in at more than $532 million. That number is 34.3 percent below the record set in the fourth quarter of 2011, IDC said in a report released Aug. 28.

Internet video conferencing itself it still growing in popularity, according to Petr Jirovsky, senior research analyst, Worldwide Networking Trackers Research at IDC. What's happening is that how business people are using the technology is changing.

"Despite the overall weak 2Q13 results in the worldwide enterprise online video conferencing equipment market, we are still seeing interest in videoconferencing being driven by integrations with vendors' unified communications and collaboration portfolios, and the proliferation of video among desktop and mobile users," Jirovsky said in a statement. "Video as a key component of collaboration continues to place high on the list of priorities for many organizations."

The trend is forcing established video conferencing software vendors like Cisco Systems and Polycom—which initially built their video collaboration businesses on the back of hardware systems—to pivot quickly to software and cloud-based offerings. At the same time, it's given rise to a growing number of smaller companies, such as Vidyo and Blue Jeans Networks, that offer software-only video conferencing solutions that are made for a more highly mobile workforce that wants to be able to collaborate on whatever device they are using.

Unified communications (UC) vendors also are expanding their offerings to include video, either through in-house development or through acquisitions or partnerships, such as Avaya's purchase last year of Radvision or the alliance announced in June between Mitel and Vidyo.

Global revenues for the multi-codec, immersive telepresence systems continued to decline, falling 32 percent from the second quarter last year, according to IDC. Video infrastructure equipment, including hardware-based multipoint control units (MCUs), dropped 20.4 percent, while room-based video systems saw revenues decrease 5 percent.

Revenues for desktop video systems increased 7.7 percent.

"The macroeconomic situation, including the recession in Europe and sequestration (i.e. budget cuts) in the U.S., produced a cautionary IT spending environment that carried over into the first half of 2013 with the spending outlook for the second half of the year not much more promising," Rich Costello, senior analyst for enterprise communications infrastructure at IDC, said in a statement. "In addition, and most significantly, we are definitely starting to see the impact of lower-cost video systems and more software-based products and offerings on the enterprise video equipment market."

However, demand for online video collaboration technologies is continuing to grow. In a report released earlier this month, Cisco officials found that young executives—34 or younger—who came into the marketplace less than a decade ago see video communications technology as a key part of business.

According to Cisco's Global Young Executives' Video Attitude Survey, three out of five young executives will rely on business-class video over the next five to 10 years, and 87 percent believe video positively impacts companies, from saving money on travel costs to improving the experience of telecommuters to attracting high-level talent. In addition, 87 percent say they'd choose to work for an organization that invests in high-quality video collaboration technology over one that hasn't.

"Today's leaders are often tech enthusiasts," Rowan Trollope, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Collaboration Technology Group, said in a statement when the report was released. "Tomorrow's leaders are increasingly tech-dependent, and video is no exception to the rule. The next generation of leaders is realizing that using video makes them more productive, helps companies reduce costs and even plays a role in attracting the best talent available. They understand why video can be better than being there."

Cisco continues to lead the best video conferencing software equipment market, with 41 percent share, despite a 7.5 percent decline in revenues over the past year. Polycom's revenue fell 14.8 percent over the same period in 2012, and the company has a 29.2 percent share of the market. Huawei Technologies holds 7.6 percent of the market, according to IDC.

Article Source: Cisco, Polycom Top Vendors in Ailing Video Conferencing Equipment Space

VMware, Mitel, Vidyo Partner on UC, Video Solution for VDI

VMware is integrating technology from Mitel and Vidyo to give VDI users a single and unified collaboration offering.

VMware is working with Mitel and Vidyo to bring integrated unified communications and multipoint video conferencing into its VMware View virtual desktop infrastructure offering.

The three companies are demonstrating the joint solution this week at the VMworld 2013 show in San Francisco. The offering integrates Mitel's virtualized Unified Communicator Advanced client software and Vidyo's VidyConferencing solution with VMware View.

The goal is to give users of VMware's virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) offering a single and unified solution that lets them collaborate via any medium with a simple, low-cost solution that offers business-class communications without impact data center performance.

"This development allows us to deliver yet another important collaboration mode for virtualized UCC deployments," Stephen Beamish, vice president of business development at Mitel, said in a statement. "It's further validation of the power and flexibility that enterprise voice virtualization provides for end customers."



The joint solution, which was announced before VMworld kicked off, is designed to offer a range of communications avenues—from video conferencing and voice to instant messaging, audio and web conferencing software, document sharing, voice messaging and email—in a unified package to VMware View users. 

They can use their VMware View client or sign on to another terminal and get access not only to their desktops, but also the various forms of communication that the joint solution enables. 

According to company officials, the solution separates communications into two parts—rich media and call processing, which sets up the connections. The call-processing component is transmitted via the data center. Meanwhile, the rich media part is transmitted directly to the endpoints over existing networks, protecting the quality of the stream by not sending it through the data center first. 

The work with Mitel and Vidyo is the latest example of VMware leveraging third-party technologies to augment its virtualization technology, according to Vittorio Viarengo, vice president of end-user computing at VMware. 

"Mitel and Vidyo have demonstrated what is possible with a strong partner community," Viarengo said in a statement. "Both companies are committed to an open architectural approach, and this has enabled us to work together to achieve dramatic technical leaps that better serve our customers." 

VMware and Mitel teamed up two years ago when they demonstrated at VMworld 2011 that they could stream virtualized voice to a virtual desktop without significantly impacting performance and latency, according to the companies. 

The announcement also comes two months after Mitel and Vidyo unveiled a partnership in which Mitel brought video capabilities to its UC offerings by integrating Vidyo's software-based solutions with its entire line of collaboration products. Mitel also incorporated Vidyo's technology into its MiCloud cloud-based communications suite. 

With the explosion of mobile devices and the increasing mobility of the workforce, HD video conferencing is rapidly moving away from being a hardware play to more of a software-based technology, enabling users to collaborate from wherever they are and on whatever device they want. Not only are established players like Cisco Systems and Polycom rapidly building up their software capabilities, but the drive also has given rise to smaller companies like Vidyo and Blue Jeans Networks, which offer software-only video conferencing solutions.  


Article Source: VMware, Mitel, Vidyo Partner on UC, Video Solution for VDI

AVer Delivers Sub-$1,000 Videoconferencing Solution

A new product from AVer Information Inc. Americas has made sub-$1,000 multipoint video conferencing a reality for SMBs, as well as for enterprises looking for affordable huddle-room solutions.

That’s the word from Kris Rangarajan, marketing director, and Eric Yu, product management director, at AVer Information.

The company got its start selling document cameras, and is now a market leader in that space. Such products are commonly used in the classroom.

Four years ago, AVer came out with its first cloud-based video conferencing endpoint. Then, in 2011, it unveiled the HVC310, a four-way MCU selling for $4,500.

But AVer Information decided that for its Internet video conferencing solutions to really be successful in the mid-market space it needed to get to a sub-$1,000 price point, said Rangarajan. At the same time, the company wanted to make the solution very easy to configure, even when working with other vendors’ solutions, and simple to use. The result was the EVC100, which AVer announced last month.

This solution provides all components, with the exception of the display device and Internet connectivity, in one box; the gear can be set up in 5 to 10 minutes. It comes with a strong warranty and service package, and AVer is partnering with cloud providers including Blue Jeans Network, Vidtel, and Zoom to ensure interoperability with the cloud.

“We are positioning [the EVC100] as the endpoint for the cloud, because interoperability has to play in to the cost-piece for this to be successful,” says Rangarajan.

She adds that interoperability is particularly important for enterprises that want to use its solutions in so-called “huddle rooms,” smaller rooms for use by five to 10 people.

To enable businesses to test out the EVC100, AVer offers a test drive kit, which includes a fully configured system.

“Eighty-five to 90 percent of people who touch our product keep our product,” says Rangarajan.

The EVC100 is a 720p solution. The EVC130 is a 1080p solution with recording capabilities. 

Article Source: AVer Delivers Sub-$1,000 Videoconferencing Solution

Sony Unveils New H.264 Video Conferencing Systems

Sony today unveiled two new multipoint video conferencing systems – the flagship full HD 1080p PCS-XG100 from the IPELA range. The new models are powerful, compact and available at very compelling cost levels, said a Sony release, adding that the systems were ideal for medium to large enterprises, education and government applications due to their high performance and flexibility.

According to Sony, the PCS-XG100 employs the latest H.264 high profile video compression technology that delivers the highest quality images at half the bit rates required. This reduces bandwidth congestion and ultimately lowers the overall cost of usage, which is useful for organizations that operate in regions with limited bandwidth, it said.

The PCS-XG100 is able to transmit H.239 dual streams at 1080p 30fps. This feature enables HD transmission of both camera and PC display images, letting users view shared data such as documents or presentations in high clarity. With an embedded MCU (optional), the PCS-XG100 can also support up till nine sites of Continuous Presence (CP) connections and up to 16 sites through cascade connections, making this product an ideal solution for enterprises looking for a cloud-based video conferencing solution that offers the highest return on investment.

The PCS-XG100 has built-in Quality of Service (Intelligent QoS) for realizing high-quality visual communications and high-quality MPEG-4 AAC stereo audio codec standard with stereo echo canceling technology. This addresses common audio issues such as voice echoing and sound quality drop when multiple persons are speaking simultaneously, and allows the speaker to be clearly heard despite being far from the microphone. The PCS-XG100 system supports up to a maximum of 6 omni-directional microphones (PCS-A1).

Sony said a new feature of the PCS-XG100 was the Triple Monitor Mode, where far, near and shared PC images could be simultaneously displayed on three separate monitors (2 x HDMI outputs, 1 x DVI-I output). This eliminates past problems of low quality self-images using RGB outputs.

The PCS-XG100 can perform HD recording and HD streaming, whereby HD video/presentation data (including annotations) and audio can be recorded to USB memory media and shared with participants after the session. HD video and audio can also be streamed out as multicast or unicast streaming via a web interface.

Other features include video annotation capabilities, dual network interface for LAN/WAN connection and a kiosk mode. The PCS-XG100 also comes with a RF Remote Commander Unit (PCS-RFZ1) featuring new wireless technology. The unit allows for convenient one-touch dialing which lets users easily connect with any registered contacts with the simple touch of a button on the unit.

Article Source: Sony Unveils New H.264 Video Conferencing Systems

Citizens Advice Bureau to give internet video conference consultations via Skype

BOLTON’S Citizens Advice Bureau is set to reach out to people in need — by introducing multipoint video conferencing sessions.

The move means Bolton residents will be able to speak face-to-face with an adviser without having to travel into the town centre.

The service will be introduced in local libraries and community centres in the coming months.

Bolton’s CAB is already providing sessions in local Ucan centres.

New chief officer Richard Wilkinson said: “We want to make access to our services better for more people.”

They have already established a mini “call centre” where four or five staff handle clients’ calls, offering advice.

The service has been able to deal with around 600 calls a month this way in the past year — previously it was 50 to 100.

The cloud-based video conferencing — which will use software such as Skype — is due to start in “the next few months”.

Mr Wilkinson added: “We want this to be convenient for people so they don’t have to come into the town centre specially.

“We still have the face-to-face sessions available, though. We will always need to have those.”

Bolton’s CAB has had to cope with cuts to staff from 55 to 30 and a change in Legal Aid Agency rules which meant the loss of £600,000 in the money it receives annually.

Mr Wilkinson started with the CAB after volunteering in Birmingham where he was studying for a Masters degree in housing policy and was later offered a job there.

The Mawdsley Street centre is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.30am to 3.30pm and there is a phone service available to anyone with a GP in Bolton by ringing 0808 801 0011. 

For detailed information, please visit Citizens Advice Bureau to give internet video conference consultations via Skype

State gears up for the video age

Communications in Vermont entered a new era Tuesday when locations throughout the state came together for a video press conference. 

The press conference showed off multipoint video conferencing equipment that connects to points around the state, and to countless other points around the world.

Fourteen Vermont libraries received the equipment through a $77,000 donation from Google. Each location received a modern laptop, high-end microphone, camera and large-screen, high-definition television, along with a wheeled stand to hold all of it.

Montpelier joined in the network with Berlin, Bradford, Brattleboro, Burlington, Lyndonville, Middlebury, Rutland, Arlington, Morrisville, Newport, St. Albans, Williston and Woodstock.

Library and government officials participated in the conference from five libraries around the state. While the sound briefly cut out toward the end, participants were otherwise clearly audible and visible.

In Montpelier, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott said the technology offered a number of opportunities.

“Integrating the libraries we have, making them more relevant in the future and the present, is so important,” he said. 

“We’re a rural state. It’s difficult to get people to come here to visit, come to our schools,” Scott added. “You get a NASA engineer or scientist to address a class for 15 to 20 minutes — that face-to-face interaction is so important.”

Matt Dunne, a representative of Google speaking from the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, noted that Vermont is not always the easiest state to travel around, especially in the winter, and that ready access to cloud-based video conferencing could benefit small businesses and the boards of statewide nonprofit groups.

“We’re always talking about how we have been missed by certain parts of infrastructure in the state,” said Randal Smathers, assistant director of the Rutland Free Library. “On the electronic front, this is a great equalizer for us. ... It’s kind of leveled the playing field in terms of connectivity. That’s a big deal for us in Rutland.”

Smathers said the library had already used the setup to talk to faraway contractors on how to better use its space. He envisioned concerts and TED lectures on a variety of subjects. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.

“It’s going to evolve,” he said. “I don’t know how people will use this technology ... but I will say it will be important for our users. They will use it in ways that will surprise and enlighten us.”

For detailed information, please visit State gears up for the video age

Libraries use Google donation to launch video conference service

For spaces that are supposed to be quiet, there was a lot of talking going on at the library on Tuesday.

The occasion was a news conference, held in five different libraries around the state but brought together in a virtual space

Fourteen libraries have installed new multipoint video conferencing technology that will allow their patrons to connect to their community and the world beyond Vermont.

The new video service is being offered thanks to a donation from Google. Matt Dunne, Google’s head of community affairs, kicked off the event from the Norman Williams Library in Woodstock.

He said that cloud-based video conferencing used to be confined to corporate boardrooms or government agencies that could afford the equipment and the monthly charges. But now software such as Skype or Google Hangout has put the technology within reach of everyone.

“By doing it this way, and by testing the cutting edge of what’s out there we’re able to provide this kind of Internet video conferencing capability without that kind of ongoing cost, as well as the ability to have it evolve,” he said.

A $77,000 donation from Google helped pay for equipment – large computer monitors, cameras and microphones – as well as training for library personnel.

As Dunne spoke, the images of participants from Rutland, Brattleboro, Burlington and Montpelier were displayed at the bottom of a large screen. There was a bit of warble in the audio and sometimes the picture paused as a person was speaking, but otherwise the technology worked smoothly.

Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, live from Montpelier, said business video conferencing makes the world at large more accessible and affordable for those who may not have broadband service or even basic Internet at home.

“We talk about the affordability of Vermont, and we have folks that are working two or three jobs that don’t have this kind of capability in their homes, who have to make a choice between filling their fuel tank or buying an iPhone,” he said. “So having the libraries provide the service to remain connected is going to be very important.”

From Burlington, library director Rubi Simon said the city’s libraries are adapting to serve a growing population for whom English is a second language. She said the best video conferencing software could be used to help people improve their language skills.

“We’re hoping to connect them with other big cities that also have conversation groups and using this as a potential opportunity to kind of go beyond Burlington,” she said.

State librarian Marty Reid said the video conferencing is a continuation of the public libraries’ mission to provide free Internet and computer access. She sees potential uses ranging from school groups meeting with scientists to military families talking to loved ones stationed overseas.

“I think of the individuals,” she said. “When we started to select where we were going to put this equipment, one of the questions we asked is do you have a space that is private, that somebody could go in and close the door and do a distance job interview, for example, or a conference with a medical specialist.”

Reid said if funding is available she’d like to expand the project beyond the 14 libraries. She said by the end of the year, 45 libraries around Vermont will have fiber optic broadband service.

For detailed information, please visit Libraries use Google donation to launch video conference service

China Video Tools for U.S. Help Spurs Spy Anxiety

A manufacturer accused of being tied to the Chinese government has found a way to sell to U.S. agencies in an arrangement that’s raising concerns from security officials and at least one lawmaker about spying.

ZTE Corp. (000063), China’s No. 2 phone-equipment maker, linked up with a company in Baltimore to make its Internet video conferencing system available to federal offices.

The collaboration between Shenzhen-based ZTE and Prescient, a five-employee unit of closely held CyberPoint International LLC, comes amid warnings about China’s military hacking into U.S. computers. A U.S. House committee report advised federal agencies and contractors last October to bypass ZTE and Huawei Technologies Co. products because they might help China spy.

“It’s dangerous for our country,” said U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican who has supported restrictions on government use of Chinese goods. “There are job losses, national security ramifications and intellectual property issues at stake.”

The videoconferencing system, which carries both ZTE’s and Prescient’s names, was approved in November by the U.S. General Services Administration for sale to federal agencies.

Prescient said it assessed the device, documented its flaws and installed a U.S.-built hardware- and software-based firewall to block potential unauthorized access. That “substantially transformed” the product so it’s no longer considered a Chinese device, said Jerry Caponera, general manager for global partnerships at CyberPoint, a cybersecurity company.

American Made

“The beauty is after all that we have a Made-in-America product,” Caponera said. Prescient has sold three or four of the systems, he said. He declined to identify the buyers.

The U.S. market for networking equipment, which includes HD video conferencing systems, is about $51 billion, according to ACG Research, a Gilbert, Arizona-based industry consulting firm.

CyberPoint’s Prescient has made no secret of its work with ZTE, which it has publicized on its website. Prescient also has discussed its efforts to secure foreign technology with U.S. Representative C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

“China is where most manufacturing is done, and people are going to buy these products one way or another,” Caponera said. “I’d rather it happens in a more secure fashion.”

Only Vendor

CyberPoint’s Prescient unit is the only vendor to go beyond security-testing services for overseas products and offer to build and install U.S.-made safeguards, according to Caponera.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of such a business model,” said Christian Marrone, vice president for national security and acquisition policy at the Arlington, Virginia-based Aerospace Industries Association. The trade group represents more than 300 defense and aerospace companies, including 3M Co. (MMM:US), based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Northrop Grumman Corp.(NOC:US), based in Falls Church, Virginia, according to its website.

Even vetted and secured videoconferencing devices may not provide adequate protection, said HD Moore, chief research officer at Rapid7, a Boston-based cybersecurity company.

ZTE products, as well as those from Huawei and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO:US), have been found to have so-called backdoors, Moore said. These alternative entryways are often exploited by hackers. They jeopardize product security, regardless of whether they are intentional, he said.

“I wouldn’t trust ZTE to build a toaster, given the vulnerabilities I’ve seen in their products,” Moore said.

Multipoint video conferencing systems are especially susceptible, Moore said. Some of the devices can default to automatically answer calls, and the cameras are powerful enough to read text from a document on a table, he said.

Uneasy Feeling

It’s difficult to counter deliberate compromises of technology equipment, Stewart Baker, a former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an e-mail.

Such efforts might work if they are done to the government’s satisfaction and with full knowledge, said Baker, a partner at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington. “At first blush, though, it makes me profoundly uneasy.”

ZTE was accused in an October 2012 House intelligence committee report of having links to the Chinese government, presenting opportunities for espionage. Huawei, also based in Shenzhen, failed to explain its relationship with the government, the report said.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent panel that advises Congress, said in a 2011 report that Huawei’s management structure is “opaque” and that Chinese government-affiliated entities appear to retain a majority share of ZTE’s stock.

Denying Links

Huawei and ZTE have denied links to espionage in the past, saying they aren’t controlled by the Chinese government.

Nina Zhou, a ZTE spokeswoman, didn’t answer questions about the vendor’s work with CyberPoint’s Prescient unit. “ZTE shares a global interest in promoting, not undermining, cybersecurity,” she said in an e-mail.

CyberPoint was founded in 2009 with four employees. Its staff has expanded to 130 workers, and the company has an office in Abu Dhabi. Karl Gumtow, its chief executive officer and co-founder, previously served as director of government contractor SRA International Inc.’s intelligence and space business unit.

In 2011, ZTE approached CyberPoint’s Prescient unit and asked for help improving its U.S. sales, said Caponera, whose LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD:US) account shows he previously worked at SRA and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT:US) At the time, Prescient was exploring developing a niche market in securing overseas-made technology, making it more attractive to U.S. buyers, he said.

GSA Unaware

“They said they wanted to sell products in the U.S., and we said we could help with that,” Caponera said. “We said if your goal is anything else, we can’t help.”

Engineers at Prescient spent six to nine months assessing ZTE’s cloud-based video conferencing system for spyware and defects, creating software and hardware to help protect the device from any intrusions, he said.

The device has been available to government offices for more than eight months through a contract with the GSA, which coordinates orders for U.S. agencies. The GSA wasn’t aware of any purchases of the videoconferencing system through the contract, said Mafara Hobson, an agency spokeswoman.

Government and security officials say there are good reasons to be cautious about ZTE.

Limiting Purchases

In May, the Pentagon for the first time directly accused the Chinese military of intruding on U.S. computers to steal sensitive data. A February report from Mandiant Corp., an Alexandria, Virginia-based computer-security company, said the People’s Liberation Army in China may be behind the hacking of at least 141 companies worldwide since 2006.

In March, President Barack Obama signed a law that limits some federal agencies’ ability to purchase information-technology devices from a company connected with the Chinese government.

The partnership with Prescient may be a way for ZTE to work around Congress’s warnings, said Ray Mota, founder of ACG, the networking-equipment industry consulting. Mota previously served as chief research officer for Synergy Research Group, which analyzes the telecommunications industry.

The U.S. market for networking equipment has largely been closed since the House committee report advised contractors and agencies to avoid ZTE and Huawei, he said.

Backing Off

“Some people have backed off both companies after that report,” Mota said. “This is an opportunity for ZTE to open up the door and break down some barriers. Some people will say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll use a ZTE product if this other American company says it’s secure and certifies it.’ They see this as an avenue to get back in here.”

Most business video conferencing systems used by the federal government come from San Jose, California-basedPolycom Inc. (PLCM:US) or Cisco, said Phil Karcher, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc. (FORR:US) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

While ZTE doesn’t break out its U.S. sales, it had revenue of 84.2 billion yuan ($13.8 billion) last year, according to its annual report. About 7 percent of that revenue came from the U.S., Cynthia Meng, an analyst with Jefferies Group LLC in Hong Kong, said in an e-mail.

ZTE and Prescient may collaborate on other telecommunications equipment. The Baltimore company is evaluating an optical-fiber distribution system made by ZTE that is designed to speed Internet access. That product might eventually be used by U.S. telecommunications companies that want a competitive offering to Verizon’s (VZ:US) FiOS service, said Bryan Paul, a Prescient engineer.

U.S. financial institutions and telecommunications carriers have also approached Prescient seeking a secure way to use foreign products, which are often cheaper or more advanced than their domestic counterparts, CyberPoint’s Caponera said.

Prescient wants to find safe ways to use overseas-made products, though “there’s no such thing as perfect,” he said.

“The market needs it, the country needs it and businesses need it,” said Caponera.

For detailed information, please visit China Video Tools for U.S. Help Spurs Spy Anxiety

Which Video Conferencing Software Works Best for Online Mediation

ADRHub and Virtual Mediation Lab announce a new project, whose results will be useful to anybody who is interested in online mediation, and will be presented in November, during Cyberweek 2013.

Called “Review of Desktop Video Conferencing Software for Online Mediation”, this project has 3 objectives:

1. To set a list of criteria that any multipoint video conferencing software for online mediation should meet: e.g. easy and simple to use for setting up and switching between joint and private sessions; intuitive user interface, good video and audio quality, secure, pics/docs/screen sharing, annotation, online whiteboard, and so on
2. To test different cloud-based video conferencing software — like e.g. Adobe Connect, Google Hangout, Skype, GotoMeeting, Webex, Zoom.us, etc. In order to make our tests as consistent as possible, they will be carried out with the same group of participants, connected with their PC, Mac, Ipad, Iphone or Android device from around the world
3. To grade – from 1 to 10 – how each software met our list of criteria during the test

We are therefore seeking volunteer participants – ADR/ODR students or mediators – who:

• Have minimum 1-year experience with video conferencing software like: Adobe Connect, Google Hangout, Skype, GotoMeeting, Webex, Zoom.us
• Have all the hardware and software necessary to host and video record a test of that software

Article Source: Which Video Conferencing Software Works Best for Online Mediation

Docs, states look to telehealth to deliver medical care

Can't get in to see a doctor? Or live hundreds of miles from a specialist? Try Skyping in to their office.

That may be the wave of the future. And it's gotten the attention of the Legislature, which is being asked to pass legislation to certify and impose standards on a growing practice.

More and more doctors and hospitals are using desktop video conferencing technology to help treat patients, particularly if those who live far away from a needed specialist.

Burdick, a dermatologist, treated eight children throughout South Florida Tuesday morning through multipoint video conferencing."The benefits of telemedicine? It allows clinical care to be delivered where and when it's needed," said Dr. Anne Burdick, associate dean for telehealth and clinical outreach at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The university has a pediatric mobile unit, essentially a high-tech bus, that travels around the region with a doctor on board to take basic patient information and history. Then, that doctor helps connect the child to a specialist – in this case, Burdick – who can help diagnose specific problems.

Tuesday, her cases included scabies and eczema.

The University of Miami founded the country's first telemedicine program in 1973, and as technology has improved, the program has grown and is being delivered in a variety of ways, including the mobile unit. It's only a small percentage of the medical center's work, but it's growing.

The program connects low-income children in Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and Miami-Dade counties who are covered by Medicaid to specialists at the university. It also provides dermatological care for the staff of the Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise lines. It helped monitor the general health of Brazilian athletes during the London Olympics, with the option to connect them to any specialist should a major injury occur. The doctors are now working on a program that will be available to all Olympic athletes at the 2016 Brazil games.

Further north in Orlando, Orlando Health is piloting a new "hospital at home" program to help reduce readmissions; it targets patients treated for blood clots, skin infections or pneumonia. Sent home with cloud-based video conferencing equipment and technology to monitor their vitals, the patients are checked every few hours by a nurse via teleconference. A nurse also makes a daily visit.

Representatives from Orlando Health could not be reached for comment.

Internet-connected medicine is not entirely new; many hospitals and clinics employ out-of-town radiologists to review x-rays and scans. And often, doctors consult colleagues in other states or sometimes countries on complicated cases. Now, improved technology is allowing direct interaction between physicians and patients.

But it's hard to gauge just how widely teleconferencing is used in Florida. Most insurers don't pay for a virtual doctor's visit, so the technology is most often used on a contract basis or for patients covered by Medicaid, the state-federal program that does pay for it. Medicare also sometimes approves payments for patients in rural areas.

"We have not tracked this information in the past, but there may be some efforts to do so in the future," said Shelisha Coleman, a spokeswoman for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which regulates health care in the state.

Burdick thinks telemedicine will only grow and improve.

"It is trending upward," she said. "We are looking to increase to other specialties. I think patients are hearing the word 'telemedicine' and are understanding more what it's about, and I think there's going to be more of a demand to be cared for by specialists when there's such a dearth of specialists in non-urban areas."

But there are some issues that may require lawmaker intervention.

Currently, most states allow for teletreatment for certain Medicaid patients, but only 19 require private health plans to pay for it. Florida isn't one of them.

Now, Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, has filed legislation that would require private plans to pay for telemedicine and also directs the state to research how best to implement a telemedical system and regulate it. A similar bill filed last year went nowhere.

Joyner was out of state Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

Doctors around the state and the medical lobby are watching closely. Not only do they want to make sure that licensed and trained physicians are the only ones using the technology, they also want to ensure that doctors can be paid.

"Telemedicine offers tremendous potential to not only increase patients' access to physician services, but also to make follow-up visits and consultations more convenient for patients," said Timothy Stapleton, executive vice president for the Florida Medical Association, which lobbies on behalf of the state's doctors.

"The FMA understands that telemedicine is a trend that is here to stay, and we look forward to working with lawmakers to make Florida a national leader in the use of innovative health care technology."

Article Source: Docs, states look to telehealth to deliver medical care

MHealth and video conferencing leads to better care in rural North Carolina

As the CEO of Uplift Comprehensive Services (Greenville, N.C), I have seen to it that our organization fully embraces the notion of “mhealth.” By incorporating mobile high definition video conferencing, our doctors and clinicians can support even the most geographically remote patients, while also being able to access electronic health records and collaborate with other employees. The result not only has been improved service, but improved productivity, reduced travel and office expenses, and a better quality of life for our employees.

Using desktop video conferencing technology and a “bring your own device” (BYOD) strategy for mobile appliances, Uplift is saving at least $500 on each physician trip, or thousands of dollars each year. We are now using that savings for grant-funding opportunities, which leads to better patient care.

Implementing multipoint video conferencing in an mhealth strategy is not nearly as daunting as some organizations may fear. Below, I’ll outline how Uplift has employed mobile video conferencing, benefits that we’ve experienced, and advice for organizations considering a similar approach.

Geography and service

Uplift Comprehensive Services provides community-based assistance for children, adolescents and adults, including substance abuse prevention and mental health treatment. The agency is small-to-mid-sized (25-30 total staff, including two doctors and a handful of licensed therapists). The organization supports 15 counties across North Carolina. We've been in business for 12 years, beginning as the trend in mental health treatment started shifting from facilities-based treatment measures to community-based.

We offer a range of treatment options including multi-systemic therapy, outpatient therapy, and medication management, among others. The organization is committed to helping children and adults overcome social and economic hurdles.

Among our biggest challenges in providing this service was coordinating with clinicians in the field. Our patients live in some of the most remote regions of the state – areas in eastern North Carolina we call “little Australia,” where there may only be a land bridge or ferry connecting rural pockets. If a bridge washes out or a ferry is inoperative, we're in trouble. Even on a good day, sending a doctor to catch a ferry to visit a patient could take as much as four hours. We determined that it cost $500 per trip to send a physician to each person’s home for in-person care.

We had to figure out a more cost-effective and less time-consuming way to provide psychiatric and counseling services, while also being able to manage data, documents, coordinating with clinicians, and communicating with staff in the field. The first step was in realizing that we could better control costs if we sent a nurse practitioner to the patient’s home and connected with the doctor remotely. That way, the patient could receive the benefits of individualized, in-person care while still working directly with their physician.

Cloud-based video conferencing seemed to be the most appropriate solution. Some of our clinicians had used free video conferencing services previously, which worked to a limited degree. The difficulty with these free solutions, however, is that they are not HIPAA compliant. We also knew we needed access to all of our data in a secure environment. For that, we felt we needed an enterprise-class video conferencing solution, yet one that even a smaller organization like Uplift can afford.

Bring your own device

When we began offering mobile video conferencing in treatment, we provided mobile devices and tablets for employees. That changed very quickly because employees and clinicians did not want to have to carry two mobile devices – their own and the one they used for Uplift.

To accommodate the needs of the users, we now implement MDM (mobile device management) technology, which allows us to install software, provide updates, and set security protocols from our end. This ensures that if someone were to leave Uplift, all of our data and related information easily can be wiped from the device.

Transitioning from providing devices to having clinicians bring their own actually created a substantial cost savings for Uplift. Instead of having to pay $500 for a tablet, all we have to do is make sure that the content is protected and can be managed from our headquarters. This has been a useful strategy for our employees as well. They can use the platform of their choosing, and the one that they are most comfortable with, rather than being made to use whichever platform the organization as a whole would otherwise have selected for them.

Some people are concerned that a BYOD strategy could be a huge drain on the IT resources of a small organization. However, that’s not true. Much of this technology is actually being implemented without the involvement of an IT department at all.

Security, connectivity and mobility

Internet video conferencing solution providers typically offer some cloud-based solutions. That’s important for Uplift, because if we have an issue with our servers, or the power goes out, or there is some type of catastrophe on our end, we always have the failsafeof having our information residing in a secure cloud.

In terms of access, even high-speed cellular wireless networks have sufficient throughput to accommodate high definition video conferencing connections. 4G networks are more than robust enough to carry the two-way high definition video conferencing traffic that Uplift requires. As these networks continue to expand, the portability and usability of mobile devices for HD video conferencing can only continue to improve dramatically.

Mobility is, obviously, a critical part of Uplift’s strategy for providing health services. With mobile devices, Uplift has extended its coverage to the point that we do not have to worry about establishing an office in a rural area, or having a clinician check in with that office. All documentation can be done on the device, electronic health records can be accessed online, and clinicians and patients can communicate with anyone else in the organization, including doctors, using these mobile remote devices.

This approach has been so beneficial that we were actually able to reduce our need for office space. All of our clinicians are in the field, and they're turning in documents electronically. That led me to question why we were spending so much money for office space. So we downsized, and our clinicians have not missed a beat.

As far as the funding for this technology, some of the costis billable through Medicaid and other insurance companies. For the portion that cannot be billed, Uplift considers it as an operational cost. 

Another key economic benefit came in reduced travel. As I mentioned before, there were days when our clinicians would have to travel for hours to do a one-hour appointment, then check into the offices, drive to wherever the patient they may be, and return and fill out documentation. It would not be impossible for them to spend four hours on the road. That’s not only time consuming, it actually led to a loss in overall productivity. With their own mobile devices, staffers can do their work in the field, and collaborate remotely. The technology even inter-relates with our exchange servers, so it is been a real boon in work productivity.

Advice for other agencies

When adopting a mobile strategy and incorporating video conferencing in your mhealth treatment approach, there are several simple but important aspects to keep in mind:

• Make sure you secure your devices. Use a good mobile device management solution. And don't be afraid of the expense; there are many robust free solutions available. We are able to monitor all of our devices, install apps and update apps remotely with a free MDM tool. This can result a huge savings in time, energy and expense.
• Consider the security aspects of the solution you select.There are a million different ways to do video conferencing, both free and paid. Look for the solution that is the most reasonable for your effort, enabling a layer of HIPAA compliance, providing the greatest flexibility in collaboration and offering the ability to add and drop calls easily.
• Stay current with technology.Remote devices change almost every day, so you have to be comfortable with as many as possible, and their capabilities. Embrace the technology, don't run away from it.

By attending home visits using mobile HD video conferencing, Uplift’s doctors are able to provide the comprehensive treatment patients expect from the comfort of the patient’s own home. The clinician in the field is able to provide the much-needed human element, and collaborates with the doctors as needed.

Best of all productivity has increased throughout the practice. Instead of spending hours on unnecessary travel, Uplift doctors and clinicians are able to visit more patients, to focus on what’s most important: the well-being of our patients.

Article Source: MHealth and video conferencing leads to better care in rural North Carolina