2013年10月31日星期四

Intelliverse to introduce HD video conferencing solutions

AVer solutions allow enterprises to easily and affordably expand their video communication capabilities with additional endpoints and multi-point systems
BANGALORE, INDIA: Intelliverse Telecom, a cloud-based hosted communications provider for enterprises, announced the signing of a distribution agreement with AVer Information Inc. a major global provider of education solutions, security surveillance solutions and multipoint video conferencing solutions.
Under the agreement, Intelliverse has become the National Distributor, and will provide system-service-application support in India for AVer video conferencing. The partnership with Aver is in tandem with Intelliverse's growth strategy of expanding its solutions and commitment to providing customers with industry leading enterprise solutions and services. Following this distribution agreement, Intelliverse will be introducing AVer range of cloud-based video Conferencing solutions to its channel partners, SIs and enterprise customers across all industry verticals.
A company release said that AVer solutions allow enterprises to easily and affordably expand their video communication capabilities with additional endpoints and multi-point systems compatible with other H.323 products and standards. In addition to impressive hardware, AVer's 3-year standard warranty and remarkably low total cost of ownership (TCO) translate into astounding return on investment (ROI), making Internet Video Conferencing ideal for large enterprises, SMBs, VARs, Channel Partners and Systems Integrators.
Says V R Kirubakaran (VRK), country manager, Intelliverse Telecom Pvt Ltd: "In collaboration with AVer, we aim to expand our markets across all geographies in India. AVer's compelling capabilities and deep knowledge base in Video Communication solutions makes them an ideal partner for us, and we are excited to join hands with AVer to meet enterprise demand for Video-Conferencing capabilities. As a provider of cutting edge communication solutions we believe and confident that the scalability, flexibility and interoperability of Aver products will complement our portfolio and finally see online Video Conferencing being adopted on a broader scale in India. We will offer the most affordable video conferencing solutions to the Indian markets, which can be leveraged by both enterprise and mid-market/SME businesses."

2013年10月28日星期一

Use video conferencing to avert Usmani-like escape

Over a month after the escape of alleged Indian Mujahideen operative Afzal Usmani from the Mumbai sessions court premises, Additional Director-General (ADG) Prisons, Maharashtra, Meeran Borwankar has written a letter to the State’s Home department requesting that all accused being tried in various terror and underworld-related cases be produced in court through Internet video conferencing.
The letter accessed by The Hindu stated that as all the prisons in the State were equipped with online video conferencing facility, adopting such a method would mean not stretching thin the manpower required for escorting the accused. There are 215 prisons in the State of which nine are central prisons which house over 24,000 prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has also sent a letter to the Home department stating that it was going to appeal to the designated court to allow the accused in serious cases to be handcuffed. “We have already moved applications in the courts to handcuff the accused who are being tried in the August 2012 serial blasts in Pune and 2006 Aurangabad arms haul cases. The court has asked the defence lawyers to file their opinion. If the decision is in our favour then we will follow the same in other terror cases,” a senior police officer told The Hindu.
“When the undertrials are being produced only for extension of their judicial custody, multipoint video conferencing is a better option. It saves us manpower used in escorting these criminals and also ensures that they don’t escape,” added the officer.
It was on September 20, Afzal Usmani, accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad and Surat blasts escaped.
Usmani, a car thief, was the first arrest in the IM case by the Mumbai crime branch. His stolen car was found laden with explosives in Surat; luckily the bombs were discovered and defused by the police. Usmani’s arrest led to the cracking of the media-wing of the IM by the Mumbai crime branch in September 2008.
The police claim the module is responsible for all the blasts in India since 2005.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police, ATS, Amitesh Kumar was asked to prepare a report on the incident and also make recommendations on how the security could be strengthened. The details of the report were first published by The Hindu on October 6. The report highlighted the chronic problems faced by the escort teams which were under-staffed and overworked. The ATS also recommended that the trial in serious and sensitive cases be conducted through cloud-based video conferencing.

2013年10月24日星期四

Virtualisation of Video Conferencing Infrastructure greatly improves management for IT and reduces hardware by 90%, according to new whitepaper by VideoCentric

Today, VideoCentric have released a white paper discussing the benefits of the Virtualisation of mutlipoint Video Conferencing to businesses with a VMWare or Hyper-V IT Environment, and how the high costs, complexities and inefficiencies of traditional video conferencing are now being overcome by Virtualising Video Infrastructure.
The whitepaper presents a non-vendor specific view that enables IT Management, financial decision makers and C-Level Executives to understand challenges faced when implementing cloud-based video conferencing infrastructure that enables secure, HD, multiparty business to business connectivity, and the specific key benefits of virtualising their video environment.
"The benefits of Virtualisation for IT infrastructure have been recognised for many years, but Video Conferencing has been slow on the uptake, mainly due to the intensive server requirements for business class performance and interoperability. However, recent developments have now made it possible for us to virtualise internet video Conferencing & Collaboration infrastructure, and this paper helps organisations recognise the benefits of integrating both worlds together," commented Emily Shimell, Communications Manager at VideoCentric Ltd.
Miss Shimell added, "Virtualisation greatly improves efficiency, hugely reduces costs traditionally associated with online video conferencing, and enables organisations to easily and quickly trial infrastructure to prove its worth, which has never been possible before".

2013年10月23日星期三

Polycom: Survey Shows Video Conferencing is Essential Team Collaboration Tool

Polycom has released research results revealing that 96% of business decision makers believe cloud-based video conferencing removes distance barriers and improves productivity between teams. Respondents who use video conferencing today rated video’s top advantages as: better collaboration between globally dispersed colleagues (54%), greater clarity of topics being discussed (45%) and more efficient meetings (44%). 
The survey found that business video is becoming more pervasive globally, and that video is in the top three of preferred communications and collaboration media, following email and voice / voice conferencing. The study also showed that laptops and desktops are the most popular devices for business multipoint video conferencing, followed by conference rooms, and mobile devices. 
Looking to the future, 52% of respondents expect video to be their most preferred collaboration tool in three years followed by e-mail and voice/conference calls. Just over three quarters of decision-maker respondents use video conferencing at work today, with 56% of video users taking part in video calls at least once a week.  Interestingly, in Brazil, India and Singapore more than two-thirds of respondents use Internet video conferencing at least once a week.
The survey also showed that video communications isn’t limited to business: 83% of respondents -- and almost 90% of those in their twenties and thirties, use consumer video conferencing solutions at home today, with half using video conferencing at home at least once a week.
Commenting in a statement on the proliferation of video, Jim Kruger, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Polycom said, “The growing popularity of online video conferencing at home, especially by millennials entering the workforce, is a big driver of increased preference for and adoption of video collaboration in the workplace.”  He added,  “Some key factors to making video as popular in the office as it is at home is ensuring it’s easy to use, providing a high quality connection, delivering enterprise-grade security, and participants’ willingness to accept and adapt to cultural differences as they communicate across borders.  We’re seeing businesses around the world defy distance every day using video collaboration, including increasing productivity, enhancing employee engagement, improving time to market and helping to save lives.”
The research, “Global View: Business Video Conferencing Usage and Trends” surveyed over 1,200 business decision makers in 12 countries; it was conducted by Redshift Research and commissioned by Polycom.

2013年10月22日星期二

Video conferencing expected to be preferred business communications tool in 2016

Polycom the global leader in open, standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), has announced that that almost all (96 percent) business decision makers believe multipoint video conferencing removes distance barriers and improves productivity between teams in different cities and countries.

According to the “Global View: Business Video Conferencing Usage and Trends”survey of more than 1,200 business decision makers, conducted by Redshift Research and commissioned by Polycom, cloud-based video conferencing is an essential tool helping improve team collaboration and closing the physical and cultural gap between colleagues doing business across distances.

The survey found that video is becoming more pervasive in businesses across the globe.  When asked to choose their preferred methods of communications today, respondents ranked Internet video conferencing third (47 per cent) after e-mail (89 per cent) and voice/conference calls (64 per cent), and those same business leaders and managers expect video to be their most preferred collaboration tool in three years (52 per cent), followed by e-mail (51 per cent) and voice/conference calls (37 per cent).  Respondents who use video conferencing today said the three biggest advantages are: better collaboration between globally dispersed colleagues (54 per cent), greater clarity of topics being discussed (45 per cent) and more efficient meetings (44 per cent).

Over three quarters of decision-maker respondents (76 per cent) are now using online video conferencing at work with 56 per cent of video users taking part in video calls at least once a week.  The survey found that in Brazil, India and Singapore that number jumps up significantly, as more than two-thirds of respondents in those countries use video conferencing at least once a week.

The survey also revealed that 83 per cent of respondents, and almost 90 per cent of those in their 20s and 30s, use consumer best web conferencing software solutions at home today, and almost half of all respondents use video conferencing at home at least once a week.

“The growing popularity of best web conferencing at home, especially by millennials entering the workforce, is a big driver of increased preference for and adoption of video collaboration in the workplace,” said Jim Kruger, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Polycom.

“Some key factors to making video as popular in the office as it is at home is ensuring it’s easy to use, providing a high quality connection, delivering enterprise-grade security, and participants’ willingness to accept and adapt to cultural differences as they communicate across borders.  We’re seeing businesses around the world defy distance every day using video collaboration, including increasing productivity, enhancing employee engagement, improving time to market and helping to save lives.”

The study also showed that laptops and desktops are the most popular devices for business web video conferencing (75 per cent of respondents), followed by conference rooms (48 per cent) and mobile devices (42 per cent).  As video conferencing continues to become more pervasive, in three years laptops and desktops are still expected to be the most preferred device (72 per cent), while mobile devices and conference room usage will increase to 55 and 51 per cent, respectively.

Article Source: Video conferencing expected to be preferred business communications tool in 2016

2013年10月16日星期三

Abcam turns to BlinkPipe for reliable video conferencing

Leading life science company, Abcam, has been using BlinkPipe for ‘just dial’ HD video conferencing since January 2012. BlinkPipe caught up with Dr Ed Ralph, CIO, and Dr Fay Moutevelis, Senior Project Manager, at Abcam to discuss the impact that BlinkPipe has had on their business.
Abcam supplies protein research tools including over 120,000 antibodies, kits, proteins and other reagents.  Abcam is headquarted in Cambridge, UK, with additional offices in the UK, USA, Japan and China. They also have software development teams based in India.
Abcam has been using BlinkPipe for ‘just dial’ High-definition video conferencing since January 2012.                      
BlinkPipe caught up with Dr Ed Ralph, CIO, and Dr Fay Moutevelis, Senior Project Manager, at Abcam to discuss the impact that BlinkPipe has had on their business.
The drive towards BlinkPipe
Abcam has existing Polycom systems - two in the Cambridge office, one in Boston, one in San Francisco and smaller versions in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Abcam had outsourced some software development to India and, being fully aware of the business benefits of cloud-based video conferencing meetings, wanted to conduct daily stand-ups between the UK and India using video conferencing.
However, there was limited availability of the Polycom systems in both offices (the boardrooms are hard to block book for daily stand up meetings), and cost was a barrier to equipping other meeting rooms with similar equipment.
Seeking an alternative solution, Abcam initially tried Skype for these meetings but encountered problems.
Ed Ralph, CIO explained, “We were doing distributed stand-up meetings between the UK and India, trying all kinds of things – e.g. a typical stand-up would have had us using Skype for video, and then dialling into a phone bridge.  The Skype video was usually too small and poor to be useful and setting up (who is going to call whom etc.) was a nightmare.”
 “The main problem with Skype is that it needs a good internet connection end to end.   With our calls being between the UK and India it is often unreliable and a lot of time is wasted.  If you take the time of 30 people you can’t afford for this to happen.  For us, Skype wasn’t a good solution,” said Fay.
This is where BlinkPipe came in.
“I just wanted to flick a switch and see the other team.  The cost structure of the BlinkPipe cameras made for a low barrier and the ease of use was a no-brainer, so we tried them out,” said Ed.
Heavy use of BlinkPipe HD Video Conferencing
Abcam has made over 2800 minutes of BlinkPipe calls in the last 30 days alone.
“I use BlinkPipe from 9-12 every day for software development team stand-up and other regular meetings with typically 8/9 people in Cambridge and 10/11 people in India,” explained Fay.
“At Abcam the BlinkPipe advantage is not having to compete with people to book Internet video conferencing. Being able to dial the other meeting room and the video just coming on is fantastic,” said Ed.
Would Abcam recommend BlinkPipe?
“I’m very happy with BlinkPipe and would recommend it for businesses wanting an easy to use best web conferencing software system. With BlinkPipe I can focus on the meeting and not on the technology which is a win-win for Abcam,” said Fay.
“Just do it,” concluded Ed.
Call out box
In the last 30 days…
BlinkPipe in meeting room ‘Derbyshire’
2600 minutes of calls using 1 camera @£49/month 1.9 pence per minute.
Polycom in the boardroom
1080 minutes of calls at £280/month = 25p per minute
 *******

2013年10月15日星期二

The health benefits of video conferencing

Video is used as a communication tool across organisations on a daily basis. Video is far more productive than email and audio calls, and leads to faster decision making and improved collaboration within dispersed teams.

Home working has dramatically increased as a result of Internet video conferencing technology. Rather than spending up to two hours traveling to get into the office every day, employees can start their working day earlier, have an improved work-life balance, and are available at the click of a button for a face-to-face conversation over video. Although some businesses are weary of adopting home working, the majority of organisations have seen productivity levels surge as a result of home working.

VideoConferencingForBusiness

Cloud Video conferencing technology has not only contributed to productive home working, it has helped improve people’s health all over the world.
Listed below are just some of health benefits of cloud-based video conferencing.
  • Reduces stress – Less business travel and for home workers, reduced travel to and from the office, has seen the stress levels of many significantly drop.
  • Work-life balance – Less travel and the flexibility to work from home has significantly improved the balance in people’s work and personal lives, making it one less thing to worry about.
  • Less strain on the heart – Reduced stress levels as a result of less business travel and less time traveling to and from the office reduces strain on the heart.
  • Encourages exercise – An improved work-life balance means people are much more likely to exercise. Home-workers in particular are much more likely to exercise on their lunch break, even if it’s just a 20 minute stroll to their local park or convenience store.
  • Avoid road accidents – Less time on the road means workers are less likely to be involved in road accidents.
For detailed information, please click here.

Online video meeting technology not only improves the health of people in the workplace. It is used in hospitals all over the world and is referred to as telemedicine. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities. It is also used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations.