Redefining business collaboration through video conferencing

Transcription

1 Redefining business collaboration through video conferencing A close look at how today s lighter, more flexible and cost-effective video conferencing solutions are transforming communication and productivity within businesses across the globe.

2 Table of contents 02 Introduction: Technology-driven communication 03 What is video conferencing? 04 An evolution of the virtual workplace 05 The value of visual interaction 06 A clear difference: Boost engagement through video 07 The maturing landscape of video collaboration 08 Go above and beyond with video conferencing 09 Better business: Accelerating decision-making with video 10 Using video to drive business across industries 11 Personal video conferencing comes of age 12 What to look for in a provider 13 Case study: Boosting value and cutting costs with video 14 Conclusion: Achieving greater connectivity in an evolving virtual marketplace 15

3 Introduction: 03 Technology-driven communication The world of work is changing quickly, and much of this change is being driven by innovations in communication technology. Today, nearly every employee in the world has access to a range of collaboration solutions that would have been considered science fiction just a few years ago. From Unified Communications to integrated web conferencing and VoIP calling, collaboration has never been simpler, more accessible or more powerful. A continual shift toward virtual working is redefining business with the help of valuable collaboration tools like video conferencing. Effectively enhancing workforce productivity while cutting operational costs, video conferencing connects teams, customers, partners and prospects, allowing companies to quickly embrace the ever-changing virtual, mobile marketplace. Gone are the days of set 9-5, in-office business hours. Organizations are adjusting to accommodate a modern, alwaysconnected workforce of dispersed employees working when and where they are the most productive, regardless of whether they are on the road, in the office, at a client site or at home. Employees today are leveraging collaboration technology like video conferencing to deliver results more quickly, communicate more broadly and access more information at a faster rate. Recently, video conferencing has emerged as a robust and wellperforming tool able to significantly enhance communications within practically any size business in a range of vertical markets. From dedicated room conferencing systems to desktop and mobile conferencing, today s video collaboration solutions are flexible, light and cost-effective, allowing employees to work, share and communicate wherever they are.

4 What is video conferencing? 04 2/3 service of respondents are already using a video- INTERNET VIDEO CALLING SERVICES ARE BEING USED BY: enabled web conferencing % of a message is communicated through non-verbal cues attesting to the popularity and market penetration, 38 % of large enterprise 71 % of SMBs as well as ease of use and low cost of web conferencing including services and to the excellent video quality that many gestures, posture, and services are now able to provide. facial expressions. Source: Frost & Sullivan: Wainhouse Research: Wainhouse Research: «North American Video Conferencing Hosted and Managed Services Market» «Rich Media Metrics Worldwide Video Conferencing End User Survey 2013» «Rich Media Metrics Worldwide Video Conferencing End User Survey 2013»

5 AN evolution of the virtual workplace 05 Melanie Turek, Vice-President of Research for Enterprise Communications & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video conference is worth a thousand audio calls, s and text messages. In a growing virtual workplace one in which more and more people are working in locations that are different from those of their colleagues, managers, customers and partners face-to-face meetings are increasingly rare but extremely important. Being able to see participants facial expressions and body language makes it easier to understand their intentions, reactions and comprehension. These benefits are audio calls, s and text messages especially useful for bridging languages, geographies and cultures. Video conferencing in today s mobile, dispersed marketplace will become increasingly more important in tying people together. Across industries and sectors, video conferencing is being used to form 1 video conference deeper, more meaningful relationships between clients, colleagues, partners and prospects, and deliver greater collaboration value.

6 The value of visual interaction 06 Melanie Turek, Vice-President of Research for Enterprise Communications & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan Video conferencing replaces live meetings with virtual events without sacrificing any of the benefits of face-to-face interactions. Face time is especially critical for strategic planning, customer interactions and project meetings that involve brainstorming and action items. But in the wake of the global recession, companies are struggling to keep travel budgets low and overall costs down. That means inperson meetings are often off the table. Enter video conferencing, which replaces live meetings with virtual events without sacrificing any of the benefits of face-to-face interactions. In fact, coupled with web-based collaboration capabilities that let attendees share and mark-up documents and applications, video conferences can even improve upon in-person events. And because video conferencing is so cost-effective, companies across all industries can replace not only physical meetings, but audio and web-only calls as well, boosting engagement, deepening relationships and positively impacting employee productivity.

7 A clear difference: Boost engagement through video 07 In our fast-paced global marketplace, face time is critically important to strategic planning, customer services and business interaction. Surpassing other modes of communication in terms of personal contact, video collaboration adds eye contact, facial gestures, mannerisms, body language and other And with companies struggling to reduce costs and lower overhead, it is hard to ignore the financial benefit to virtual meetings. In-person conferences are being traded for video conferences, which serve as viable alternatives to live meetings, eliminating travel expenses without sacrificing the benefits of face-to-face interaction. visual indicators that are key to effective communication. So crucial for adequately conveying messages, video is being adopted in a variety of business scenarios to enrich person-to-person communication and better manage dispersed teams. From HR interviewing to product and service training to personal conferencing, virtual calling through video not only boosts engagement but also deepens professional relationships and positively impacts employee productivity.

8 The maturing landscape of 08 video collaboration Devices used for video conferencing As the global marketplace evolves and business needs change, video collaboration is becoming ever more essential to driving productivity and communication. At the same time, advances in Employees are being empowered to integrate video communication into their daily work lives in order to foster deeper, more personal and effective relationships with clients, colleagues, partners and prospects. 2% 3% 3% 3% 3% 5% 6% technology are rending cross- Having a face to face meeting with Don t know platform video conferencing solutions someone in another office, at home No use more and more accessible, affordable or on the other side of the planet and more widely implemented. becomes as natural as picking up the 23% 25% phone or writing an . Cloud computing and other flexible Video conferencing is transforming Sporatic use 18% hosted technology services are remote interaction, information 21% fueling a boom in remote working, sharing and collaboration to 24% 36% mobile collaboration and video everyone s benefit. Moderate use 18% 47% conferencing. Advanced tools are 16% 51% 57% now available across a variety of But video conferencing is 21% 17% 22% endpoints mobile, room-dedicated changing, too. As more employees 24% collaboration systems, desktops access telephony and unified Extensive Use 18% 19% delivering lighter, more agile communications (UC) on their 17% communication that unifies the desktop and mobile clients, video 38% 28% 27% 12% 15% 7% 12% 7% 10% 5% best, most pertinent elements of conferencing is migrating from Desktop Computers Labtops Mobile phones Video Conferencing System Tablets Telepresence Solutions On-site Telepresence Solutions Off-site collaboration wherever users may be located. Because just about any conference rooms to individual endpoints. According to Frost & connected device with a camera can Sullivan research, desktop and act as a video conferencing endpoint, laptop computers are end users source: meetings are open to any invitee with an internet connection. primary devices for using the technology.

9 Go above and beyond with 09 video conferencing Make business better with video! 50% Round tables See what they re Good for your Great for Better More powerful People that span the REALLY saying bottom line the planet together meetings power globe Non-verbal gestures By connecting people By reducing the miles Virtual meetings By eliminating the Empower your mobile Connect dozens of and body language across continents, your people travel to enhance communication hassle of getting workforce and free participants from account for more Video Conferencing can meetings, you shrink and collaboration, everyone together workers who were around the globe than 50% of total significantly reduce the the carbon footprint building teamwork and meetings are simpler previously tied to their on a single call communication. time and cost involved of your business boosting productivity to organize. Everyone office or schedule. More Videoconferencing in business travel can attend! flexibility means greater captures them all employee satisfaction.

10 Better business: Accelerating decision-making with video 10 Regular users of video conferencing 50% Of extensive users say 75% Of extensive users of video conferencing say it enhances realize bigger benefits from all their communications and collaboration applications it improves competitiveness, compared to 36% of all respondents 54% Of video conferencing users employee mobility, compared with 49% of all respondents say their it and communications infrastructure improves employee effectiveness, compared with 45% of all respondents Companies that give video conferencing to the majority of their end users have a better impression of enterprise communications and collaboration technologies, often by 10 or more percentage points 100% of extensive users of video conferencing say that it accelerates decision making 50% say their it and communications infrastructure helps them deliver a higher level of service, compared with 43% of all respondents 75% Of extensive users of 37% say their it and business video conferencing say it improves collaboration and productivity across dispersed teams, compared with 56% of all respondents Executives who report video conferencing usage within their organizations generally report better alignment between it and their company s broader business goals strategies are well aligned, compared with 32% of all those surveyed

11 Using video to drive business across 11 industries Melanie Turek, Vice-President of Research for Enterprise Communications & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan We have yet to see an Healthcare Manufacturing Financial Services industry that cannot benefit from video conferencing, Telemedicine is already having an With manufacturing operations growing Banks and insurance companies are using which is a cost-effective enormous impact on the way healthcare increasingly global with suppliers, video conferencing to educate and interact providers deliver care and services, and designers, and producers located continents with clients on a regular basis, at times and way to connect employees, as the United States Affordable Care Act apart video conferencing delivers the locations that are convenient for them. This customers and partners delivers healthcare to more people, video benefits of in-person meetings and site visits is especially valuable for discussing complex across geographic regions, medicine will only grow more critical to without the costly and time- consuming products like mortgages and life insurance, time zones and cultures, managing resources and costs. Doctors are travel. Using video tools, designers can meet which require scenario planning and often using video conferencing to see patients remotely with suppliers and production lead to multiple questions. By leveraging getting them face-to-face for exams and consultations, giving rural managers to discuss parts and materials, video conferencing, financial services communications without the and other under-served residents access to design issues, tool-and-die concerns, and institutions can put their best sales and hassle and high costs of travel. specialists and other critical care without any glitches or adjustments that need to be customer-support people in front of clients But several markets stand requiring them, or the providers, to travel made to the manufacturing cycle. Executives any time, and from anywhere. This saves long distances. Instead, a patient can simply and key customers can also join the call and money, drives revenue and leads to improved out as being especially good visit her primary-care physician and interact everyone can literally see what s going on customer-satisfaction scores. candidates for the technology. with other practitioners via video conference from the comfort of their offices or remote from the same doctor s office. Physicians are locations. This can shrink product cycles by also leveraging the technology to collaborate 10, 20 or even 30% or more, saving hundreds with one another on cases, share diagnostic of thousands of dollars and driving sales. materials, and receive training on new methods and techniques.

12 Personal video conferencing 12 comes of age Constraints costs by thousands of dollars per continuously monitoring network Bandwidth, Quality of Service and Until now, the attractiveness month. For enterprises wishing to performance and device capabilities. of deploying personal video expand personal video conferencing The result is always-fluid video Cost Rationalization: Deploying conferencing has been muffled to all employees, this level of conferencing from desktops and by the economics of installing additional bandwidth is simply not mobile devices over low-cost Personal Video Conferencing across-the-board higher cost effective. broadband internet, LTE, 3G or 4G quality bandwidth. Unlike web networks, and an enormous shift in conferencing, desktop sharing or the accessibility of personal video As is the case with other forms In lieu of often cumbersome VoIP calling, video conferencing conferencing. of enterprise communications, room conferencing solutions, requires a high level of continuous, video conferencing is valued employees are able to host and unbroken connection for the The significance of this software for its ability to improve attend virtual conferences with duration of a meeting, which Solution is that companies can now to productivity and collaboration video on an individual basis eats bandwidth, costs a lot Personal enterprise telepresence easily and cost-effectively across geographically dispersed and with minimal additional of money and can cause QoS leaders Vidyo have shaken up benefit from universal video teams. Unlike web or audio equipment (a simple webcam is issues. Historically, the fix has been the video conferencing industry, conferencing while slashing conferencing, video conferencing needed, which today is often built to build out a separate overlay delivering Adaptive Video Layering: the cost of deployment, all by integrates an all-important visual into desktop computers, laptops, network designed to support hefty an optimization of video streams leveraging a converged IP network element that boosts enterprise tablets and other mobile devices). video performance requirements. based on network characteristics instead of building out a video- collaboration and increases While the attractive Software- This is also expensive and doesn t and endpoint capabilities, leveraging dedicated overlay network. employee productivity, which, as-a-service model continues eliminate the need for top-of-the- H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC)- Essentially any connected device according to Frost & Sullivan, to gain traction among CIOs in line broadband services. based compression technology with a webcam becomes a virtual meeting endpoint regardless of has been driving wider video implementing personal video and Vidyo s IP. Each layer s frame network capability. Employees thus conferencing adoption*. Even conferencing services, network Business-class-level broadband rate, quality and resolution can be incorporate video communication more valuable of a collaboration and quality of service concerns service with MPLS is usually needed adjusted in real-time in response to into their daily work lives at an tool has been the introduction arise when considering tens to provide enough connectivity to bandwidth fluctuations, packet loss unprecedented level, transforming of personal video conferencing to hundreds to thousands of avoid traffic congestion and and/or available CPU resources. remote interaction, information via desktop and mobile devices. employees using video calling at ensure video conferencing quality. In short, Vidyo s Cloud-based sharing and collaboration. the same time. Upgrading multiple access circuits video conferencing platform can increase a company s broadband optimizes video for each endpoint, Visit the Arkadin Blog

13 What to look for in a provider 13 Melanie Turek, Vice-President of Research for Enterprise Communications & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan Many vendors and service providers offer video conferencing, but it s important to choose your partner wisely. Frost & Sullivan recommends looking for the following key criteria: When is it time to upgrade your video conferencing system? High Definition Mobility Scalability Integration Solid Support Today s video Make sure the As more employees In any video call, it s Your provider should conferencing should solution can be ramp up on the critical to be able offer 24/7 support deliver the best accessed over technology, make to connect legacy and back it up with quality for every 3G/4G and Wi-Fi sure your provider systems as well as a proven SLAs. Read our article user, adjusting for devices. can seamlessly variety of endpoints, bandwidth, network support them including mobile and endpoint without impacting devices, desktop criteria. performance. computers and room dedicated video systems.

14 Case study: Boosting value and cutting costs with video 14 International Business Issue and Objective larger countries where bandwidth is being held more regularly, including accounting HLB International is a leading mid- readily available. tax and audit teams with up to 10 Industry network turns tier international accounting network, servicing multinational clients across If one of our partner firms in France participants. Accounting/Business Services to ArkadinVideo all industries through its member wants to refer client work to a member The cost savings are dramatic. Region powered by firms in over 100 countries. firm in Germany, they have a much higher We have a whole year s worth of video Global level of confidence when they can see the conferencing use for the cost of having Vidyo to improve Having high quality conferencing partners. It s not just about high quality six or seven executives travel to a single Employees communication technology is imperative for HLB work, the personal interaction is critical. two-day meeting. 16,400 in global network International for training sessions and ArkadinVideo anchors this connection very between to ensure members maintain a high well. Prior to this, we had a high volume Arkadin products member firms level of personal contact of travel to forge these bonds which isn t ArkadinAnytime If one of our partner firms in while reducing practical when you re dealing globally. France wants to refer client ArkadinVideo powered by Vidyo Problem Cisco WebEx provided by Arkadin travel costs In search of a way to enhance Business Value work to a member firm in Germany, they have a much communications with member Close personal connections between higher level of confidence when Key Benefits firms and to reduce travel costs, the member firms are a strategic they can see the partners. It s Improved personal relationships company chose to deploy a video advantage for HLB International, not just about high quality between global executives We looked at all the major conferencing system to be rolled especially in referring business. work, the personal interaction is - Superior quality scalable Video Coding for natural, crisp HD video established brands, and while out across the network. Their basic critical. ArkadinVideo anchors - Easy to implement and use from a they were good systems, requirements were ease of use, In addition to the day-to-day this connection very well. Prior personal computer or legacy room the costs in comparison to compatibility with other systems, and communications, HLB International to this, we had a high volume system ArkadinVideo were prohibitive. very high audio and video quality. also uses ArkadinVideo for internal of travel to forge these bonds - Simple deployment and user ArkakinVideo had all the functionality of the big systems, but at a fraction of the cost. The Arkadin Solution Following a successful three-month meetings. With member-firm executives based all over the world, formal meetings were typically which isn t practical when you re dealing globally. adoption - Dramatic cost savings from reduced need to travel for face-to- trial the system was deployed restricted to twice or three-times face meetings Abu Bakker, IT Manager, globally. Member firms were trained annually. With ArkadinVideo the HLB International by Arkadin and the system was executives now meet every month. In quickly embraced, especially in the addition specialist group meetings are

15 Conclusion: Achieving greater connectivity in an evolving virtual marketplace 15 [Video conferencing] leads to deeper, more effective relationships and more productive meetings and events which, in turn, can significantly benefit the bottom line. Melanie Turek, Vice-President of Research for Enterprise Communications & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan Today s remote workers require communications tools that support the virtual workplace. Even as employees grow further apart physically, they need to be more closely connected to support innovation and collaboration, both of which are keys to success in today s competitive global marketplace. Video conferencing which lets users see and respond to facial expressions and body language helps employees interact and collaborate with one another, as well as business partners and customers, on a more intimate level. This leads to deeper, more effective relationships and more productive meetings and events which, in turn, can significantly benefit the bottom line.

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