The Power of Video Communications

Many companies have tried lesser quality, more complicated video conferencing in the past and have given up. Time to take another look because High Def video conferencing with low bandwidth is a cost effective reality.

Until recently, internal staff communications and customer oriented interactions that included important elements such as non-verbal cues and contributions to the discussion from the whole team required a lot of travel expense and non productive time getting to and from company or customer locations. We want and need face-to-face communication. Phone calls and email are great tools but lack the richness in a live conversation. Our need for visual interaction is at odds with the modern world. The global economy is now everywhere, not just Western Europe, the U.S. and Japan. But while the planet may seem smaller, the distances between cities, countries and continents are very real.

LifeSize Believes that Travel is not a Sustainable Business Model
Travel comes at a human and environmental cost, and constant flying around the world isn't sustainable for people or the planet. Jets, trains and automobiles convert fossil fuel into carbon dioxide at an alarming rate. As companies adopt telepresence solutions, they can greatly reduce routine travel and the associated expense.

Why Video Quality Matters
Until recently, video conferencing equipment did not provide a satisfactory experience. Blurry, jerky video doesn’t deliver the quality experience needed to drive behavior changes – we need our video conferences to feel as natural as being in someone’s office. The greatest contribution of LifeSize is to deliver a communication experience so realistic and natural that it is preferable to travel and affordable enough for mainstream adoption. Once people start using video to communicate, they want to use it more – and the environmental benefits multiply.
http://www.lifesize.com/solutions/environment/quality_matters

The Benefits of “Tele-Presence”
Organizations can expect to realize several benefits as a result of High Definition teleconferencing:

• Enhanced Productivity. Organizational and personal productivity are increased as enterprises realize they can do more with less or accomplish more with their existing resources. They can, for instance, schedule 10 customer meetings in the time that it might typically take them to engage in one meeting that requires a long plane trip. They can deliver projects and products at a faster rate. They can raise their revenue per employee dramatically by better leveraging employee time.
• Reduced Costs. Enterprises can lower their direct costs associated with travel by reducing the amount of time spent on planes, in taxis and in hotels. Opportunity costs also are reduced as time, energy and resources are invested in the activities that deliver the greatest returns.
• Heightened Morale. When talented, knowledge professionals are no longer required to spend their lives on airplanes; they can be expected to experience greater job satisfaction and employer loyalty. Considering the costs of employee turnover, this factor alone can lead to huge – and tangible – benefits.
• Increased Agility. Given the increased competitive demands of the marketplace, it’s vital that organizations increase the speed and intelligence of their decisions, actions and responses. Telepresence facilitates agility by making it easier to collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers.
• Strengthened Trust. At the root of successful commerce is a foundation of trust. By enabling individuals to communicate and collaborate in a natural environment, you enable them to understand each other better, pick up on non-verbal cues and develop stronger bonds of trust.

Why High Def? Research Supports High Definition Video Conferencing
While high definition video conferencing still has its doubters, don’t count Wainhouse Research in that group. “For just about any conference room situation we’ve seen, HD provides demonstrable video image advantages, and while HD resolution requires more bandwidth, the HD systems provide image (and often audio) advantages even at 384 and 512 kbps, non-HD conferencing. It’s hard for me to believe that any serious IT, facilities, or conferencing decision maker will be purchasing non-HD systems by the beginning of 2008. And with systems like LifeSize Express, price is no longer an issue.”

Application case studies:
http://www.lifesize.com/telesurgery.php
http://www.lifesize.com/files/LifeSize_Telepresence_Paper.pdf

JDL is LifeSize business partner.

Adapted from the LifeSize Web site.
http://www.lifesize.com