This article first appeared on Best in UC.

Companies are buying into the concept of video conferencing at a healthy clip. But when your company makes the investment in a video conferencing solution, how can you maximize its use by getting your employees on board?

First, it’s helpful to recognize the three most common reasons employees resist video conferencing:

1. Video-phobia. For some workers, the idea of being live on TV, as it were, is incredibly intimidating. Underlying this fear is the dislike of learning new technologies. Employees might assume that video conferencing is difficult to master, despite the super-easy technologies now available to consumers and businesses alike.
2. Longing for privacy. Employees, especially mobile workers, have become consummate multi-taskers. When sitting at their desks on conference calls, they may be answering e-mail, conducting business via instant messenger, or even eating lunch. For some who work out of their home or their car, phone calls are a great time to commute to their next stop, cook dinner or fold laundry. These employees may be loathe to give up their multi-tasking time, while also disliking the idea of having to look presentable and be “on” all the time.
3. Preference for personal interaction. Certain segments of your workforce rely on personal relationships to succeed in their jobs. For example, the sales force may prefer face-to-face conversations with potential clients, believing this is the best ticket to closing a deal. They don’t wish to replace these interactions with technology.

So how can your organization overcome these challenges and get the most out of video conferencing? Try these strategies:

1. Overcome the technical pushback. This starts with your video conferencing buying decision. We recommend easy-to-use solutions from LifeSize, which can be started and stopped with the touch of a button. In addition, some companies are extending their unified communications solutions (UC) to incorporate desktop video. This can be ideal, since your employees are already familiar with your UC technologies, making the addition of a video conferencing module relatively easy.
2. Provide training, as needed. Still got some technophobes in the office? Take advantage of LifeSize’s built-in training modules, which take the fear out of video conferencing. Or, ask your IT staff to provide some simple training via the video conferencing system, which will make for some hands-on experience.
3. Explain your goals. Information overcomes fear. Tell employees how you want the company to benefit from video conferencing. This technology might be used to cut travel expenses, build stronger teams, enhance client relationships or create better work/life balance. Frame these benefits in such a way that employees see how video conferencing can help them meet their business and personal goals. This will create buy-in.
4. Set rules for when to use video conferencing. Where does it make the most sense to use video technologies? Look for those opportunities and requires video conferencing to play a part. For example, these might include sales meetings, cross-departmental meetings, executive sessions or human resources training classes.
5. Encourage extension of video conferencing into other value-added activities. Suggest ways the sales force can use video conferencing to meet a new prospect. Help managers leverage the technology to bring far-flung teams closer together. Rather than making the technology intrusive, continually seek out ways it can help employees do their jobs effectively.

A high-end video conferencing system seems like an unattainable splurge to many companies. But in reality, the right video solution can dramatically improve communication, training and other expensive functions across your company, creating both cost-savings and better results.

Many of our customers choose LifeSize VideoCenter, touted as the world’s most powerful one-button solution for streaming, recording and auto-publishing. VideoCenter dramatically simplifies the process of recording and distributing video across the enterprise. Because it is simple to use, VideoCenter can be leveraged for a wide range of applications:

• All standard human resources communications can be recorded and made available online. For example, when new employees are hired, they might be directed to a welcome video. Basic training videos that cover corporate policies can be watched from any location. Plus, ongoing HR training for the entire organization can be posted to YouTube, where videos are listed as “private” and made available only to those inside the company.
• Internal training classes can be recorded, with the videos saved for future reference. If a team member missed a session, or was hired after the live training occurred, they can still receive the benefit of the classes by watching the recording at their leisure.
• Company press conferences, announcements and sales meetings can be recorded and distributed across the organization. That way, no matter where an employee’s office is physically located, he or she will still receive the same information as other colleagues.
• When the IT department implements new technologies, the entire organization can be stymied while employees wait for one-on-one training or technical assistance. But what if the IT department used their video conferencing system to record a couple of quick demonstration videos? By making these available across the company, training and support would be minimized.

Of course, all of these applications could be accomplished with a traditional video camera. But VideoCenter has major advantages over a point-and-shoot solution:

• It only takes one person to operate VideoCenter. In contrast, a traditional video camera needs someone operating the camera, in addition to the speaker being recorded. With VideoCenter, the entire session can be easily controlled via the speaker with a remote control.
• With VideoCenter, there is no downloading, uploading or editing required.
• Whether live or on-demand, videos are optimized for every viewer. Whether they are on a PC, laptop, tablet or phone, the viewing device automatically selects the best playback rate based on network conditions. That means no delays or buffering.
• VideoCenter can be set up to automatically publish certain videos, without any further user intervention.

Best of all, VideoCenter and other video conferencing solutions present information in a way that is easily accessed, digested and acted upon by today’s workforce. Video will become more and more common for training, communication, sales meetings, customer presentations and endless other applications. The trick is finding a solution both easy to operate and powerful enough to last.

Are you a PC person or a Mac fan?

That simple question points out a challenge that continues to plague technology users, even as hardware, software and apps become more ubiquitous, inexpensive and easier than ever. While there are lots of options to improve productivity and bottom-line results, a lack of interoperability can still cause problems.

Fortunately, there is at least one company out there determined to spread its products across just about any PC, mobile phone or server. In the wake of Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype, LifeSize made great pains to point out that it would not be co-opted and forced to run its products on a single platform.

Just recently, LifeSize announced new integration between its products and both Skype and Microsoft solutions. What will this mean?

• LifeSize will offer new ease of communication with more than 160 million active Skype customers.
• HD video communication solutions will be more accessible than ever.
• Interoperability will become the paradigm for video conferencing – not the exception.

Interoperability is taking center stage for several more industry players that have recently formed the Open Visual Communications Consortium (OVCC). This new organization is working to establish a global standards-based, multi-vendor, multi-network visual communication exchange.

“The need for an inter-company (unified communications) federation, of which video and telepresence are critical components, has grown tremendously,” said Rich Costello, a senior research analyst for IDC. “Progress around system interoperability is being made through industry forums and alliances, but true B2B interoperability will also require exactly this type of service provider inter-connectivity. The Open Visual Communications Consortium is addressing an immediate business need that will help drive greater value for customers and spur broader adoption.”

That’s why major players including AT&T, Polycom, Verizon and more are members of the new consortium. There is growing recognition that video conferencing is becoming a standard part of everyday life, both in and out of the office. With that realization, companies understand that their products and services must reach across brand and proprietary technologies, and that users expect their products to work with whomever they wish to call.

That is something already recognized at Logitech, the parent company of LifeSize.

“Our vision at Logitech is to be able to provide HD video communication solutions to anyone, anywhere,” said Craig Malloy CEO for LifeSize. “We connect people over the highest quality video in businesses and institutions of all sizes, from the desktop to the boardroom. Whether Microsoft and Skype are two companies or one, through our partnership we are leading the way by bringing video communications into the mainstream and expanding the market for all of us.

“LifeSize offers a full portfolio of open and interoperable video communications systems, webcams and headsets that work seamlessly with leading UC solutions,” Malloy added. “We connect people with the highest quality video communications experience from virtually any device. We provide this to customers through the broadest range of open technology partner solutions. For example, in addition to our partnerships with Microsoft and Skype, we work with leading companies including Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, Broadsoft, Siemens, Shoretel and VBrick to ensure that our customers can extend video communications to anyone, anywhere. We offer the most open and interoperable portfolio of video communications systems in the industry that work with Cisco, Polycom, Radvision and Sony. We do this to assure customers that they can invest with confidence in the knowledge that our systems will work with the equipment that they own today and that they will add in the future.”

This blog first appeared on Best in UC.

Microsoft users now will have more flexibility to use LifeSize HD video conferencing systems, thanks to new interoperability between the two companies’ products.

LifeSize Team 220 was qualified within the Microsoft Office Communications Server platform. This is the first of many qualifications LifeSize is pursuing with Microsoft. Later this year, the company expects to win approval for its Passport, Room 220 and Express 220 products as well.

This further strengthens the ties between the two companies. Recently, Skype qualified the LifeSize Passport HD video conference product to be the first room-based, business-class video conferencing solution to be plugged into Skype. Weeks later, Microsoft acquired Skype with the intention of integrating its products into desktop computing and other applications.

With the new qualification, Microsoft customers can now experience seamless video calling across the enterprise by connecting LifeSize video systems in conference rooms and meeting spaces to the PC, and vice versa, delivering a unified communications (UC) experience.

Today, customers are able to make calls between Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 desktops and LifeSize endpoints, ensuring genuine, face-to-face interaction within their existing Microsoft environment and workflow. Later in 2011, LifeSize will seek qualification to interoperate with Microsoft Lync. This flexible interoperability will also enable customers to upgrade from Microsoft Office Communications Server to Lync on their terms.

Moreover, LifeSize has licensed the Microsoft RTVideo codec and is planning a future server-based product to enable high-definition interoperability between Microsoft Lync and LifeSize video systems. Later in 2011, LifeSize will seek Microsoft Lync qualification with true HD interoperability.

“LifeSize delivered the first HD video conferencing system in 2005, the first sub-$2,500 HD video product in 2009, and our commitment to innovation is realized today in yet another first – delivering on our promise to reach true interoperability across UC platforms,” said Craig Malloy, chief executive officer of LifeSize and Logitech senior vice president. “Through LifeSize and Logitech’s relationship with Microsoft and deep dedication to UC, we’re delivering on our vision to extend high quality communication capabilities to anyone, anywhere.”

LifeSize solution qualification for Microsoft OCS 2007 R2 includes support for:

• Authentication and encryption (TLS/SRTP) for secure, reliable communications
• Firewall/NAT Traversal via Microsoft Edge Services to ensure issue-free calling outside organizations
• Auto-configuration of systems as they are registered to Microsoft Office Communications Server, helping simplify deployment to users
• Unified presence status with the ability to place and receive calls from one Office Communications Server account between multiple devices (PC or a LifeSize system)
• Addition of LifeSize systems to contact lists in the Microsoft Office Communicator view and vice versa
• Easy placement of calls from LifeSize systems to third-party systems within the Microsoft OCS 2007 R2 environment, using commonly supported video and audio codecs

“Microsoft is pleased to be working with Logitech and LifeSize as a qualified partner to offer customers more comprehensive UC solutions through interoperability with Microsoft Office Communications Server and soon, Microsoft Lync,” said Yancey Smith, director of product management for Lync at Microsoft Corp. “The combination of LifeSize technology with Microsoft UC platforms will enable customers to extend their video conferencing ecosystems from the desktop to the boardroom, and everywhere in between.”

How many of you out there use Skype in some form or fashion? Known for years as a low-cost (or no-cost) way to conduct audio point-to-point communications, Skype has evolved into a video communications medium in the last couple of years as well. I am a frequent user of both capabilities to reach far-away family and friends, but have not considered it a business tool. Until now.

Recently, I was pleased to see one of the top-tier videoconferencing vendors step up to provide Skype connectivity to the business community. LifeSize Communications, a division of Logitech, is first in to this potentially gigantic portion of the video space.

This is not surprising. LifeSize has always been an innovator, even before it was acquired by Logitech. As a solution provider, we are constantly polling our client base and asking how we can deliver better and more valuable solutions. In the time since LifeSize launched its HD videoconferencing solutions several years ago, we have been able to provide business-class HD video capability to a broader base of corporations, as well as an extended group of user communities within those companies.

The much bigger Cisco and Avaya are busy trying to maximize their return at the top of the market, while LifeSize has the courage to embrace a relationship with Skype to meld the consumer side of video conferencing with enterprise-class video communications. Yes, the initial connections are not HD; rather, they are limited to a 640X480 standard-definition experience. But Skype is the limiting factor here, not the LifeSize equipment. The world will get nothing but clearer and more focused as time marches on, and my clients’ long-term investment protection is assured.

The true advantage of the marriage between LifeSize and Skype is the half-billion-user directory of Skype users, who can now call business destinations for business purposes. We have dozens of clients with remote sales, support, and executives that need to connect from far away and bandwidth-limited venues. We have provided a Skype-to-ShoreTel connectivity for years utilizing IP voice to its best advantage. But now, our clients can extend that capability to video, one of the most in-demand technologies delivered today. Kudos to LifeSize for delivering top value once again.

The at-home executive and home-office salesperson are about to experience video conferencing quality – and simplicity – they never thought possible. Skype has qualified the LifeSize Passport HD video conference product to be the first room-based, business-class video conferencing solution to be plugged into Skype.

Currently, when a home-based executive jumps on a video conference, they are probably using Skype on a PC with a Logitech camera. The quality is serviceable, but it certainly doesn’t create a top-notch impression.

The new integration between LifeSize and Skype pushes the quality up several levels, with high-definition video, excellent compression capabilities and more – while still leveraging that free Skype account. LifeSize Passport connects directly to the monitor of the user’s PC. When the Skype account rings, the user can simply answer to have video immediately pop up.

The click-to-call features of Skype also make the technology easier to operate for outbound calls, since users dial a typical phone number rather than using an IP address to connect to a corporate LifeSize system. In addition, users can rely on the same LifeSize hardware to call someone across the country or overseas who has a Skype account, but doesn’t use LifeSize or other room-based systems.

“LifeSize is known for its HD telepresence-quality solutions in the enterprise. Now, LifeSize Passport users can easily connect using face-to-face video conferencing with other Skype users worldwide,” said David Gurle, vice president and general manager of Skype Enterprise.

At under $2,500, LifeSize Passport is the ideal solution for small meeting rooms, individual offices, teleworkers and small to medium-sized businesses to easily and cost-effectively implement video wherever they need to stay connected.

To enable Skype video calling from LifeSize Passport, a customer must first be a registered Skype user. Upon logging into LifeSize Passport using their Skype log in credentials, their Skype contacts are automatically populated into the LifeSize directory. To make a call, users simply click on a contact name in the directory. 

In addition to Skype video calling, the LifeSize Passport user is able to make calls to landlines and mobile phones through Skype.

“The qualification of LifeSize Passport to enable Skype video calling is an incredibly significant milestone in the video communications industry,” said Craig Malloy, chief executive officer of LifeSize and Logitech senior vice president. “We’ve been working closely with Skype over the last two years, helping us deliver on our shared vision to make video communication truly accessible to anyone, anywhere.”

This blog first appeared on Best in UC.

The buzz at this week’s LifeSize Americas Partner Conference was around the company’s announcement of the LifeSize Learning Exchange.  Wayne McCulloch, global director of education services, received an enthusiastic round of applause after his demo of the company’s new social platform to learn, collaborate and share knowledge via video.

McCulloch and Kevin Buechler, program manager of sales enablement, told Best in UC how LifeSize partners and their clients can use Learning Exchange to receive training, solve problems, and enhance their results with LifeSize Learning Exchange.

Video conferencing isn’t just for big corporations any more.

Over the past several years, video conferencing technologies have grown much more affordable. Today, small businesses, schools and not-for-profits can at last afford to leap into video conferencing. Yet there is still a misconception among many that this technology is best left to large corporate boardrooms.

For smaller organizations, video conferencing can provide immediate benefits by lowering costs, improving communication and even driving revenue. Here are just a few examples:

• Training across multiple offices. Human resources personnel and sales managers often need to provide training programs to several locations. This can be the case at many types of organizations including schools, small and mid-sized businesses and more. Rather than spending the time and money to travel from office to office, the trainer can conduct a single session video video conference with all offices. Participants can ask and answer questions in real time. Best of all, the trainer can actually see his students and know whether they are engaged – or texting, typing and working on other projects.
• Flexible training and communication times. Sometimes, it’s impossible to get a team together at the same time. Salespeople are on the go, workers are booked into conference calls and meetings, and teachers are tied to the classroom. With video conferencing, a manager or trainer can record a session that is later viewed by anyone with Internet access. Simply walk into the room, look into the camera and hit record. If you make a mistake, start over. When you’re finished, send a link to the team. They can click and watch at their convenience, and everyone will receive the training or communication they need. This particular application is great for sales, healthcare, and any organization with a large team that needs to hear a message from the top.
• Everyone gets there on time, with ease. One of our clients is a school district that required its department heads to gather at one location for a weekly meeting. Unfortunately, the end-of-day rush combined with traffic gridlock ensured that many teachers were missing or significantly late each time. By video conferencing in real time, teachers can stay in their own building, be prompt, and avoid the hassles and rush of traffic. Then, if needed, they can head back to the classroom after the meeting to put in more work before the day is through. Productivity rises, and everyone can still interact as needed.

The possibilities are endless. With a small investment in video conferencing equipment, your business can find its own ways to make life easier, more productive, and more profitable.

This blog first appeared on Best in UC.

According to a study released by Infonetics Research, annual spending on video conferencing and telepresence systems grew by 18 percent in 2010, to $2.2 billion worldwide. What’s more, those numbers are expected to increase even more rapidly in the coming years. By 2015, the enterprise video conferencing and telepresence market will more than double to $5.0 billion in annual sales, the Infonetics study revealed.

“Communicating via video continues to be one of the top trends in telecom, as evidenced by strong growth in the enterprise video market,” said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise video at Infonetics Research.

“Businesses worldwide are looking for richer means of communications with their employees, partners, and customers, and enterprise video conferencing and telepresence solutions are a natural fit,” Machowinski added. “The biggest winners in the enterprise communications market will be those who offer solutions that are multi-modal, visual (e.g., video-based), and support the collaboration requirements of globally distributed organizations. “

These findings were buttressed by a study released by Forrester Research, which said that 29 percent of enterprises surveyed are investing in new or upgraded room-based video conferencing systems. This means that, by 2013, about two-thirds of businesses will have implemented video systems. In addition, 33 percent of responding companies said they plan to implement desktop video conferencing technology.

“The number of employees who need to communicate and collaborate with highly distributed teams will only increase as telecommuting becomes more prevalent and businesses emphasize collaborative interactions with partners and customers,” said T.J. Keitt, an analyst for Forrester.

The Infonetics report also noted that:

• Due to their versatility, multi-purpose room systems account for the majority of enterprise video conferencing equipment
• Immersive telepresence systems are expected to have the highest growth rates of all video conferencing equipment
• Thanks to their low cost and availability on PBXs, software-based endpoints out-ship hardware by 10-to-1

This article first appeared on Best in UC.

Not too many years ago, the term “convergence” applied to voice and data traveling over the same network. In today’s business world, convergence is taking on an entirely new meaning as video becomes a standard – and even preferred – method of communicating. More companies of all sizes desire – and expect – video to become an integral part of their unified communications (UC) strategy.

Demand is also increasing thanks to strategies from Google and Microsoft, which have incorporated video and voice into their business-to-consumer product solutions. Consumers wish to use all of the features of free services such as Google Mail and Skype. To get the most out of these applications, they buy video cameras and microphones for their home laptops and mobile phones. Then, when these same technology users go to the office, they expect similar functionality on the job.

Currently, most businesses that integrate video into their daily operations rely on a point-to-point room system, where several people gather around conference tables in two locations for one-to-one video conferencing. But increasingly, businesses are looking for desktop video systems that allow individual users to be conferenced in from their locations around the world.

ShoreTel is one of the few business-to-business UC suppliers that currently offers video integration into its desktop UC solution. Using ShoreTel, users within an enterprise can conduct video meetings from desktop to desktop, whether scheduled or ad hoc.

ShoreTel is currently working to take its video solution even further. The company is partnering with manufacturers of room-based video systems to integrate its desktop video capabilities, allowing enterprises to bring key resources into their point-to-point video meetings. For example, a company might hold a videoc onference in two large rooms on opposite coasts. If an outside expert from the heartland was needed on the call, the ShoreTel system would allow this consultant to participate via their own desktop computer.

Eventually, room systems and desktop UC solutions will become compatible. UC users will be able to meet via voice or video with the click of a mouse and incorporate the appropriate expert resources. Documents will be shared across both types of solutions as well. Plus, more users will be able to participate without requiring a large investment on a videoconferencing room at every location. This will make meetings more effective, reduce travel, and facilitate faster and better business decisions.