best practice guide Rise Above Unreliable Videoconferencing

Transcription

1 best practice guide Rise Above Unreliable Videoconferencing

2 It s no secret that videoconferencing can have a positive impact on employee productivity, business agility, time-to-market, collaboration and cost reduction all of which are high on the business agenda in today s competitive commercial landscape. So is sustainability. Large organisations are increasingly looking at ways to reduce travel, energy and waste, and in an increasingly global marketplace, not having to travel to face-to-face meetings contributes to a reduced carbon footprint and an improved work-life balance for employees. However, user adoption remains an ongoing challenge for organisations that have invested in video systems; if employees don t use the technology, neither they, nor the business as a whole, will derive the rich benefits the systems were intended to deliver.

3 Off on the wrong foot What is your first thought when you hear the word videoconference? If you re a technology provider or manager, you usually envision speaking with someone at a remote location using a room or desktop system. However, if you don t work in the technology field, chances are the thoughts that spring to mind are largely negative, such as difficult to use, unreliable and/or bad experience. Despite its many business advantages, videoconferencing has developed an unfortunate reputation. It s simply easier to use the phone, or safer in terms of desired outcome to travel and meet face-to-face. So who s to blame? You can t really point a finger at users. Consider drawing an analogy between videoconferencing and automobiles. If, every time you used a car, the controls were in different places and operated in a dissimilar manner, how comfortable would you feel about taking to the road? If the car worked reasonably well but only 85% of the time you wouldn t have much confidence in its reliability. Even if it only lets you down once, but at a time when you urgently need to be somewhere, you d probably never trust it again. In order for videoconferencing to be perceived as a reliable tool to enable business transformation, it has to work well, exhibiting high quality and ease-ofuse, each and every time. In order for videoconferencing to be perceived as a reliable tool to enable business transformation, it has to work well, exhibiting high quality and ease-of-use, each and every time. Determining and eliminating the root cause There are a number of reasons for videoconferencing s perceived lack of reliability: Stable connectivity Initially based on public switched networks (Switched 56 and ISDN), video connections were difficult to establish without communication errors. As video moved into using IP connectivity, many of the networks transporting the data were not sufficiently robust to support the required, error-free bandwidth. When experts in network infrastructure are tasked to create the required connectivity, lack of stability disappears. Firewall traversal While IP networks offered the needed reliability and quality, they eliminated the dial-up convenience of calling other firms. Opening the large number of ports required for video in a business secure network was dangerous and therefore usually not permitted. Strategies to allow video calls to pass securely through enterprise firewalls were complex and required the installation of firewall hardware just for video. While the H.460 standards have proven themselves to be completely secure and reliable solving this problem many enterprises are still reluctant to deploy them out of an overcautious sense to protect the core at all costs in this age of prevalent hacking. Difficult operation For many years, most business videoconferencing systems were designed by internal audio visual managers or external audio visual resellers. Videoconferencing rooms were often overdesigned. As an example, they might have allowed you to conduct a videoconference while playing a DVD movie to multiple local and remote displays, all while controlling background music and lights. The resulting designs made typical room operation very difficult for the average user. This often resulted in the user complaining that the technology was broken (even if it was performing just as it was planned.) Inconsistent integration Every PC in a large business is essentially the same as every other bought at the same time identical components, software packages, and assembly and deployment processes. This consistency allows for greater reliability and simpler troubleshooting. Videoconference facilities have traditionally not been implemented following this discipline. An enterprise s offices in different regions or geographical areas have often been served by different audio visual partners, each with its own style and method of deployment. In addition, these partners don t always follow the same style and practice from room to room in the same location. This results in a video ecosystem with dozens of variables, rendering it fundamentally unstable. Managed service offerings have helped mitigate the impact of some of these problems. In this model, trained technical experts are on stand-by to set up videoconferences and ensure they re working correctly at the very beginning of a scheduled call a time we refer to as the Golden Two Minutes. If the calls are not established flawlessly in that time frame, then users tend to give up and simply make a phone call. While the benefits of managed services are clear, they don t address all of the underlying issues. Developing appropriate networks, and architecting and installing appropriate network infrastructure goes a long way towards increasing reliability, but they don t go far enough. Only if each videoconference system is installed with the same design and consistent methodology will these systems pass the minimum threshold of enterprise grade reliability. That approach transforms videoconferencing from a variable-ridden, inconsistent nightmare, to a solid and robust tool that enables business transformation.

4 A structured approach: lead with the people, develop a catalog, consistent implementation You can look forward to impressive returns on your videoconferencing ecosystem provided you follow a standard approach across the business. This calls for a threepronged strategy: Lead with people, not the technology (or technologists) Don t speak with manufacturers first they have a vested interest in selling you their own products. Nor should you consult your in-house audio visual designer or audio visual reseller first they won t have an objective view of what you require. Instead, talk to your end users. Find out what they truly need in order to accomplish their business goals. It s likely not a complex touch-panel bearing your organisation s logo, or stereo-dvd movie playback in the conference room. As part of this process it s often useful to seek out a qualified and experienced consultant that can help facilitate end-user workshops to gather information. Only once you ve identified the true business problems and challenges should you think about procuring solutions. Create a room / system catalog Once you understand your users needs, develop a catalogue of standard video / multimedia / audio visual rooms that address them. Every system you implement should be a duplicate of one of these catalogued designs. When determining what will go into this catalogue, don t assume that each selection needs to be a custom-designed solution. Evaluate less expensive, simpler, off-the-shelf options to establish their suitability to your environment. If you do have custom room needs, you should create a standard design for repeat deployments in the future. However, don t be afraid to amend or update your catalogue from time to time. If you identify a need that s not being served by a room or system in your catalogue, add a new one. It will then be available for repeated deployment. The key is to ensure that any system design is simple meeting your organisation s needs without unnecessary complexity or cost, while also being easy to operate by your users. Use a consistent implementation methodology Every room and system that you implement should follow the same guidelines. Each step should follow a written, repeatable plan. This covers a number of areas, including: i. User interface ii. Component location iii. Cabling iv. Assembly v. Testing vi. Documentation vii. Training viii. Maintenance and support By following the Visual Communications Implementation Methodology, a consistent and reliable videoconferencing system is well within your reach. This will in turn set the stage for videoconferencing to take its rightful place at the centre of your organisation s collaboration strategy. Dimension Data s Visual Communications Implementation Methodology is based on globally leveraging our intellectual property that has been collated through deploying over 10,000 video end-points. It also serves to support our sustainability strategy, which is to reduce travel, energy and waste for our business, our employees and our clients. We have gained, and documented, experience in both pervasive and immersive technologies, and have over 540 certifications focused on visual communications and a comprehensive range of video certifications and accreditations, directly related to Cisco TelePresence and TANDBERG video conferencing. This enables us to deliver a globally consistent and standardised deployment. By following the Visual Communications Implementation Methodology, a consistent and reliable videoconferencing system is well within your reach. This will in turn set the stage for videoconferencing to take its rightful place at the centre of your organisation s collaboration strategy. CS / DDMS-1094 / 07/12 Copyright Dimension Data 2012

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