VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS


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The market for videoconferencing is literally booming, driven by unprecedented demand for solutions that overcome the time and costs of travelling to meetings. Here, Ray McGroarty, Solutions Director EMEA for Polycom, puts the video comms market in the frame.


the industry it’s now even easier for resellers to sell desktop video solutions. Microsoft recently launched its latest Office Communications Server, Lync, which contains video at the very heart. The whole premise of UC is that it allows people to communicate and collaborate wherever they are, and video means they no longer have to lose face-to-face contact. “We have seen travel budgets cut dramatically during the recession, with businesses looking for alternatives to flying executives around the globe for one meeting,” stated McGroarty. “Also, the weather has forced organisations to review their business continuity planning, and video is one way to enable workers to stay in contact when away from the office.”


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ideo is an inherent part of the UC product portfolio, and thanks to key partnerships in


Video communication can transform the way a business operates, observes McGroarty. “Work is no longer a place you go, but something that you do, and video communications liberates an organisation from the boundaries of a traditional nine-to-five office,” McGroarty commented. “Because staff no longer need to travel to meetings to meet face-to-face, business productivity is increased and costs are reduced. Video really is a game changer, and 2011 will see more and more organisations adopting the technology and reaping the benefits.”


Videoconferencing has reached a tipping point thanks to three factors, noted to McGroarty. Improved networks and widespread availability of bandwidth; accessibility of telepresence solutions ranging from consumers and the mobile market to SMBs, enterprises


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and service providers; and the cultural acceptance of video. “The consumerisation of IT has accelerated the growth of video in the workplace and businesses now see videoconferencing as an alternative to travelling to meetings. Over the past year, particularly in Britain, we have seen travel to and from work become harder,” he added.


Last year the Icelandic volcano grounded flights in Europe, tube strikes in London impacted commuters and more recently the snow stopped employees getting to work. It’s been widely discussed how much this will have cost British businesses, but this need not have been the case. “Unified communications including videoconferencing would have allowed office-based employees to continue to work wherever they are, enabling business productivity levels to remain high. In essence, videoconferencing


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facilitates location liberation,” commented McGroarty.


To help resellers add video to their product portfolio Polycom offers a certification process which allows them to be trained on the elements of video that they see as appropriate for their business. There is a wide range of solutions that the resellers can choose from, with Immersive Telepresence and Polycom UC Intelligent Core solutions being at the more complex end of the spectrum. “Resellers can also work with other partners so that, in combination, a comprehensive solution can be built for their clients,” McGroarty added.


“This partnership approach is particularly useful when the integration of solutions from combinations of the Polycom Open Collaboration Network (Microsoft, IBM, Avaya, Siemens, Broadsoft, Juniper, McAfee, HP) is required.” n


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