Host: John Bartlett
Voice, Video and Data Application Performance
NetForecast, Inc.
The cost and difficulty of travel are pushing enterprises to deploy and use video conferencing. The introduction of HD Video and Telepresence has dramatically improved the video conferencing experience. Video is here to stay. The VideoConferencing track will help enterprises sort through the myriad choices of video solutions—from desktop to Telepresence. It will also help the IT team understand how to manage the challenge that video transport presents for the enterprise network.
Video conferencing places significant demands on the enterprise network—both in terms of how the traffic needs to be treated (priority and quality of service) and in the bandwidth needed to support good video. Designing the right network solution to support an enterprise video conferencing deployment is critical to getting early positive feedback on using a video capability which will affect its uptake as a business tool. This session will look at the technical details of designing, testing and managing an enterprise network to support high-quality video conferencing and telepresence communications.
Traditional video conferencing vendors, as well as a set of recent market entries are pushing a wide variety of video conferencing solutions—all the way from high-end Telepresence suites to software solutions running on the PC desktop. Which technologies will provide the right communications solution for your enterprise's needs? This session will propose a decision tree for sorting through the vendor offerings and hype, while focusing on the right size, right bandwidth and right features to meet your visual communications needs.
Vendor hype and product placement have given Telepresence unprecedented visibility in the boardroom, but the IT team and the blogosphere think HD Video Conferencing can provide the same experience at a dramatically lower cost. In this session, we will quiz a panel of vendors on the differences between HD Video Conferencing and Telepresence. Later, we will attempt to determine when each solution should be considered and why.
Desktop video conferencing has traditionally consumed the PC—by using up screen real estate and providing poor images. Has this technology evolved into a useful tool? What are the enterprise applications when desktop video can provide productivity enhancements? Or do better customer interactions justify its deployment? In this session, we will quiz desktop video vendors to see if we can rationalize deploying yet another complex application on the desktop.
