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Virtual Meetings Increasing Collaboration While Reducing Costs and Ensuring Business Continuity Ram Narayanaswamy CTO 8x8, Inc. Virtual Meeting – What is it?. Realtime interaction /collaboration over the Internet
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Virtual Meetings Increasing Collaboration While Reducing Costs and Ensuring Business Continuity Ram Narayanaswamy CTO 8x8, Inc.
Virtual Meeting – What is it? • Realtime interaction /collaboration over the Internet • Typically includes audio, video, chat, content sharing and electronic whiteboards • Participants are connected through software applications
Advantages • Distance learning and collaboration is a snap • No need to travel – saves time & expense • Enables greater scheduling flexibility • Ability to RECORD and REPLAY meetings • Efficient, effective and productive
Typical Use • Academic Institutions • Remote student access to remote expert • Sales Team • Pre-sale presentations and real time quotes • Product Team • Product demonstrations • Distributed team members • Real time collaboration
How does it work? • Software that runs in a browser with/without browser plug-ins • Services are typically hosted - delivered via web browser • Participants interact via chat pane, audio and/or video sessions and shared whiteboard etc. • Electronically indicate non-verbal gestures (raising hands etc.) • Content sharing pane that displays documents • Slides, text files, multi-media content being shared • Any participant can take control of the meeting • Controlled through meeting administrators • Entire meeting can be recorded and replayed • Automatic minutes of meetings
Why is it Significant? • Creates environment as if participants are in the same location - Provides social connections without having to travel, saving time & money • Provide expanded/increased access to remote resources (like experts, lecturers etc.) in an academic setting • Instant scheduling capability - Use of Flash enables anyone to schedule or access meeting from anywhere - No long downloads/drivers, no incompatibility, and (in fact!) no phone required • Highly efficient, increases productivity • Ability to play recorded content in portable devices (like mobile phones etc.)
Real-Life Scenarios • Customer support agents can walk-through step-by-step instructions with customers • Using Remote Desktop Control, a service technician can take over a “remote” computer and identify/fix problems • Using webinars, a sales executive can communicate “consistent” message to all sales personnel on the field at the same time • Remote/online students can participate in live classroom sessions and interact with professors as if they are in the classroom • Employees working from home do not need to miss meetings / presentations
Benefits • Distance is no longer a factor • Reduce costs (related to business travel & accommodations) up to 80% • With budget cuts due to recession and slowness in economic recovery, real time audio/video conferencing-based technology solutions are handy • Enable more participants to attend meetings without the fear of cost and time • Reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact of travel • Cuts down on non-productive travel time • No long term commitment - pay-as-you-go models exist
Service Provider Perspective • Infrastructure required to keep services up and running 24x7 • Redundant data center and network infrastructure • Browser-based vs. solutions that require download • Platform dependent or independent • Security, scalability and ease of use • User interface design, password based access and unlimited participants • Support various vertical market segments that require special features • Education, corporate etc. • Internationalization requirements • Language, time zone etc.
Challenges • Participants in different time zones • Technical problems like Internet connectivity, network traffic, audio and video quality due to connection speeds • Improper setup of tools and not having the “right environment” to run tools • Some of the “in-person” meeting benefits cannot be completely addressed - can’t replace face-to-face • IT management to keep up with the software versions that require downloads and platform dependency
Where is it going? • Webinars • All meetings are web based • Telepresence and virtual office locations • Why commute? • Wider audience • Ease of adding more participants (one-click invite and join) • Synergy with Podcasting and video blogging • Playback on portable devices • Recent improvements in sound and video quality • Bringing experience closer to face-to-face meetings • Integration with contact management systems • Outlook, Google contacts etc.