I am a strong believer in the power of video; video can transform the relationships we have with our colleagues, partners, suppliers and customers. Our goal is to make video as universally available and easy to use as voice and data are today.  Recent developments  make it possible to scale video more cost-effectively across organizations, but as an industry there are still more hurdles to knock down in order to make rich, effective and efficient video collaboration part of everyone’s daily routine.

Customers have a breadth of needs when it comes to when and how they collaborate, and it’s no surprise to me that customers are taking a step back to evaluate the needs of their organization both now and in the future.  While doing so, they are also trying to understand the alphabet soup of standards and what it means in terms of technologies working together.  Which standard is better? What are the benefits of each? Will a technology that uses one standard be able to communicate with a technology that uses another standard?  Will a technology made by one vendor be able to communicate with a technology made by another vendor?

I personally believe it is the vendors’ responsibility to take the complexity out of the equation and do whatever it takes to make things work together.  For me, that means industry-wide commitment to open standards.  Open standards ensure true interoperability across vendor and technology boundaries bringing us closer to our goal of making video universally available and easy to use.  Cisco has led the way in developing open standards, driving the industry towards interoperable collaboration solutions. And we continue to do so.

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Tags: 2013, Cisco, cisco live, collaboration, infocomm, interoperability, open standards, pervasive, TelePresence, video

Have you noticed how the communications and collaboration paradigm has evolved in the last few years? Younger generations use and prefer text messaging (SMS and IM) way more than e-mail. And when given a choice, they will go for a video-enabled, face-to-face interaction, skipping voice-only calls completely. This acceptance of video as a primary vehicle for communication is making a strong presence in the enterprise as a business need. For the emerging workforce, quick, simple video communication is a requirement -- not a nice-to-have capability -- as they intuitively understand how this form of communication is crucial for their productivity and effectiveness.

Like many other technologies and market trends, such as social networking, video is coming to the business environment from the personal consumer environment. Its effect on the way businesses interact internally and externally with customers, partners and providers is completely changing the game and opening new opportunities to create competitive differentiation and broaden reach and impact.

Deploying video without careful planning can easily turn a great idea into a disappointing mess. From our experience in deploying millions of endpoints for thousands of customers around the world, we’ve learned a few things that can help ensure your video deployment is smooth and successful. Here are five tips to achieve success:

1)     Ensure interoperability Read More »

Tags: business video, Cisco, collaboration, interoperability, pervasive video, TelePresence, video deployment

Video calling is changing the world we live in.  Healthcare is using video conferencing to provide services by doctors to patients in rural areas or those too ill to travel.  Schools use video calling to enable their students to interact with experts and professionals across the country without having to leave the classroom.  And courts are increasingly using video communications for specialized skills, such as language interpretation.

All of these rapid advancements will make a greater impact if our technologies work together. In a recent Cisco study, two-thirds of respondents believe that innovation is what keeps companies growing, that innovation is fostered through interoperable devices, and that it’s better if companies agree to common standards without government intervention. As new technologies are formed, these innovations are the fuel for economic growth and community well-being.  It’s important to understand the role that interoperability plays in forming our technological foundation.

Tags: Cisco, healthcare, innovation, interoperability, TelePresence, video, video conferencing

Video in the workplace has never been more important.  As we continue to use new communication technologies in the office to interact on the job and at home to achieve a greater work life balance, video calling is a large part of our increasingly productive lives.  Businesses are improving collaboration between workers, building client relationships, and reducing travel with video calling.  In fact, according to Cisco’s most recent VNI study, the global market for business video conferencing will reach $14 billion by 2017.

Tags: Cisco, infographic, interoperability, TelePresence, video calling, vni

Video is quickly becoming the dominant form of communications.  According to Cisco’s most recent Visual Network Index (VNI), people are increasingly spending more time on the Internet communicating with video.  For video to become a pervasive natural communications alternative, it is crucial for consumers and businesses alike to use standard-based technologies that work seamlessly together to deliver a connected-product experience.  Interoperability is the key to realizing the full potential of video calling; I see a future where video is at the center of our personal and professional relationships and where video calling is as easy as a phone call.

Tags: Cisco, infographic, interoperability, TelePresence, video, visual network index, vni