Tag: Video Conferencing

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Global Video Conferencing Market Trends and Forecast 2014 – 2020

The global video conferencing market was valued at US$ 3.31 Bn and is expected to reach US$ 6.40 Bn by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 9.36% during the forecast period 2014 to 2020.

Video conferencing solutions are widely accepted in the global corporate enterprises segment owing to significant benefits such as operational efficiency and cost reduction. With the increasing need to lower operating costs and travelling expenditure in government operations, there has been an increase in adoption of video conferencing solutions in the public sector. In addition, increasing applications in the defense sector have led to the growth of this market. Rising expenditure in telemedicine and applications such as remote patient monitoring, diagnosis and tele-consultation have led to the rising popularity of video conferencing solutions in the healthcare industry. Other applications including distance learning and web-seminars are expected to drive the growth of the video conferencing market in the education sector. Video conferencing solutions have also found usage in the media and entertainment industry for broadcasting special interactive events.

North America video conferencing market led the overall video conferencing market in terms of revenue in 2013 owing to significant adoption of video conferencing solutions in the region across the business and government sector. Europeheld the second largest revenue share of the overall video conferencing market in 2013. However, economic slowdown and reduced public expenditure in the region are impacting the growth of the video conferencing market in Europe. Video conferencing market in Asia Pacific is expected to achieve significant growth during the forecast period 2014 to 2020. Increasing demand from countries including India and China are expected to primarily drive the growth of this market in this region. Opportunities from other regions including Latin America and the Middle East are expected to further drive the growth of the video conferencing market during the forecast period 2014 to 2020.

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Legislation expands videoconferencing in court – Defendant wouldn’t have to be present for some hearings

A Senate panel is mulling a proposal that would limit the right of defendants to appear in court in person during some hearings in favor of videoconferencing. Supporters say the move would cut costs.

Senate Bill 104 would expand the use of videoconferencing during appearances for defendants in some hearings that typically take place early in the legal process. Most notably, the accused would no longer have the right to an in-person appearance when giving a not guilty plea in felony cases.

Videoconference would also be allowed during appearances before municipal judges prior to trial, non-evidentiary hearings conducted to determine the merits of a motion and bond hearings.

Judge Robert Fairchild, chief judge of the Douglas County Circuit Court, told the Senate Judiciary Committee law enforcement and attorneys have been calling for the change, arguing it will make court less expensive. He said his circuit already has videoconferencing available in three of seven courtrooms and all courtrooms will be ready for videoconferencing by the end of the year.

“Our sheriffs have been begging us to use it more and more. It saves them money, it saves the county money,” Fairchild said.

Fairchild indicated the legislation won’t cause any constitutional issues, though he said there is a limit to the extent videoconferencing can be used in court. Under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, defendants have a right to confront their accusers. While it may be possible to use videoconferencing for the testimony of defense witnesses, it wouldn’t be possible for the prosecution’s witnesses to speak via videoconference.

The legislation doesn’t mandate the use of videoconferencing, but it does require good cause to be shown if an objection to its use is raised.

The Judicial Branch Videoconferencing Committee, a group appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court, produced the bill. The committee found several advantages to videoconferencing, including reduced travel requirements, improved courthouse security and increased efficiency of legal proceedings.

“It’s cost savings for litigants. That’s one of our other goals: to try to make court more affordable for litigants, to try to improve access to courts,” Fairchild said.

The Department for Children and Families is seeking to expand the legislation to include children. Under an amendment offered by Kathy Armstrong, the agency’s assistant director for legal services, children would be able to attend Child in Need of Care proceedings via videoconference.

According to Armstrong, the change could alleviate emotional stress on the child or financial constraints involved in traveling for court. Fairchild said he didn’t have any objections to the amendment.

“It is discretionary with the court, but we feel this is appropriate and will be an aid. We value the information a child or youth has to offer to a court and this would statutorily allow the court to permit testimony of those who have obstacles to appearing in person,” Armstrong said.

No opposition to the legislation was given in the committee. Lawmakers themselves will discuss the legislation at a later date.

By Jonathan Shorman
jonathan.shorman@cjonline.com
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Say NO to business travel, YES to videoconferencing

The next time you choose videoconferencing over flying to a business destination, don’t think of it as an act of lethargy. On the contrary, you are joining the fight against climate change by reducing carbon emissions.

A report released by the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project India), along with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), here on Thursday, has revealed that business travel contributes over 55.04 lakh tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalents (CO2e).

“Savings achieved through video-conferencing and telecommunicating with moderate ICT (Information and Communications technology) penetration in 2030 can offset greenhouse gas emissions more than 70 times the present emissions owing to annual air traffic between New Delhi and Mumbai,” the report quoted as an example.

The report ‘ICT sector’s role in climate change mitigation: An analysis of climate change performance and preparedness of global ICT companies’ analysed 320 ICT companies (10 from India) in over 35 countries in 2012-13. Companies which participated included Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Accenture, Google and Microsoft.

The study categorised emissions into: direct emissions, indirect emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam, and other indirect emissions such as fuel and transport (vehicles not owned or controlled by the company).

In the third category, use of sold products accounted for 56 per cent of emissions, followed by purchased goods and services (35 per cent). These were followed by sources that included business travel and employee commuting. The first two categories include data centres and provision of network and connectivity services as sources of emissions.

Interestingly, the first two categories account for a significant percentage of emissions in emerging economies, such as India, China and South Africa. In comparison, the third category of emissions is significant in the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and France.

Core business strategy

The report also said 81 per cent of 320 companies analysed have integrated climate change into core business strategy and over 40 per cent of the companies have managed to reduce their emissions. Bangalore-based companies have adopted different strategies. While Wipro has “consolidated operations in energy efficient locations and increased renewable shares of office consumption”, Infosys has set “voluntary goals to reduce energy and water consumption in daily operations”.

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Did you know that 60% of companies choose videoconferencing over face-to-face meetings

60 per cent of businesses opt for conference calls over face-to-face meetings as the global nature of most industries push firms to opt out of traditional meetings.
 
Of those surveyed, 66 per cent stated that the biggest disadvantage of traditional face-to-face meetings is the time it takes to travel to and from them, 50 per cent ranking cost as the worst disadvantage. “Many companies still prefer traditional face-to-face meetings as they are considered more personable and engaging than audio conference calls, but travelling to and from meetings is costly and time-consuming. Businesses are already beginning to see that video conferencing is the answer to bridge this gap.”

46 per cent still think face-to-face meetings make the most sense for their business and doubts about conference calls still very much exist with 35 per cent put off video conferencing by poor audio or visual quality. Meanwhile, 28 per cent blamed the complexity of setting up the technology for not bothering to implement a conference calling strategy.

Businesses must look to new technologies such as High-Definition [HD] video conferencing that flawlessly meet business expectations to help them maintain relationships, achieve their business goals and remain as efficient as possible.

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Study finds videoconferencing with family, friends lowers stress for pediatric patients

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —To ease isolation during extended hospitalizations, UC Davis Children’s Hospital offers secure videoconferencing for patients and families. While anecdotal accounts have suggested the Family-Link program enhances quality of life during long hospital stays, clinicians wondered if the technology also offered clinical benefits.

To answer that, a team led by UC Davis professor James Marcin studied 367 children who were hospitalized for at least four days. They found that access to Family-Link significantly reduced patient stress. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

As the popularity of applications like Skype and FaceTime have increased, so has the number of patients interested in using these applications to communicate with family and friends. UC Davis Children’s Hospital pioneered the Family-Link program, which provides patients with laptops, webcams and secure internet connections.

“We have many children who transfer from other hospitals and even other states,” said Nikki Yang, first author on the study. “Because they are too far away for family and friends to visit, they often ask for laptops so they can teleconference. That was the origin of Family-Link.”

While the program began as a service to improve long hospital stays, clinicians wanted to know if it also provided clinical benefits. Earlier studies had shown that in-person family visits can decrease stress and even improve recovery times. But could virtual visits have a similar effect?

“This study shows that we have another tool to help children during their hospital stays,” said Yang. “The improvement in stress scores shows that Family-Link is really helping many children and might possibly be improving outcomes.”

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ACT of Communication Launches Witness Preparation Via Video Conferencing

ACT of Communication(TM) one of the nation’s premier witness preparation firms, once again clears a path for the legal industry into the digital age by deploying interactive platforms such as Skype, Google Hangout and other widely available video conferencing tools to turn the industry’s theories on the topic of witness preparation upside down. With nearly 11,000 legal community Twitter followers, more than most state bar associations, the firm is no stranger to leading the way towards digital innovation in an industry some might argue as slow to adapt.

Via video conferencing, the team at ACT of Communication(TM), is able to work one-on-one with any witness facing a trial or deposition-not by traditional means but by the innovative Star Witness Preparation System based on the teachings of theatre techniques. Invented, tested and successfully proven in over 1,000 cases by Katherine James, the techniques are unlike any taught in law schools or in the biggest of firms. As the system’s name implies, even the most problematic witnesses can be turned in to stars. In addition, ACT of Communication™ will also work closely with the attorney having to lead those same witnesses successfully through the process.

Although witness preparation via video conferencing is an ideal solution in a time crunch or in a small budget scenario, the service can be deployed in any trial or deposition-small or large.

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Video conferencing makes sense for many businesses

In FARGO, N.D. – Improved technology, lower costs and social trends are driving more companies to use video conferencing in the workplace, and doing so has provided those companies a number of benefits.Video conferencing allows businesses to hold meetings and conduct interviews without leaving the workplace. It cuts down on time-consuming travel and the associated costs.Gate City Bank invested in video conference technology late last year.

Adopting the technology had been on the minds of officials at Gate City Bank for some time. The company had grown to 34 locations and they were looking for ways to streamline operations.After testing a few systems, they enlisted Bloomington, Minn.-based Video Guidance to provide video conference technology for their boardrooms, desktops and mobile devices.The most easily measured benefits are time and travel savings. Video conferencing has enabled employees from multiple Gate City branches to connect for meetings and training 

 

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HR Professionals Expect Video Conferencing to be Their Preferred Communications Tool in 2016

Did you know that HR Professionals Expect Video Conferencing to be Their Preferred Communications Tool in 2016?

98 percent of Human Resources executives surveyed say video conferencing helps companies defy distance and break down cultural barriers to improve productivity.

– Move toward video provides advantages for talent management, staffing, training, productivity and flexible work enablement.

Proving that the benefits of video for HR functions are well understood, the survey of business decision makers in 12 countries revealed that almost all (98 percent) of the HR executives participating in the survey believe video conferencing removes distance barriers and improves productivity between teams in different cities and countries.

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What is a Multipoint Control Unit also known as a MCU?

The multipoint control unit (or MCU) is a device present in all multipoint videoconferencing systems and is essential to how multipoint videoconferencing functions. The MCU allows for three or more separate locations to conduct a real time videoconference. MCUs consist of either a sole piece of software or a combination of both hardware and software, and come in variations specifically dedicated to IP or ISDN videoconferencing. A multipoint control unit is located at the end of a Local Area Network (LAN) and is composed of a multipoint processors (MPs) and a multipoint controller (MC). The MCU acts as a bridge to unite three or more sources to partake in a multipoint videoconference. The more expensive multipoint control units are capable of handling more connections at a faster data transfer rate and allow for more than one participant to be displayed on the video screen at one time.