businessinfomag.uk
magazine
26
Video meetings
value, as business do not need to buy
any expensive or complex network
infrastructure.”
It is also the case that people’s
expectations are changing. For example,
Logitech’s Ginn points out that
millennials are more used to a flexible
and collaborative workstyle and are
entering the workplace expecting to
have communication technology at their
disposal. According to Cisco’s Nguyen,
this familiarity is giving businesses the
confidence to use video as a market
differentiator and a new source of revenue.
“One of our customers, a restaurant
chain, has generated a new revenue
source by opening its banquet rooms
to host conferences with experts that
come in over video,” she said. “The same
chain uses video for its chefs to test
out/collaborate on new menu items.
Yet another customer, a small company,
says video allows it to have puffer fish
syndrome – to appear bigger than it is –
and reach customers across the country
in a more intimate and personal way.”
Businesses that were once put off by
the perceived cost and complexity of
video-conferencing may have a change
of heart now that there is such a variety
of offerings, from cloud-
based solutions
to completely
immersive
systems, at
different price
points. Like it or not,
video-conferencing looks
as though it’s here to stay.
in the SME market too. These
businesses cannot afford to have
video collaboration hardware that is
only compatible with dedicated-in-
room systems, which are expensive
infrastructures managed by the IT
department. Instead, businesses are
choosing software-agnostic platforms,
giving them flexibility and choice over
their end-user experience.”
One of the pioneers of cloud video
conferencing, StarLeaf delivers secure,
reliable and rich video-conferencing
services to companies of all sizes.Whilst
it does have its own conference room
systems, StarLeaf says its service is
also compatible with systems from
other manufacturers, such as Cisco and
Polycom.
Michele Durban argues that this
flexibility has enabled it to disrupt the
status quo for old-guard providers that
have traditionally made their revenue
from expensive, complex systems.
“We came to market to address
the whole usability issue. Indeed,
we’ve made making a video call as
easy as making a phone call,” she said,
“As a cloud service provider we’ve
been able to address
the management side
of things by giving our
customers a single
management portal.
And in terms
of affordability,
the cloud
represents great
...continued
Anne Marie Ginn,
senior category
manager,
Logitech for
Business,
Collaboration in
EMEA
Logitech GROUP
Full HD video-
conferencing
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