Video conferencing is not a choice between performance, price

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The vendor rolls out a host of new and enhanced video communications offerings to push the technology into conference rooms of all sizes. Cisco Systems officials are out to prove that video conferencing doesn't have to be reduced to the false choice between cost and quality. Cisco, the world's top video conferencing technology vendor, this spring will roll out a host of new and enhanced products that officials say will not only continue to make video conferencing affordable and available to more businesses, but also will offer high-quality experience for end users. "It's not that we haven't had affordable video conferencing equipment in the industry," Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of Cisco's Technology Group, said during a Webcast conference with analysts and journalists. "We've had video conferencing equipment under $1,000. The problem is the experience sucked." Video conferencing is not a choice between performance, price Cisco's moves come at a time when video conferencing equipment sales are falling, even though video communication remains a priority for businesses looking for ways to better talk to their workforces, partners and customers and that want to improve employee productivity and reduce travel expenses. There is a shift in the industry toward software- and cloud-based video conferencing technology, and there are a range of smaller vendors—such as Vidyo, Blue Jeans Network and CUMeeting—that offer such solutions. Larger established players like Cisco and Polycom also are offering more software and cloud technologies, but in addition are pushing back at the notion that organizations are only looking for the least expensive video conferencing solution. For example, Polycom in February not only unveiled new cloud-based and virtualized software solutions, but also the RealPresence Immersive Studio room system. "Anyone can build a system that's low cost, but not everyone can build something that's low cost and gives a great user experience," Cisco's Trollope said. Cisco is throwing its considerable weight and resources to offer hardware and software solutions that will enable businesses to adopt video conferencing for any room of any size, and that can be leveraged by any user on any device—from high-end immersive systems to tablets and smartphones—and from anywhere. This is important because 93 percent of conference rooms worldwide currently have no video conferencing equipment, and in the 7 percent that do, that equipment is not always being used, Trollope said. What businesses are looking for are offerings that enable them to have video conferencing equipment that is easy to use, cost-effective and high performing in every room. They also are looking for more than just the equipment, according to Snorre Kjesbu, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Collaboration Endpoint Technology Group. What Cisco is offering "is not about point products," Kjesbu said. "This is not about walled gardens. This is about enabling any company to be able to behave like a startup." Cisco on March 12 unveiled a range of solutions and technologies that officials said customers can use to share video and content in conference rooms of all sizes. The company announced three new integrated TelePresence video systems, including the second-generation TelePresence MX200 all-in-one system with an integrated 42-inch screen that is aimed at smaller rooms and can be set up in less than 10 minutes. The TelePresence MX700 and MX800 are the vendor's performance systems targeting medium- to large-sized rooms. They include premium high-definition resolutions and support the H.265 protocol, which officials said will give users high quality at half the bandwidth needed for most current systems. The TelePresence SX10 lets organizations leverage the flat-panel displays already in most smaller meeting rooms to create high-performance video conferences. The system can be taken out of the box and running within 10 minutes, Kjesbu said. Cisco also unveiled new technologies that can used with the new systems to improve the quality of the video conference. The TelePresence Precision 60 technology brings 1080p60 image quality and a large zoom range to ensure that everything that should be captured is on the screen. TelePresence SpeakerTrack 60 builds off of that. It is a dual-camera system that can detect the active speaker in a room and zoom in on that person, and then track the speaker as he or she walks around the room. The TelePresence SX80 system is designed to enable integrators to bring video to large, unique spaces. It can be used with a range of camera options—including Precision 60 and SpeakerTrack 60—and can support up to three screens. It also supports H.265. Meanwhile, Cisco said several of the systems announced will come integrated with the vendor's Intelligent Proximity technology, which will enable the systems to detect smartphones and tablets that participants have brought into the meeting room and asks if the person wants to use them in the meeting. Cisco also is upgrading its Business Edition 6000 packaged solution for SMBs with new software to manage pervasive HD video calls, a low-cost 25-user starter licensing offering and a new wizards-based tool that will shorten the deployment time. In addition, the vendor is rolling out the Business Edition 7000, a similar package for larger organizations with between 1,000 and 5,000 users and up to 36,000 devices. Cisco also enhanced its Hosted Collaboration Solution with technology to make it easier for mobile works to collaborate via the cloud without the need of a virtual private network (VPN), management tools to make it easier and faster to bring users on board, and the ability for midsize businesses to get voice mail and smaller contact centers for 20 to 100 agents. For detailed information, please visit