All Dressed Up and No One to Video

May 9th, 2012 | Posted by Adam Kaiser in Telepresence | Use Cases - (0 Comments)

It seems like everywhere you look some analyst is saying video conferencing has hit a tipping point and its usage is skyrocketing.  The technology continues to improve while the cost of entry continues to decrease, which is great news for just about anyone who needs to communicate with people in other locations.

What happens though, when an organization finally decides to pull the trigger?  It partners with a solution provider, picks a technology or manufacturer, sets a budget, and implements.

Great! Now it’s time to watch the investment pay for itself as members reap all of the personal and business benefits video has to offer.  Or, maybe not?

One key piece of the implementation puzzle that cannot be taken for granted is the need to promote the use of video within an organization.  It is crucial to design a usage that is tailored towards the needs of end users and the organization’s overall goals.

A good roll-out should begin with a communications plan that outlines how video should be marketed internally.  Key components of this communications plan include:

  1. Program Goals
    In most cases this will be as simple as “to successfully deploy video by creating awareness and excitement while driving user adoption.”
  2. Key Messages and Objectives
    • Why should employees use video?
    • What previous perceptions of video technology need to be addressed?
    • What corporate initiatives are connected to video (going green or sustainability programs)?
  3. Marketing Vehicles
    What media/technology/events will be used to get the word out? (Email, launch events, internal video messages, etc.)
  4. Timeline
    What is the overall roll-out timeline and structure for the program?

With a comprehensive communications plan in place, it is vital to obtain executive sponsorship of the plan. In most cases, any events associated with the video roll-out should include executive participation (launch parties, demos, etc).

The final piece to the puzzle is ongoing marketing. It is not enough to simply announce the launch; a continuous effort must be made to provide updates, additional training, and success stories.  If the internal communications effort is consistent and continues to showcase the value of video, usage and adoption of video technology will skyrocket!

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How Hotels Charm Their Guests

May 8th, 2012 | Posted by Nina Parker in Telepresence | Unified Communications | Use Cases - (0 Comments)

Hospitality professionals know when they need to turn on some serious charm to attract customers. Given the economic environment in recent years, tourism and business travel have declined, leading to a reduction in occupancy rates, daily room rates, and REVPAR (revenue per available room). Competition is intense for the available customers – the question is, how do hotels, resorts, and casinos not only bring in new guests but ensure repeat business?

Ensuring excellent service is a given. To truly differentiate their establishments, hotels can utilize unified communication (UC) technology to transform not only the customer experience, but also improve the operating efficiency going on behind the scenes.

UC solutions, including video conferencing systems, are used to create the ultimate customer experience by:

  • Providing hotel staff with the ability to communicate efficiently in real-time, between all remote properties equipped with UC and video conferencing equipment.
  • Holding one general meeting for all hotel managers across locations, ensuring the consistency of information that is covered; topics may include customer service, housekeeping, and maintenance. In addition, the hotel staff at multiple locations can be managed from one place, greatly increasing the efficiency of operations.
  • Delivering interactive group training sessions to new employees, reducing the time and costs associated with covering the same training material at each property.
  • Addressing high turnover rates typical of the hospitality industry by facilitating the human resources recruiting process.
  • Allowing guests to easily hold face-to-face meetings with remote business associates, thereby not missing a beat while traveling. Content such as presentations, videos, and data can be shared with several participants over multiple locations.
  • Setting up video conferencing rooms that can be rented to companies looking to cut down on travel expenses. Video allows guests to hold their meetings in real time, with various partners around the globe.

UC integration can provide the hospitality industry improved and more efficient operations, better collaboration through real-time communication (with reduced travel costs), and improved guest satisfaction. The resulting guest experience is really quite charming.

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IVCi’s Telehealth Solutions, Live at ATA 2012

April 30th, 2012 | Posted by Adam Kaiser in Healthcare | IVCi | Use Cases - (0 Comments)


This year’s American Telemedicine Association Exposition kicked off last night with the latest in developments in the world of Telemedicine and Telehealth.  IVCi is exhibiting at booth 545 and this morning unveiled it’s new Telehealth cloud offerings.  These services are all about increasing the quality of care a patient can receive, no matter where they are.  Combining the best in hardware solutions with cloud based services, IVCi is able to provide any-to-any connectivity for patients, doctors, administrators, and more.

If you are attending the show, please come by booth 545 to check out what we are doing!

Additional Resources:

Press Release – IVCi Debuts Telehealth Cloud Solutions at ATA 2012
Brochure – IVCi Telehealth Solutions

Developing Drugs Quicker: UC Solutions Speed Up Process for Pharmaceuticals

April 27th, 2012 | Posted by Nina Parker in Healthcare | Unified Communications | Use Cases - (0 Comments)

Moving products to market quickly is the key to success for many pharmaceutical companies. Shortening the product development cycle ensures that companies benefit from the limited patent life that is typical for new drugs, and are compensated for the costs that are incurred during the developmental phase. Unified Communications (UC) solutions, including visual collaboration technology, enable communication with remote parties, creating the effect that all participants are sitting face-to-face, at the same table or in the same room.

UC solutions allow pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs sooner by:

  • Enabling face-to-face communication with remote parties during the crucial drug trial process.
  • Enhancing the quality and speed of decision-making, resulting in a reduction in travel related time and expenses.
  • Facilitating training, project reviews, and remote trial observation.
  • Allowing experts to collaborate more frequently with global subsidiaries.
  • Facilitating the ability of researchers and others participants to hold meetings with physicians, patients and government agencies.
  • Allowing all parties involved in the trial process to collaborate efficiently, and receive instant feedback.

The real time collaboration made possible by UC solutions allows pharmaceutical companies to more effectively partner with remote parties on research, promotion, and dissemination of new products. By enabling pharmaceuticals to bring products to market more quickly and efficiently, these companies realize revenue and profits earlier in the product development phase.

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The New Nonprofit

April 20th, 2012 | Posted by Adam Kaiser in Use Cases | Video Conferencing - (0 Comments)

Nonprofit organizations are essential to the U.S. economy, contributing 5.4% to the GDP. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations based in the United States, each with its own unique mission. Like publicly traded or for-profit entities, the bottom line for nonprofits is the same: the organization must operate with optimal efficiency and achieve its stated goals with the highest return to the stakeholders.

To achieve its goals, a nonprofit must address the following challenges that are often present:

  • Locating sources of funding.
  • Marketing the mission and what the nonprofit stands for.
  • Unifying geographically dispersed stakeholders within the organization.
  • Reducing travel related time and costs.

One way to effectively address these issues is with unified communications (UC) and visual collaboration solutions. UC technology combined with cloud-based services can provide nonprofits with the tools they need to communicate effectively, increase the productivity of the staff, and get their message out to more people, all while reducing travel related time and expenses.

Now that the benefits of UC solutions can be enjoyed without the upfront capital expenditures that had been prohibitive for many nonprofit organizations in the past, there has never been a better time for nonprofits to implement these systems to help reach their mission and further their cause.

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