Learning the Cloud Way – Part II

April 12th, 2013 | Posted by Lisa Avvocato in Cloud Services | Education - (0 Comments)

As cloud services pick up speed in the private sector, questions about security, cost savings, implementation and best-practice models have emerged in concert with its rapid growth and adoption. But are institutions of higher learning following suit? Cambridge, MA-based Forrester Consulting turned their focus on 12 universities in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, India, and New Zealand, surveying CIOs and IT directors for their July 2012 report “Cloud Bursts Into Higher Education.”

They found out how and why these schools are employing the cloud; plus they give some suggestions as to where the partnership between higher education and the cloud is headed.

So, how do schools who adopt the cloud compare with businesses?

A Forrester survey from 2011 asked 920 companies which were the most important factors in choosing to deploy SaaS. The top 4 were:

  1. Improved business agility (72%);
  2. Allows us to focus resources on more important projects (66%):
  3. Speed of implementation and deployment (64%);
  4. Faster delivery of new features and functions from SaaS/as-a-service providers (60%).*

*“Lower overall costs” actually tied for 4th place with 60%

As previously noted, Forrester found that universities were adopting cloud services to boost productivity. Plus, speed, budget and scalability were the top three features universities valued most about the cloud. When it comes to the cloud, universities are aligned very closely with businesses.

Forrester also found that cloud-forward schools have three commonalities. First, a common corporate-to-education talent migration means schools’ CIO or IT directors often have firsthand experience of successful cloud implementation, and are endeavoring to bring knowledge and practices up-to-date at their universities. Second, schools with big technology components—academic programs that need and/or can get the most use out of cloud services, like IT training, animation, and fashion—are the most enthusiastic about adopting cloud technology.

Third, U.S. schools are ahead of the pack, with, Forrester estimates, international universities lagging behind by about 12 months. Forrester cites “lack of knowledge and understanding” as the biggest barriers to cloud adoption, noting the while these universities are turning more to the cloud, they’re doing so much slower and more carefully than their U.S. counterparts.

In the future, expect to see more inter-departmental collaboration between IT and academic departments. Additionally, funding will move from IT to academic departments as those departments take on more IT autonomy, and team up on projects.

“New realities are driving more direct control of technology by leaders of non-IT organizations, internal users, and customers—empowered by their own technology use. These changes herald an IT organization in which CIOs build agile and nimble teams that enable empowered employees and customers to be successful directly using technology for education.” – Head of Information Technology at a New Zealand University

Related Articles:
Learning the Cloud Way – Part I

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Customer Service is Going Virtual

April 8th, 2013 | Posted by Adam Kaiser in Use Cases | Video Conferencing - (0 Comments)

“This call may be monitored for quality assurance.”

How many times have you heard that throughout your life? The reality is, as technology continues to change at a rapid pace, the way we communicate with our vendors and service provides is rather primitive. When the cable bill arrives with the wrong charges (surely that never happens!), one has to pick-up the phone only to wait on hold for twenty minutes to ultimately get a resolution. Or maybe a recent purchase for a child warrants some technical support; again a phone call and wait time must be endured. At the same time, it can be very difficult to explain a problem to a support agent by merely describing it.

For years, there has been talk about moving video technology into a business to consumer world. But, what does this mean? Simply, customers could connect to the very same contact center they call now, but speak to the appropriate agent via video. The advantages of this are significant! Suddenly, all customer service interactions would benefit from everything video conferencing has to offer. The agent can work with the customer and gain a better idea of their understanding of a particular topic. Second, the customer can point the camera at the item being discussed (extra parts to a new toy that don’t seem to have a use) and immediately give the agent better insight into the issue. Finally, video could put a more personal face on what can seem like a very impersonal interaction.

While video contact centers have been a topic of discussion for a while, why is now any different? There is a convergence of several key market and technology trends that could make this idea a reality.

The Proliferation of Video, Everywhere
Video is truly everywhere. Consumers are already accustomed to communicating with family and friends over video. Whether it is via a social network, Skype, or another service, video has truly gone main stream. At the same time, many people are used to going to work and using video as a tool to complete assigned projects and tasks.

Mobile Devices
The explosive growth of mobile devices, such as smart phones and tables, has put multiple video enabled devices into nearly everyone’s pockets. A user can grab their phone and make a video call just as easily as a voice call. These devices have not only helped make video ubiquitous, they have also made video far more accessible than ever imagined.

Advanced Contact Center Technology
Even though most customer service interactions have been limited to voice, the technology driving these connections is rather advanced. Many organizations had implemented technology that allows them to hire the most talented support agents and place them anywhere. In addition, these solutions are able to route calls intelligently to both an available agent and the most skilled agent for the issue at hand. Customers have become far savvier and do not accept being transferred multiple times. Technology has helped route customers to the right person at the right time.

WebRTC
WebRTC has been discussed many times on this blog and the technology is one of the main catalysts of the video contact center. If a user requires help, the desire to spend 15-20 minutes downloading an application to their computer or smartphone is nonexistent. With WebRTC, one click could immediately initiate a video call right in their browser. With no downloads needed, the customer would get near immediate access. Unfortunately, there is no technology that can eliminate wait times completely!

As all of these elements come together, the promise of the video contact center is very real. The ultimate question comes down to the customers themselves. Will they embrace this type of interaction and will they push the vendors they do business with to implement this technology? What do you think? Would you welcome the opportunity to get support via video?

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This Month in Telemedicine – March 2013

April 4th, 2013 | Posted by Adam Kaiser in Healthcare | Video Conferencing - (0 Comments)

This month’s telemedicine videocast from the American Telemedicine Association focused on a major change in the population tabulation that directly affects telemedicine reimbursement, as discussed by ATA’s CEO Jonathan Linkous and Gary Capistrant, senior director of public policy.

Federal Policy Changes & Activity
The hot topic was the re-designation of many counties from rural to metropolitan, which resulted in the loss of Medicare telehealth reimbursement. Due to a change to the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 97 counties newly designated as “urban” will lose reimbursement privileges because Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services is not available to populations in metropolitan areas. On the other hand, 28 counties will gain coverage because they are now designated rural.

While this is a setback for telemedicine and Linkous proposed two ways to deal with the situation: the first, to grandfather in counties that have been redefined as metropolitan; the second is to expand Medicare reimbursement for urban populations. “This really shows the need to do that,” said Linkous.

Also mentioned was the F.I.T.T bill (Fostering Independence Through Technology), which is sponsored by South Dakota Democratic Senator John Thune and Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. The bill aims to establish a pilot program for home health agencies serving rural communities to use remote patient monitoring.

Capistrant and Linkous also discussed FDA regulations about medical devices, licensure and interstate health commerce, and the need to coordinate the various roles that the federal government plays in healthcare. Linkous points out the very real potential for backlogs—the FDA, Linkous says, has received 100 or so applications but can only process 20 a year.

“The good thing is there’s a lot of innovation in mobile health. The bad is it’s taking a long time to get through regulation, and, number two, you can’t get paid for it.” - Jonathan Linkous, CEO American Telemedicine Association

State Activity
They also discussed the ongoing issue of licensure, and the burden acquiring multiple state licenses places on telehealth providers. The Federation of State Medical Boards is proposing a form of state reciprocity but, Linkous points out, getting all the states on board could take a long time—a decade or more. He offered the example of the nursing compact, which was started 15 years ago and less than half the states have signed on to date. (The ATA has not endorsed any one approach).

Big Med Developments
Larger healthcare systems are seeing the potential business benefits of telehealth, and are looking to expand their footprint and brand by providing more services to a larger population. Linkous gave the example of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, an affiliation program. They have a goal of reaching 200 million patients by 2020, through both their own hospitals and the affiliation network by using “e-consults”, i.e. telemedicine. Cleveland Clinic also has an affiliate program. “It’s an interesting contest,” says Linkous, noting this is a business decision and cost-reduction tool. Mercy Healthcare is using telehealth for a broad range of services, including stroke, autism, and cardiac care, and they’ll soon be breaking ground for a virtual healthcare center which will house subspecialists and a teaching facility at their headquarters outside of St. Louis.

New Online Education
ATA will be launching an education service on their website with webinars, videocasts, and online courses, with many continuing medical education accredited. The organization is looking to develop a major educational center—online, of course—for telemedicine providers.

Annual Meeting
ATA’s annual meeting will be held in Austin, Texas, from May 5 to 7. For a free exhibit hall pass, click here to register and enter  the code VIPcomp13.

The next This Month in Telemedicine videocast is on April 23.

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Come See Video Conferencing Hit Legal Age

April 1st, 2013 | Posted by Lisa Avvocato in IVCi | Video Conferencing - (0 Comments)

The ABA TECHSHOW is taking place April 4-6, 2013 in the Windy City (Chicago, IL). Visit us at booth #614!

IVCi is partnering with Blue Jeans Network to showcase how video collaboration solutions can help law firms meet today’s legal challenges, such as geographically dispersed clients and timely access to subject matter experts, while helping minimize expenses.

In a previous article, we discussed how firms can use video to build client relationships, as well as, manage their ever growing case load by keeping in touch with traveling clients effortlessly through video enabled smartphones or tablets. Additionally, firms can use video conferencing to depose remote witnesses or interview difficult to reach subject matter experts without the time and cost associated with business travel.

Firms can also use video conferencing solutions to attract and retain top associates. Partners can interview potential candidates remotely so that only the most qualified candidates are brought in for further discussion. Plus, law firms can help differentiate themselves by utilizing the latest technology and making the firm more attractive to new recruits.

Additionally, partners and associates can attend meetings with remote offices and confer on any range of topics that would typically be discussed in a face-to-face environment.  Plus, attorneys can attend classes and seminars over video as part of distance learning courses to satisfy CLE requirements. This frees up valuable time and resources by avoiding travel to various firm or seminar locations.

Stop by our booth at ABA TECHSHOW for a demonstration and learn how video collaboration solutions can help your firm. Click here for registration information.

Additional Resources:
Video Conferencing Hits Legal Age

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Beat Rush Hour with Unified Communications

March 28th, 2013 | Posted by Glenn Rudh in Unified Communications - (0 Comments)

I attended a recent community meeting to hear about a proposed 600-home development to be built on what is now one large open space parcel. One of the concerns raised was the fact the developer had only one entrance to the proposed neighborhood, which would connect to a two-lane road. With a normal ratio of homes to cars, that translates to a lot of cars trying to squeeze into a small space during rush hour.

The meeting quickly devolved into a gripe session about the overall state of traffic in the area. My neighborhood has three separate entrances, and it seems the most difficult part of any commute is to get out onto the main thoroughfare at 8:00 a.m. on a weekday morning. Not to mention at the end of the two-lane road, the City is planning to install a roundabout to alter a dangerous intersection. I suggested that training ought to be provided for roundabouts, since I have yet to see anyone use them as anything other than a four-way stop. Polite Southerners mixing with more aggressive drivers from other regions (you know who you are) is an interesting combination.

I am fortunate that I am able to work from my home office when I am not travelling or meeting with customers. By using the calculator found on the Georgia Clean Air Campaign’s website, a daily commute of 20 miles (which is far below the average daily commute of most Atlantans), would cost me approximately $2,500 annually as opposed to working from home; calculated by gas usage, gas price, wear and tear, repairs, etc. Even being able to telecommute just one day per week would provide a savings of over $500 annually, based on the same averages.

Unified Communications solutions, with or without video conferencing capabilities, have become commonplace, and allow employees to collaborate with a co-worker at a moment’s notice. Despite recent news headlines suggesting otherwise, you can be seen and heard working remotely. Why not take full advantage of those capabilities from your home office? You might also be far more productive without having to sit in all that traffic.

You probably already have a high-speed Internet connection at home so your kids can play interactive games and download movies, so why not use that for business purposes? If more people took advantage of working from home even once per week, chances are traffic in your neighborhood would look a lot better, and we might need to build fewer roundabouts.