Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Is High Definition Video Conferencing Right for Your Business?

Posted in Business on 12/30/2010 05:43 am by
Nina Parker asked:




If you are looking into purchasing a video conferencing solution for your business, chances are you are considering whether to invest in high definition (HD). Just as HD is changing the television viewing experience by depicting shows with vastly improved clarity and detail, HD video conferencing is transforming the way businesses experience collaborative communication.

True high definition video conferencing delivers such fine detail that the end result is amazingly life-like quality. Images are clearer and crisper, colors are more vibrant, and motion is smoother. As a result, high definition improves the user experience so that meetings become more productive.

However, there are aspects of HD that may be a challenge to implement, depending on your type of organization. One major concern for some businesses may be that high definition requires a large amount of bandwidth to transport calls across the network. Fortunately, even if your company does not currently have enough network bandwidth to deliver HD, you still have options available to you.

The good news is that you do not necessarily have to take the leap from the amount of bandwidth rates that you are currently using to HD rates to enjoy the quality benefits of HD. In fact, the technology that is on the market today provides greatly improved audio, video and content sharing quality without the necessity of waiting for your network department to upgrade its bandwidth.

HD Defined

Recent innovations in video conferencing technology have resulted in great improvements in resolution, which is the number of pixels and lines that make up an image. High definition video conferencing delivers such great detail because of an increase in resolution.

HD resolution is better quality because it contains more horizontal lines per screen (720), and each line contains more pixels. This allows a greater amount of information to be captured. Traditional business quality video conferencing calls are CIF (common interface format) resolution. Standard definition (SD) is 4 times the quality of CIF, and high definition is 9 times CIF.

If you are in the market to use video conferencing for traditional business meetings and want to experience higher quality calls, then HD may not be required to meet your needs. A typical video call requires data rates of 384k. Standard definition is delivered at 768k, and true high definition requires bandwidth of at least 1.0 Mbps. However, by using the new technology you can enjoy high quality calls, but at standard definition data rates (4CIF).

When you purchase HD hardware components you still get improved call quality, even if you choose not to invest in the bandwidth required for HD. The camera, processing power (codec), and monitor are much more powerful, so that the overall effect is enhanced quality even without the additional bandwidth.

Recommendation

In some cases, high definition is a business necessity. This includes fields such as telemedicine, when it is important for doctors in multiple locations to see fine details so as to learn new surgical procedures. High definition may also be essential for apparel manufacturers who must be able to decipher the fine stitching on a garment in a factory overseas. HD quality can also be critical for the government as well as distance learning applications.

However, if HD is not critical for your type of business, and you think it would be hard to justify the cost, you can still enjoy the quality benefits of HD video conferencing at lower bandwidths by purchasing the latest video conferencing hardware from companies like Polycom and TANDBERG.

For example, the Polycom HDX 9000 series offers end-to-end high definition voice, video and content sharing in point-to-point and multipoint conferences. HDX products are built on high-definition TV standards, and you will experience video conferencing at a higher quality level of audio and video, even at 4CIF resolution.

You may also want to choose the high quality TANDBERG PrecisionHD camera that is available with all TANDBERG Edge Series systems. TANDBERG’s PrecisionHD camera allows users to experience high definition video quality at any bandwidth. This HD camera is designed specifically for a superior video conferencing experience.

Not only do these products provide high quality video conferencing at various data rates, but when bandwidth does becomes more readily available you will not necessarily need additional parts, or to upgrade your system should you choose to increase your network bandwidth to high definition.

Tammy
 

Maximize Teamwork and Project Data Management with Online Collaboration Suite

Posted in Business on 12/27/2010 07:42 pm by
Rama Krishna asked:




What is a Collaboration Suite ? How is it benefit to businesses?

Collaboration suite is an integrated package of tools offering a virtual platform to effectively collaborate business issues across the globe. Collaboration tools help you to communicate, collaborate, organize and share business data securely and thereby maximize business interactions.

An online collaboration suite serves as a secure central database to store and manage business data. You can tap into one single virtual platform and quickly safely access up-to-date business information.

Without physical presence in office, using an online collaboration suite you can collaborate with managers, employees, customers or vendors on demand. Distance is no longer an issue. You can share schedules, hold virtual meetings, organize training sessions, conduct discursions, supervise employee performance, plan sales and market campaigns, provide appraisals, share business files in real-time, and thereby maximize teamwork.

What to Look for in an Online Collaboration Suite :

Few features you may find in an online collaboration suite include – audio/video support, secure email, instant messaging, document manager, file manager, task manager, contact manager, reminder, calendar, virtual drive, notepad, web publishing, group discussion tools, online administration, and multi language support.

Are you buying the right Collaboration Suite?

With numerous collaboration solutions flooding the market, how can you find the perfect collaboration suite for your individual business?

Here are few tips to help you:

 

Increase Business Success With Team Collaboration

Posted in Business on 11/29/2010 12:45 am by
Dana L Larson asked:




Just as a couple needs to communicate to continue the success of their relationship, the members of a small business team need to communicate to continue the success of the business. It seems like a simple enough concept, but many businesses don’t take the necessary steps to communicate within the business teams.

And when it comes to business projects, it’s important to get input from many team members. Three heads are better than two, and two heads are better than one. Working together will increase the overall success of the business. But how can increasing communication and team collaboration increase the success of the business?

1. It increases trust in team members
2. All team members can share their thoughts
3. Teams are proud of the work they’ve done
4. Everyone has a hand in the success of the project

Encouraging the people on your business team to work together will mean increased productivity and a faster turnaround of a quality project. And businesses should collaborate with clients, customer and vendors as well as internal team members to increase the success of the project.

A client who has a hand in the planning, developing, launching and measuring process of a project or product feels more involved, and their thoughts can be expressed at critical moments. Imagine how difficult it would be to finish a major portion of the project only to find out the client doesn’t like a single thing about it. Had the client been able to share his thoughts earlier, the project could have been kept on track and the end product would have been to the client’s liking.

Collaborating with vendors is important for the business as well. Discuss how you’d like reports or products delivered and when, so the vendor understands business expectations. This will keep the project on track, allowing the business to continue toward its goal.

The most successful businesses, however, are the ones in which each team member can share his or her own voice. Team collaboration will increase the pride the individual feels after completing a successful project, and will continue to work with the other members of the business team to feel that pride and success again.

Katie
 

The Seven Most Important Words For Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Posted in Business on 11/21/2010 08:59 am by
Dr. John Ullmen asked:




Even when you know nothing about a cross-cultural colleague’s country and background, there are seven words you can use to ignite rapport and collaboration.

 

Project and Team Collaboration For Small Businesses

Posted in Business on 11/20/2010 11:03 pm by
Andrea Kalli asked:




Whether your need is to have a central communication place for your department or to manage ongoing projects, virtual teams are becoming more of a normal way of doing business today with the advent of the means to communicate with each other, their managers, and the clients they serve. Instead of going to the expense and inconvenience of having an office with employees who have to be covered with unemployment insurance, disability, taxes, and the million and one things that having a traditional office entails, a virtual set-up is more cost efficient and serves the purpose just as well.

Not only are the virtual teams a great convenience for employers but they are increasing as an alternative method of working for employees as well. Many more people are finding the convenience of working from home today than ever before. They are saving money when it comes to sitters, commuting costs, and many other aspects that a typical job can entail.

While virtual teams may be in different parts of the country, team collaboration tools will allow communication no matter the distance between the members of the team. If team members need to have an online conference, communication, or the exchange of business data of a secure nature, the collaboration software can make this happen.

When you are in doubt as to whether your time is being spent wisely by your employees, the collaboration software can keep track of this, which is managements way of knowing what their employees are doing. Virtual teams need to be able to use this software to stay in touch with each other so the clients are taken care of professionally. If they need to contact a client the software will allow this as well.

In order for these virtual teams to work they need to have the real time communication that allows them to communicate with each other, their superiors, and their clients. The access they need to up to date information is extremely important when dealing with clients and is an absolute must when speaking with them about the business that is being taken care of for them. The use of outdated data is one thing you definitely do not want to happen. When they need to share files, audio and video the means are available when using this software.

Collaboration tools are one of the most effective ways of allowing virtual teams to do their job in the easiest way possible. The savings this resource instigates when it comes to the relocation or travel of employees to remote areas of the world has been well worth the wait. The sharing of information across time zones and the ability to collaborate with others to arrive at the solutions needed is one of the most effective methods ever created.

The needs that allow the collaboration of these teams are very simple. The ability to communicate in real time, the ability to share audio and video, files and photos, manage project objectives, assets, and jobs. The most significant need is the team members have to be able to do their job so their work completes the teams objective.

Team collaboration tools are so much safer than the older way of communicating via email and IM. The use of these methods left them wide open for hacking by those who might gain from the information they could get from companies. The security of collaboration software is much more effective than the previous methods. Resources can be shared without the fear of it falling in the wrong hands and the use of collaboration software is a much easier way to communicate no matter what part of the world the workers are located.

When team members use the collaboration tools of which there are many, the ease with which they can rearrange the items in the pages they are working on is as easy as the work one does in office or word documents. The process is not hard and it is catching on very quickly. The customization of these tools can be made to fit your company’s needs in no time.

The insertion of tables and images and any other work is put in as easily as adding them to your office documents. It just could not be much simpler to use the collaboration tools to fit the needs of your company and capture any information that you specify. Rest assured the web-based team collaboration tools are safe. They are password protected so the business data is secure.

Just a few of the more popular team collaboration tools are:

Basecamp, Backpack, Central Desktop, Zoho Office, HyperOffice, Smartsheet, Google Docs, Office Live, and SharePoint.

Benjamin
 

5 Tips to Understanding Audio Visual Technology

Posted in Business on 10/15/2010 03:27 pm by
Kimberlie Hutson asked:




Audio visual technology can be extremely beneficial in most environments, it can cut costs and help improve productivity because at the end of the day, it’s all about improving communications. In order to utilize AV technology, you must understand it.

Video Conferencing:

Video conferencing is one of the most effective ways to cut costs and improve productivity. Face to face communications is often needed to strengthen business relations but if your client isn’t local this may cause problems. Video conferencing is not a new technology but it is becoming more advanced and more affordable. An important half an hour meeting at the other end of the country can easily consume a whole day in travel alone, a video conference maybe just as effective and consume just a fraction of the resources. Video conferencing can also help improve communications in-house, particularly if an organisation has several offices, although telephone conferencing may be more acceptable in this circumstance, video conferencing can offer several advantages over telephone conferences including the ability to make presentations.

Digital Signage:

Digital signage is similar to video conferencing in that it is still communicating through a visual tool except digital signage is just one way. This can also be a highly effective tool. A reception area of an organisation may have a plasma or LCD screen displaying a welcome message and information about that organisation. A call centre providing services for several organisations may have screens to display stats like call waiting times etc. An organisation that has several screens throughout the offices can be handed over to the CEO to deliver important messages or presentations to the employees.

Costs:

Although new technology is often associated with a high price tag, this is not necessarily the case with AV technology. When you think of your return on investment, how much is the time you spend traveling to meetings worth to you and your organisation? How effective is your current form of mass communication to your employees or customers? If you just need AV technology as a one off, for a trade show for example, it may prove more cost effective to rent the required technology through a trusted event management company.

AV Specialists:

Like any industry you’re not sure of, it can be difficult to know whom to trust. Although there is no required accreditation scheme in the UK, an organisation in America called InfoComm, the have an accreditation system called Certified Audio Visual Solutions Provider (CAVSP), most reputable AV specialists in the UK have gained accreditation from this scheme, which assigns either a bronze, silver or gold level to their certificates. As with any new supplier, check for references, they should be proud to show examples of their previous work. Make sure they provide a full service. Although you can buy audio visual solutions over the internet, a specialist AV supplier or consultant will be able to understand exactly what you want to achieve from your new technology and design and build a system around that need. They will then integrate and project manage that system for you as well as providing any after care needed. Although you can buy your new technology in box form or over the Internet and it maybe initially cheaper, your long term ROI would benefit from an AV specialist.

Future:

One of the biggest worries an organisation might have when it comes to investing in any new technology is its shelf life. With new technology being developed all the time how do you know your new technology won’t be obsolete tomorrow? The best way to combat this is research, if you employ an AV consultant it’s their job to not only know today’s market inside out but tomorrow’s market too. The market is expanding, nowadays web cams are commonplace in the home, and the Internet is not only expanding the market in general but is developing global collaboration too.

Cody
 

Web Based Collaboration – Need of Every Organization

Posted in Business on 10/04/2010 12:26 am by
Dinesh Kharakiya asked:




Online collaboration tools that allow you to work with far-flung clients and co-workers have entered in the mainstream of small companies in the last few years. And while most of the business organizations have learnt the importance of using applications like video and audio conferencing; web; white boarding; document sharing etc. many organizations need help in selecting which tools to use.

Of all the web based collaboration tools,web-based conferencing is considered to be one of the most effective and efficient medium of communication. In brief, these web based conferencing tool facilitate clients and employees of a business organization to stay in touch with each other regularly and effectively through the internet, no matter in which part of the world they are in.

Business organizations and corporates can use this tool for conducting meetings, live discussions, training sessions, seminars, presentations etc. Previously professionals involved in the web based conferencing were only dependent on the chat engines as communication was conducted through text messages only. Moreover, it was not possible for business organizations to organize live discussions.

This tool of web based conferencing has made it possible for several big business organizations and corporates to hold webinars with shareholders and update them about the latest happenings in the business. Companies can do all this in an affordable way, while slashing down the expenses on accommodation of employees and travelling for different business purposes and communications. Additionally, using different conferencing solutions, you can organize important business meetings at any point of time and important issues related with business can be easily solved right away.

Moreover, you can combine web conferencing with audio conferencing to make it more effective. Communicating using web based audio conferencing is as simple and easy as communicating via conference call phone.

With the introduction of video conferencing systems, various new features have been added in the web conferencing solutions. Moreover, with the facility of conducting slide presentations and live presentations on power point in conjunction with sharing text messages and audio conferencing, the equipments of video conferencing have further improved the effectiveness and efficiency of web conferencing.

One of the best features about web based conferencing is that it works efficiently on different types of operating systems and hardware. Thus, no matter, which hardware and operating system are used by your organization, you can avail the benefits of web conferencing.

Donald
 

Video Conferencing Expands Educational Horizons

Posted in Business on 08/26/2010 12:07 am by
Pam Nene asked:




This is absolutely true to the fact that video conferencing expands educational horizons. With the advent of science and technology, there have been numerous ways in which students can study. For example, internet, computers, laptops and various such facilities have shown us a new horizon to grow. Enlightening people and the next generation is very important.

Video conferencing is a technology which helps in talking to anybody, anywhere the person is located. Now you must be thinking that then how video conferencing has expanded in educational horizons? The amazement and this question are relevant. This has helped students in talking to various other people and students to get more and more information live through chatting.

This is also done via online help. It does not matter about the screen or the any equipment. You would require some of the limited equipments only. Some of the video conferencing equipments are various types of webcams, headphones, microphones, computer monitors or a big screen television and internet facility. Now, you will be getting many other types of wireless equipments of the same.

Now, it again depends on how much you want to spend. You can experience vast knowledge just sitting at one place. This facility has given students a virtual field trip without leaving their seats in classrooms. Now, you do not have to worry about their safety and security when they are at their “field trip”! Video conferencing also helps in working together with other students across the world.

Video conferencing system has also proven good for distance education students. These students get help from different educators around the world. They also get educated from various tutors as well. All the study materials and syllabus is completed through the virtual classroom study. Even schools and colleges have been benefited with this system.

Now, with the help of video conferencing, teachers present across the world can teach students at any time of the year. Now you can understand that this has expanded a total new and different educational horizon to help well. Even it has proven good for deaf and dumb people to study in sign language. You can listen, talk and see and communicate easily with this system

These were always used in huge Multinational companies. This helped them in interacting with people, clients and for various projects. Now, this has captured the educational area as well to give better experience and knowledge from across the world.

You can find all the equipments and necessity requirements which you require online. There are thousands of various companies which makes these video conference equipments. Before buying any product, just read the customer ratings and reviews. This will help you in buying the products. Thus, this is why video conferencing expands educational horizons.

Jeffrey