Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.
Futureof Virtual
tions. Most of all, telepresence is immersive, offering ultimate video and audio clarity. Participants are life size. Every sound, ges- ture and facial expression supports natural communication in high definition video and high fidelity sound. Joining multiple telepresence calls creates a single, exclusive meeting space for engagement and interac- tion — a face to face virtual visual experi- ence. Thanks to new advancements in telepresence technology like high definition video, it's possible for users to enjoy eye contact, life like images and distortion free sound when conferencing. "Communicating via video continues to
be one of the top trends as evidenced by strong growth in the enterprise video mar- ket. Businesses worldwide are looking for richer means of communications with their employees, partners, and customers, and enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence solutions are a natural fit. The biggest winners in the enterprise commu- nications market will be those who offer solutions that are multi-modal, visual (e.g., video-based), and support the collab- oration requirements of globally distrib- uted organizations," reports Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enter- prise video at Infonetics Research.
TELEPRESENCE MARKET
Telepresence solutions have been widely available since 2006, however the high cost of entry has deterred many. With current advances in high definition video, band- width access and globalization of markets, this may be the time to take a new look at telepresence. Today, a complete Telepresence system can range from $50,000 to $300,000 according to Wainhouse Research. However, global organizations consider the investment a cost of doing business better. In 2010, Deloitte opened their newest corporate
university in Texas armed with multiple telepresence rooms. The decision was made as an investment in their global leadership development initiative. Deloitte employees work in client's office around the world and this implementation allowed Deloitte to bring their global teams together in a new way. National Association of Broadcasters
claims 90% of the Global 500 will host a telepresence technology by 2015. And, Infogenics research supports this prediction.
Vendors like
Cisco, Polycom and AT&T; are now providing organizations
with telepresence alternatives.
According to Infogenics, annual enter-
prise video conferencing and telepresence system revenue grew 18% to $2.2 billion worldwide last year. And, they expect the market to more than double by 2015, to $5.0 billion. Sales are being driven by the versatility of multi-purpose room systems, a preference of enterprises. However, immersive telepresence systems are expect- ed to have the highest growth rates of all video conferencing equipment because they are the closest to "being there" in experience. Finally, the software based endpoints available on PBXs are reducing costs and are outselling hardware 10:1. Currently, Cisco accounts for 50% of the
Classrooms
revenue and Polycom is second and leads in units shipped.
TELEPRESENCE SOLUTIONS
Today's telepresence suites are video con- ference rooms equipped with true 1080p high-definition 65-inch plasma screens, high-definition cameras, microphones and speakers, and perfect lighting. Sitting at the table, the screens fill participants' peripheral vision with the life-size high- definition image of the other participants from far corners of the Earth. The effect perfectly tricks the senses and mind to replicate that effect of human interaction. The subtle and human interactions per- fectly replicate live, non-virtual, interac- tions. If you are skeptical about the ability of technology to trick human perception, it may be useful to remember that this is not the first technology to do so. Movies and video are, in fact, sequential still images that advance in a precise speed and number of images per second as to trick the human mind into misinterpreting these stagnant images as live motion. Vendors like Cisco, Polycom and AT&T;
are now providing organizations with telepresence alternatives. Cicso TelePresence consists of two dis-
tinct and revolutionary elements. First is the high-quality video network that fea- tures interoperability between all available video sources and technologies, legacy and high definition. The network is capable of multi-screen and multi-stream interoper- ability, allowing delivery of high-quality, lifelike video to all users and environ- ments. Second is the highly specialized video conferencing suites that closely replicate the effect of interacting with another person — not simply their image on a small video screen. Cisco TelePresence video conferencing
suites are costly with their revolutionary Elearning! November / December 2011 23