InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
June 7, 1999
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However, some companies that want to make extensive use of videoconferencing have been frustrated by some of the limitations imposed by carriers that provide video bridging services. The carriers often charge $50 per hour per site, need 24 hours' notice, and need a record of all sites participating in a videoconference. "It's not the most convenient way to do things," says Rich Barclay, a consultant with Atlantic Richfield Co., a major oil and gas company known as Arco. "It's not like a phone call."
That's why some larger companies are studying whether to bring videoconferencing in-house. Arco is an old hand at videoconferencing, having used the technology since the early 1980s. In recent years, the Los Angeles company has installed about 75 desktop systems and another 70 conference-room systems. Arco uses videoconferencing to connect teams of drilling experts and geologists in its Louisiana offices with workers at its remote gas and oil production site in Alaska, sometimes tying in engineers in Calgary, Alberta, as well.
In order to explore alternatives to bridging services, Barclay bought a White Pine MeetingPoint server, which lets users set up conferences by dialing in. "We're just getting our feet wet" with the new technology, Barclay says.
Letting users call in and easily set up a videoconference would eliminate another barrier to widespread videoconferencing. Setting up a videoconference can be a complex procedure. Vendors are developing products designed to make setting up a videoconference as easy as setting up an audio conference call using a company's voice PBX system.
Madge Networks Inc. has developed a LAN gateway product that is designed to be an "IP video PBX." Madge offers the gateway as part of its Video In A Box system, which includes four H.323 units for IP networking and one H.320 unit for an ISDN connection.
"I think there will be a real market for videoconferencing boxes that support working with video the same way you use the conference button on your phone," says Gavin Warnes, product marketing manager with Madge.
Added Value
With prices dropping and the technology becoming easier to use, more businesses are beginning to use videoconferencing. Littler Mendelson, a San Francisco labor and employment law firm, began experimenting with videoconferencing less than a year ago, setting up a system that lets remote attorneys squeeze more value from legal depositions.
The firm has linked its videoconferencing system with LiveNote, software that feeds the text of the transcriber's notes directly to the system. As they watch a deposition via a videoconference, attorneys can simultaneously hear, see, and read the transcript. "As a lawyer is listening to the person being deposed, if they hear something they believe is untrue, they can tap on the screen and highlight it so they can refer back to it later," says J. Michael Williams, chief technology officer for the $120 million law firm.
Littler Mendelson put 384-Kbps Polycom Inc. videoconferencing units in 13 of its 26 offices, spending about $11,000 per end unit. To make the connections, Littler uses on-demand ISDN connectivity at $50 per hour, working with bridging provider 2Confer. "The quality we're getting is the same as for systems that a year ago were $60,000," says Williams, who also uses the technology for distance-learning applications.
The end units have also gotten easier to use. In the past, videoconferencing vendors built complex systems that required users to take several steps before they could place their videoconference call. But vendors are increasingly aware that time-starved middle managers are as likely as IT staffers to be the ones setting up the conference--and they have responded with simpler interfaces. Polycom, for example, patterned its user interface around video gaming systems, notes Kim Kasee, the company's VP of marketing.
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Illustration by Dennis Harms
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