It used to be so simple: video conferencing systems were isolated tools, separate from telephones and messaging and other UC solutions. That’s just not the case anymore. Today, video conferencing is just one cog in a vast and interconnected system of communication and collaboration methods, and access to video now resides in every tablet, every phone, every desktop screen.
This is all great but picking the right solution can also be incredibly daunting. In a recent study, Cisco outlined three key considerations for users who are implementing a video solution.
Keeping these three keys in mind can help guide you toward the solution that is right for you and your organization.
Purchasing
It’s going to be tempting to focus most of your purchasing attention on finding the lowest price. Fair enough. Cost considerations are important. But while shopping for a video conferencing solution, keep in mind the speed with which technology evolves and the potential for growth within your organization. In short: you are buying a solution for today and tomorrow and the next year and the year after that. Which means you will want to focus on solutions that will accommodate expansion and contraction. For instance, a conferencing and collaboration solution like RealPresence Clariti offers scalable pricing and “hybrid cloud bursting,” both of which will allow your company to meet future demand with ease.
It’s going to be tempting to focus most of your purchasing attention on finding the lowest price. Fair enough. Cost considerations are important. But while shopping for a video conferencing solution, keep in mind the speed with which technology evolves and the potential for growth within your organization. In short: you are buying a solution for today and tomorrow and the next year and the year after that. Which means you will want to focus on solutions that will accommodate expansion and contraction. For instance, a conferencing and collaboration solution like RealPresence Clariti offers scalable pricing and “hybrid cloud bursting,” both of which will allow your company to meet future demand with ease.
Deployment and Management
This is kind of a no-brainer, but it bears repeating: to avoid an IT nightmare, you’re going to want a video conferencing solution that is easy to set-up and manage. You want a conferencing investment that won’t be an unending technical headache. And you want support capabilities that will keep your collaboration environment humming along at full health. That all sounds complicated and well nigh unattainable, but it doesn’t have to be. The cloud-based conferencing and collaboration solution Prime Call Cloud MeetMe is not only a hardware-free set-up breeze, but once you’re up and running, Prime Call Support is there with 24/7 phone support and an Integrated Maintenance program that ensures everything in all your conference rooms are covered – not just the codec.
This is kind of a no-brainer, but it bears repeating: to avoid an IT nightmare, you’re going to want a video conferencing solution that is easy to set-up and manage. You want a conferencing investment that won’t be an unending technical headache. And you want support capabilities that will keep your collaboration environment humming along at full health. That all sounds complicated and well nigh unattainable, but it doesn’t have to be. The cloud-based conferencing and collaboration solution Prime Call Cloud MeetMe is not only a hardware-free set-up breeze, but once you’re up and running, Prime Call Support is there with 24/7 phone support and an Integrated Maintenance program that ensures everything in all your conference rooms are covered – not just the codec.
User Experience
This, ultimately, is what it’s all about. A video conferencing solution should be robust and flexible enough to accommodate everyone in your organization, no matter where they are or what device they are using. And it should be simple enough for even technophobic users to get what they need out of it. Consider something like Polycom RealConnect, which we recently wrote about on our blog. In case you missed it: RealConnect seamlessly integrates Skype for Business and existing video conferencing systems so that anyone can join a meeting, regardless of their set-up. And with one-touch dialing and Microsoft Outlook calendaring, Polycom RealConnect keeps users locked into comfortable and familiar workflows.
This, ultimately, is what it’s all about. A video conferencing solution should be robust and flexible enough to accommodate everyone in your organization, no matter where they are or what device they are using. And it should be simple enough for even technophobic users to get what they need out of it. Consider something like Polycom RealConnect, which we recently wrote about on our blog. In case you missed it: RealConnect seamlessly integrates Skype for Business and existing video conferencing systems so that anyone can join a meeting, regardless of their set-up. And with one-touch dialing and Microsoft Outlook calendaring, Polycom RealConnect keeps users locked into comfortable and familiar workflows.
Have questions or need help implementing your VTC solution? Contact us!
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