A View from the Road - Volume 4, Number 4
POSTED Wed, 2010-07-21 13:45 | POSTED BY admin
Observations on technology trends from the latest conferences and seminars.
July 21, 2010
In This Edition:
- The Wainhouse Research Collaboration Summit
- Streaming Video Of All Content Available for Free
- Telepresence Still At Only 1% Of Market
- Case Studies From Unified Communications Professionals
- Yours Truly Moderates the Closing Panel
Greetings from the high speed Acela train somewhere in the middle of Connecticut (currently moving at a blurringly fast two miles an hour.) I’m returning to the New York area from the annual Wainhouse Research Collaboration Summit – which just concluded in Boston a couple of hours ago.
About 160 people representing manufacturers, service providers, integrators and end users attended the two day event. Wainhouse did a good job broadening and mixing the content this year, covering the worlds of video conferencing and telepresence, audio conferencing, unified communications, collaboration and media technology in education.
It was a real mixed bag, with many of the first time attendees overwhelmed by the rich content while at the same time some industry veterans feeling that there were not enough “deep dives.” There was without question something for everyone. Below are some highlights.
I’m intentionally keeping these the highlights brief as the team at Wainhouse (in conjunction with Stream57) has graciously posted all of the content from the show (presentations and presenters) on a website that can be accessed at no cost. (It requires the provision of your name and email for tracking purposes only.) The URL is: http://wrsummit.stream57.com/
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· Andrew Davis opened the conference again this year with his “state of the industry” presentation. He explained how market research is still showing that “telepresence” (which in Wainhouse’s definition is an experience that simulates in-person communications) still represents less than 1% of the video collaborations systems sold today.
He also detailed how he believes that the emphasis on “telepresence” and “travel reduction cost avoidance” is trending downward, with time savings and greater efficiency and productivity being a more current (and appropriate) message.
· Bob Romano of Radvision showed his firm’s new iPad control system for videoconferencing
He detailed how similar consumer devices will continue to improve the conferencing experience.
· Jerry Mayo, the president of GN Netcom (makers of Jabra headsets), provided his firm’s case study for throwing out all traditional telephones in favor of a Microsoft OCS based communications system. (His example of 800 users didn’t give the audience much confidence in how such a system might scale to 8,000 or 80,000 users, but it still represented a step forward.)
· Speakers from Reed Elsevier, Dartmouth College, Adobe, and the Nature Conservancy provided various case studies on their unique challenges in the UC space and how they chose to approach them.
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There were also a number of technology exhibits at the event. One notable demonstration was the VGO robot videoconference device (sort of a Roomba with a camera and screen on it) first shown at this years INFOCOMM.
They intend to start selling the unit at about $5000 through resellers such as AVI-SPL in the coming months.
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Finally, yours truly coordinated the summit’s closing session, moderating a first of its kind panel of Wainhouse Research Analysts discussing our industry’s most pressing questions and issues.
Please take a look at the streaming video of this discussion and drop me a note letting me know what you think.
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That’s it for this edition of A View From The Road. Look for the next report later in the year as there are still a number of technology conferences I’m looking at attending before 2011 starts with the Consumer Electronics Show.
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A View From The Road is written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions. David has spent 32 years in the audio visual and broadcasting industries. He has designed facilities for firms such as AT&T, Bloomberg LP, FNN, Morgan Stanley, NYU and Lehman Brothers. He recently joined JPMorgan Chase & Company and is the IMCCA’s Director of Emerging Technology. Email David at David.Danto.IMCCA@Danto.com
About the IMCCA
The Interactive Multimedia & Collaborative Communications Alliance (IMCCA) is a not-for-profit user application and industry focused association with membership comprised of service and product providers, consultants, and users. Members benefit from the understanding and the use of various interactive and collaborative communications technologies in their professional and everyday lives.
For further information please contact Carol Zelkin, IMCCA Executive Director, at 516-818- 8184 or czelkin@imcca.org. Visit the IMCCA web site at www.imcca.org
