Nick Ware
Solutions Manager
Elisa Videra
Contents
There are a number of factors that have affected this course such as:
Quality
Picture and sound quality have not been as good as users have
come to expect of their domestic TV at home.
Cost
Hardware cost of endpoints has been high, infrastructure required
to enable calls even higher. Organisations need to demonstrate a
good return on investment.
Security
In this age of “cyber-attack” organisations are reluctant to expose
their networks externally where they are potentially vulnerable to
compromise. They need to communicate outside their network but
don’t wish to risk exposure of their network to malignant forces.
In addition, security of information is also required.
Network restrictions
Video is “bandwidth hungry” and time dependent, so IP networks
(“bursty” networks) are on the face of it not the best suited for
video traffic.
Scalability
Initially video conferencing was restricted to internal
communication, however with the emergence of personal forms of
video communication, there is a drive to connect on a massive
scale which is limited by the capacity and cost of infrastructure.
Interoperability
Initially manufacturers used proprietary methods, later moving to
internationally ratified standards. However as newer video based
technologies have subsequently emerged the existing industry has
been slow or reluctant to embrace interoperability.
Usability
Video conferencing has a reputation of being difficult to use.
Understanding
Most users of video communications do not appreciate the
subtleties that can transform video into becoming the medium
they always wished it could be. Many deployments would be
more successful if users appreciated some of the human factors
that should be considered in video meetings that exist and are
taken for granted in face to face meetings. These include eye
contact, meeting etiquette etc.
Adoption
Organisations deploy video without investing in adoption
programs to help their workforce adapt and grow with the new
methods of working. A fundamental change in working practices,
and attitudes is required and needs conscious planning to make
this as seamless as possible and allow “business as usual”.
Cloud and Managed services are nothing new but in regard to video communica-
tion are able to address all of these issues and bring video conferencing into the
mainstream. To understand this further we must look at how the industry has built
up over the past 30 years and how different technologies have developed and led
to the current status quo.
At least as far back as the 1970s video conferencing has existed. However in those
days this was achieved by a full TV Broadband transmission between two fixed
points (normally a formal TV studio set up in major towns and cities). Cost was
prohibitive due to the specialised nature of the circuits required and could not
utilise common copper telephone lines for high transmission speeds (home
broadband was but a dream!). However in the 1980s much research work and
experimentation was undertaken by companies such as BT in their laboratories.
Early compression algorithms were born and the first standards invented.
Video technology at that time was primitive compared to modern methods, and
the best way to build a room was not dissimilar to the present day Immersive
Telepresence rooms:
ISDN Arrives
ISDN suddenly brought the public switching network into the equation. Users
were now able to direct their calls through the switched telephone network to any
other organisation who had similarly subscribed. This meant that standards
became incredibly important, enabling one manufacturer’s end endpoint to talk to
another.
Unfortunately it was here also that the rot set in! Now users were expected to dial
numbers for connection rather than just turn up to an established meeting. Not
only had they to dial numbers, but they had to dial multiple numbers as each ISDN
channel was only 64Kbps so multiple lines had to be aggregated together.
Inverse Multiplexors
Initially this was driven along the H.221 standard or Clear Channel calling route.
This proved to be a step too far to users who demanded simplification. This led to
However every cloud has a silver lining, and due to the cost and unreliability of
aggregating so many channels together most organisations made a compromise
between cost and quality and settled on 384Kbps (6 channels) as a standard
although manufacturers still continued to produce systems capable of working
anywhere between 128Kbps and 2Mbps. This meant that compression techniques
had to be improved to get better quality over low bandwidths which would pay
dividends when IP networks started to be used.
Loss of Simplicity
Expensive immersive systems were discarded for cheaper set-top boxes which
organisations believed (erroneously) they could use to video enable any handy
screen in a room and still have a good experience.
▪ Initially all devices had to run the same speeds and protocols (similar to
Cisco’s original multipoint switch), further development allowed differing
speeds and standards to connect but with all parties driven down to the
lowest common denominator in terms of speed and picture quality. Finally
translating (different speeds) and transcoding (different picture coding
techniques) systems arrived allowing each endpoint to connect at the most
suitable speed and definition without dragging others down the lowest
level! This was seen with MCUs from Videoserver, Radvision, Accord and
others.
▪ Initially screen layouts were voice switched (last speaker shown), later
leading to continuous presence (see all) and eventually in the next
generation, enhanced continuous presence (see all with emphasis given to
the last speaker).
Manufacturers such as Tandberg started to produce their own devices and others
snapped up existing manufacturers. Layouts were limited and costs high. These
were appliance devices and were physically limited in the number of connections
or ports they supported.
The next generation of MCUs were a vast improvement and manufacturers such as
Codian produced higher capacity, resource rich MCU appliances and also started
to cater for High Definition. After they were absorbed by Tandberg and later by
Cisco this technology was put to use producing Telepresence Servers which
introduced even more layouts (filmstrip) but more importantly, support for a new
standard designed for the latest generation of Immersive Telepresence 3 screen
systems. Other features included the ability to alter the individual received layout
by using H.281 (Far End Camera Control Protocol). Further enhancements allowed
flexible licensing of resources and additional infrastructure (e.g. Cisco Telepresence
Conductor) was invented to manage multiple MCUs as a “pool of ports”.
Personalised Video
Previously it had been easy to assess the number of MCU ports needed by counting
the number of physical room appliances you had (and adding an overhead for
external participants and growth). Now IT departments were faced with the real
risk of “port flooding” i.e. too much demand placed on limited resources. This can
lead to denial of service and the risk that more important meetings were replaced
by less important ones especially if operated on a first come, first served basis. This
can also perversely lead to a lack of confidence in video and a perception that it is
“unreliable” when often this is in fact “under resourced”.
All to All
Cisco were firm champions of the “all to all” school and this is a means by which
video communication is treated similarly to telephony. Each person can be
contacted directly in a point to point call wherever they are rather like a telephone
call. This concept was adopted originally by most of the major manufacturers.
However as there are many different devices and protocols out there, it is quite a
complex problem to solve. You might be connecting a SIP based device to an ISDN
device or a Skype for Business client to an immersive telepresence system. Both of
these examples require translations between different protocols and algorithms.
Great advances have been made both in endpoints and infrastructure but
essentially the issues are mainly solved by hardware. For each problem you wish to
address, you will require additional hardware, and then of course you may be
limited by capacity. Virtualisation has perhaps helped to alleviate this but there is
still a huge cost to adding “boxes” of hardware to solve connection challenges.
In this scenario, participants all call into a “virtual meeting room” from whatever
device or endpoint they choose. There is no direct connection to other users: they
all meet in a virtual, secure, sterile space. Details are easily shared, calls can be PIN
protected and additional methods of connectivity are opened up to the company
previously restricted by their choice of infrastructure.
These solutions can be deployed on premise, however the same capacity issues
could be experienced, but deploying them in the cloud allows for almost infinite
capacity with no capital investment, just a monthly fee, thus placing the budget in
the “OPEX” category. The investment is carried out by the cloud provider who are
able to reduce costs by economies of scale, sharing the platform between many
organisations whilst simultaneously ensuring the separation and security
demanded by many customers. Customers are happy as this is effectively a “pay for
usage” model which can potentially flex and expand upwards or downwards
depending on demand, no capital investment in infrastructure is required and
ample capacity is assured.
Using VMRs as the interface between different entities is also extremely secure as
the only connections are to the cloud provider not to external organisations with
whom you wish to communicate. All calls are terminated in the VMR in a secure,
sterile environment with no direct network to network connectivity between
separate organisations. Encryption is also supported so video, audio and data are
protected.
Elisa Videra’s Cloud Connect solution provides a unique service that truly
revolutionises video communications to organisations by enabling users access to
communicate with colleagues and customers alike. This can be done on the device
of their choosing; from Immersive Telepresence, high quality room based systems
to desktop, PC and mobile devices and including audio only telephone calls if
desired – thereby empowering the users to decide how they wish to communicate
and removing any obstacles associated with technological interoperability.
Cloud Connect and our Managed Video Service address many of the pain points
discussed earlier for customers deploying video:
Quality
▪ Cloud Connect has been designed to support High Definition Video and
High Definition audio.
▪ Connection to the service may be by high quality interconnect for room
based systems.
▪ Trusting the management of what is a mission critical service to video
experts will ensure a high quality experience for users.
Usability
rather than a hand controller, as touch panels are more intuitive and less
confusing and frustrating than traditional remote controls.
Name-based, standardised addresses are much easier to
remember and understand and are easily entered in the dial field
with a familiar keyboard on a touch controller. The manufacturer
supplied panels require only a single touch to enter a character,
unlike the multiple inputs on a traditional remote.
Research with existing customers has shown that this is a key
factor for rapid adoption of video and truly creates ease of
use. Although control interfaces such as Crestron and AMX may
also be used, simplicity gets lost when these devices are used to
control everything else in addition to the VC system, such as lights,
blinds, screens etc. The functions that control a call are often
hidden behind a confusing array of unnecessary screens and can
frustrate the user.
▪ Our Helpdesk is staffed by video communications experts that are able to
offer immediate assistance in the unlikely event that you experience a
problem.
Cost
Interoperability
Scalability
Security
Adoption
Understanding
Network restrictions
▪ Elisa Videra offer a full service from our video communications experts
and will work with a customer’s IT professionals to put in place the
correct safeguards such as QoS, etc. to cope with a “bandwidth hungry”
technology such as video.
▪ Elisa Videra will ensure that the network is “fit for use” for high quality
video communication.
▪ Elisa Videra offer a full managed service for the customer’s existing video
estate. This includes support for existing endpoints, new endpoints and
any remaining infrastructure.
▪ Elisa Videra have a dedicated team of video conference specialists that
may be contacted directly for any live incidents especially when
customers need help immediately in a call. Customer calls to this helpline
will be answered by an engineer who understands video and is able to get
to work and resolve issues on receipt of the call. This is backed up by 2nd
and 3rd level support.
▪ Non urgent issues may be reported directly to Elisa Videra as well or if
our customers prefer through their own internal processes /helpdesk, etc.
▪ Elisa Videra will ensure that the appropriate processes and workflows are
established with the customer to provide the best level of service with
high SLAs.
▪ Support is available 24/7.
▪ Multiple language support is available to assist with global customers.
Future-proofing
Summary
In conclusion, I think it safe to say that cloud and managed services are here to stay
for the foreseeable future as they fulfil much of what customers demand:
Nobody is able to predict with certainty what innovations there will be to video
technology customer trends in the mid to long term future (despite there being a
number of “experts” out there!). The only safe thing to assume is that there will be
changes! After all who could have predicted the unprecedented popularity of text
messaging on mobiles given that it was originally a low tech add-on to the
emerging cell phone networks.
What is sure however is that customers will become increasingly demanding and
will want increased value for their money. They will be looking for all things
“simple” in technology terms:
Simple to use
Simple to understand
Simple to access
Simple to interoperate
Simple to connect
Simple pricing
Simple to get help if needed
We believe that the deployment of Virtual Meeting Rooms (VMRs) satisfies the
criteria above and has the added advantage of being adaptable as a full cloud,
hybrid or on-premise service if required.
However as cloud and managed services are flexible and require no customer
capital investment in hardware and personnel, customer loyalty is not assured,
customers will choose providers that give them what they are looking for, they will
want expertise that will help them achieve their business aims.
▪ First line support for live calls takes on a huge significance and will be used
by customers to measure the performance of the provider. It is often the first
point of contact and the point at which the customer feels most vulnerable!
(after all there is no such thing as an “unimportant” video call!).
▪ Successfully resolving live issues will directly affect a customer’s perception
of the service and hence their loyalty to that service.
▪ Customers are free to move from a cloud service a lot easier than moving
away from an on-premise hardware infrastructure into which they have
heavily invested.
They want technology partners such as Elisa Videra who understand their pain
points and can adapt the services they supply to accommodate any changes.
Customers will look for added value and innovation that will directly affect their
bottom line.
The video conference industry has for too long been promoting video
communication as a “special event” reserved for the great and powerful. Good video
communication is achieved by looking at it as an office tool that works first time
and every time. (like a printer, a PC or mobile.) It should be so simple that users
don’t even think twice, where it becomes their default method for meetings
without interruption to the business flow.
By the same token video service providers will only survive and thrive if they
respond to these challenges with innovative deployments and services that add
value.
Elisa Videra have brought a unique service to the market in Cloud Connect with a
product that fulfils current customer expectations by combining an adaptable,
flexible, futureproof technology with innovative features. When added to Elisa
Videra’s experience and expertise from our Managed Service this is a formidable
solution to guarantee our customer’s satisfaction and bring video into its rightful
place as a high quality, secure, reliable, strategic business tool that can demonstrate
positive tangible results to the customer’s bottom line.