How video conferencing helps Permira, a leading private equity firm, stay ahead of the game.

There are some things that live up to expectations, the birth of a child; a holiday maybe; and then there are those that don't. We've all fallen for it, stuff that just doesn't do what it says on the tin, like diet pills, obvious toupees, or anti wrinkle cream! Consider video conferencing, which has in the past suffered a lacklustre reputation as a boardroom luxury, and never really met expectations. Yet things are changing fast, technological advances are allowing video conferencing solutions to become powerful business tools that boost an organisation's ability to respond to market forces.

Specific developments, like high-definition, are driving major improvements in audio and visual quality. The latest video conferencing systems operate across both IP and ISDN, they are no longer difficult to manage or use and the new infrastructure solutions are reliable, interoperable and scalable. Reduced cost-of-ownership and technological advancements are making video communications available to the boardroom, the desktop and even the phone.

Indeed, the underlying infrastructure technology has advanced so much that video conferencing is, for the first-time, a cost-effective way to empower virtual teams and individuals, while managing the knowledge and information assets of an organisation. This certainly is the case for Permira, a leading private equity firm, which has over 100 investment professionals working out of 10 offices around Europe, the US and Japan. Permira has a reputation for providing creative and timely solutions to vendors. It has a partnership culture and works closely with management teams to create value by combining extensive geographic coverage with deep vertical sector knowledge. It's here, at Permira, that video conferencing has moved out of the Stone Age, to become a fully paid up member of its mainstream IT communications strategy. "For many years video conferencing has played a niche part of business communications, it never performed to expected levels, but this is changing - it has too - because knowledge transfer is crucial to business success," said Carolyn Lees, IT director, Permira.

As a private equity firm, Permira's ability to turn information into a tangible asset cannot be underestimated; the timely sharing of market intelligence is necessary for its ongoing revenue growth. Moreover, Permira's business communications are complicated by a need to collaborate with a diverse range of external business partners and professionals, as well as with its own internationally based teams. So, the use of video conferencing has always been seen as a useful tool to aid collaborative communications. Yet, just like other organizations, its successful use of this technology has been full of twists and turns.

Permira first introduced a video conferencing system in 2002 when, from the start there were seemingly insurmountable problems for multi-site calls; "Some of our video conferences are six hours long, the first systems Permira used just couldn't deliver against our need for quality audio and image. Also these original systems were difficult to use and far too complex to configure and manage. If we had one technical or network hiccup, at one site, then the whole conference was affected," said Carolyn Lees.

Permira's experience of video conferencing will not be an isolated case. Traditional video conferencing systems suffer inherent problems with delivering a consistent service to multi-location conferences. This is because all participants are forced to join at the same speed and resolution, with the poorest, setting the standard for all participants. Generally, these systems only offer single pane voice activated switching which means that 'he or she who speaks loudest' is the person that appears on all participant screens. This limitation delivers a less than satisfying meeting experience, which is why there is a move towards systems that offer Continuous Presence for all participants. This allows everyone to be seen, all of the time, usually in a variety of layouts, determined by the individual. With Continuous Presence, it is also possible to have voice activation to place the current speaker on to the centre panel of a screen. It is also this feature, which offers participants a greater feeling of real-life involvement, allowing for body language and reactions to be seen in totality, just as if they were all sat round a single table. Of course, near real-life interaction is the ultimate aim for video conferencing and Telepresence solutions alike.

Another key limitation for users of traditional multipoint systems is that they are not usually endpoint agnostic, and so there can be interoperability difficulties from the start. Not good if you need to communicate with other business partners and customers. To prevent such difficulties it has always been a default that endpoints and infrastructure typically come from the same manufacturer. Up until now, this has been the most practical user environment, avoiding the hassle of integrating disparate systems. All in all, it is no wonder that video conferencing never quite did what it said on the tin; the products available to Permira in 2002 just could not achieve anything like a visually satisfying interaction let alone a competent audio one! Despite poor quality experiences, however, video conferencing remained a vital communications tool within Permira.

Carolyn Lees joined Permira in 2005; "The first objectives were for me to tackle the overall reliability issues and to ensure good quality audio. Even if you have a poor picture, people can still interact, but if you lose sound then the conference is rendered useless. We set about improving the reliability of the system by addressing some complicated network settings. In terms of the audio improvement, we introduced, what were relatively cheap, new endpoints that produced better audio. The combination of network settings and better audio output delivered an acceptable improvement in our video conferencing system capability. Having done this, at least we could stop sweating every time we started a video conference. However, there was still ample scope for improvements."

After audio, Permira's next step was to address the poor image quality. "Fortunately, Codian had just appeared on the scene and was hailed as the must-have piece of kit for video conferencing - we evaluated Codian's MCU [multipoint control unit], which it was claimed would solve all of our quality [voice and image] and technical issues."

Following its evaluation, Permira purchased the Codian MCU 4200 Series, which offers a unique video stream for each participant. This single feature, of the Codian MCU, meant that Permira could provide each of its participants with the best possible audio and video quality, for available bandwidth and endpoint capabilities. "Codian dynamically allocated the best resource it could to all endpoints, so sites were not communicating at the lowest common standard. This dynamic handling, also lowered the overall cost-of-ownership; no more complicated template configurations were necessary.

"Codian was impressive from the beginning, we had it out of the box and up and running in 15 minutes flat. It has an easy interface, so it is quite straightforward to set-up a conference and manage calls. Clearly, being able to isolate and solve an individual network or endpoint problem is a huge advantage, it meant that for the first time, any individual breaks in service, could be solved without impacting the other participants," Carolyn Lees.

Video conferencing was and remains a top priority for Permira, making it work to an acceptable standard was the first key objective. However, with an eye always cast towards improvements, it wasn't long before Permira decided to look at high-definition video conferencing, which became available in late 2006. "The Codian MCU 4200, with its inherent interoperability brought about significant improvements in reliability and overall endpoint quality. But then, Codian launched its HD [high-definition] MCU, which together with competitively priced LifeSize's HD endpoints, took the market by storm. This was a real opportunity for us to make dramatic progress, bringing us as close to face-to-face communications as we could, without hopping on a plane. It was an easy decision for us to upgrade from SD to HD and replace our existing endpoints with LifeSize."

The Codian MCU 4500, Carolyn Lees refers to, is hailed as the only true high-definition voice and video bridge. It supports the highest video resolution, speed, frame rate and codec of the latest HD endpoints. This includes full Continuous Presence for all conferences, including those with a mix of both HD and SD [standard definition]. Always mindful of existing infrastructure and market developments, Codian has ensured that its MCU will scale up to match future capabilities of forthcoming HD endpoints and that it seamlessly integrates with existing SD equipment as well as with other devices such as 3G, SIP and desktop video. Such clear investment protection makes it all the more compelling for companies such as Permira.

"Having now completed the transition from SD to HD with Codian, we have a video conferencing experience that is more lifelike than we ever imagined possible. The take-up of video conferencing throughout Permira is on the increase and is now an accepted part of our day-to-day operations. We have regular, weekly scheduled meetings with our teams throughout the world and user acceptance gains momentum with each conference. The interoperability of the Codian allows us to cater for external partners to join meetings, as and when necessary - plus there are rarely any technical hitches - allowing our customers and partners to experience a superior service too," concluded Carolyn Lees.

Some things will never live up to expectations, today this cannot be said of the latest systems for video conferencing. These can now deliver a visual experience that is almost as good as being there. What's more the new generation of solutions are reliable, easy-to-use and manage, offering a broad range of options for connectivity over IP from a multitude of devices, making video conferencing an affordable business must-have rather than a boardroom luxury.

In a technology driven world, constant communication is a necessity to carry on a business or a relationship. With Internet web conferencing, the world has become an interconnected place. The technology has become an important factor for the success and growth of a business. This is mainly because businesses today are conducted simultaneously across many nations. Also, the economy of one country is linked to the economy of another.

Internet web conferencing has enabled people to be in constant touch with each other. Irrespective of the country one is living in, web conferencing keeps them connected. It helps in conducting business across many nations just by sitting at one place.

Companies today have Internet web conferencing that can be done through video in their offices as it helps them in keeping touch with their clients on a regular basis. Many people can converse simultaneously with the help of the web conferencing technology. Web conferencing has reduced the physical space between people, and made the world a small place to live.

Advantages Of The Technology Used In Internet Web Conferencing

Internet web conferencing saves not only time but also helps save money. Now people are not required to go to far off places for business or personal purposes. Also, it saves one the hassle of getting a flight booked or finding accommodation. Not only for professionals but also for people who live away from their families, Internet web conferencing keeps them in touch with their families.

The technology has an edge over other technologies, as it not only enables you to talk to the people but also see their live images. Also, it is an affordable medium to communicate. A high-speed Internet connection, modem, web camera and a computer system are some of the important equipment that is used for conducting a web conference.

Just keep in mind, that it is vital that the Internet connection you select should be at least 1 Mbps as the speed provided will then be faster, as it allow you to get optimum results for Internet web conferencing.

Free web conference room enables businesses to communicate with clients and customers. Free web conference room are available with multimedia firms that specialize in Internet marketing and enable businesses to gain access to customers and clients around the world. In order to decide upon a convenient web conference room it is necessary that one should have technical feasibilities in terms of the web camera, visual display unit(VDU) and the audience that the web conference room can accommodate.

Web conferencing

Web conferencing enables people to communicate through the Internet about business objectives. It cuts through the barrier of time and space, and proves to be an innovative technology by bringing businesses together in the era of globalisation.

Web conferencing enables people to communicate over the Internet. At a particular broadband speed of at least 256kbps, a business can stroll through high speed streaming videos. The technology need in a free web conference room is a web camera, connection to the Internet and a visual display unit. Since the visual of the individuals that one is communicating to going to be displayed on a screen, a large screening is needed to enable individuals to view the contents on the screen.

Some of the advantages of web conferencing can be stated as follows

- Enhanced business processes: In a globalized world it is necessary to be in touch with associates and clients so as to facilitate business processes. This web conferencing saves businesses considerable amount and money.

- Market accessibility: Instead of sending business associates around the world, one business can update clients and customers through web conferencing.

Free web conference room enable businesses to cut the cost of management and communications. These web conference rooms are available by an agreement among business associates in a particular industry to share the resources. For example organizations specializing in IT can reach an agreement to share web conference rooms that will be available for free.

Conference calls are just like any other meetings that you may have in your office. Whether you are sitting face to face with your employees or your clients or on a conference call with them, the same basic etiquette will apply.

When conducting professional meetings in your office or in your conference hall, sitting face to face with the participants, you prepare meticulously for the discussion. Well, conference call meetings should be dealt with in a similar way. A conference call is usually set up between two or more people, who are seated geographically apart from each other.

With business offices spread across the world, conference calls have facilitated the way in which companies hold meetings with their employees and customers, without requiring their physical presence at the meeting hall. This in turn has resulted in huge savings for enterprises, as there is no travel to the destination of the meeting, and no hotel accommodation charges, amongst others.

Conference calls used in professional meetings are very different from personal telephone calls, or one to one conversations with colleagues. It is to be remembered that conference calls are considered to be meetings that are as formal as the meetings that you have with customers in your office.

It is a business tool that has etiquette of its own, which must be followed at every step of your participation. While you attend conference calls, you need to be as courteous and professional throughout the call as you would be in face to face meetings.

Your attitude in attending conference calls is a direct reflection of your professionalism, and of your ability to make presentations to others. Every time you attend a conference call, you should be well prepared for the discussion, and should be ready with all relevant documents that you will require before walking into the meeting. As you prepare yourself, it is wise to test the conference system, and make sure that your microphone and other equipment are working and that the volume has been set right.

Make sure that you do not multi-task while you attend conference call meetings. You should keep pace with the flow of the discussion without diverting your mind to something else that is not related to the meeting. You can always take notes on paper or on your laptop, ensuring that not too much noise emerges from the keyboard. In conference calls, ideas are shared, and if you do not actively participate in the discussion, you will not be remembered as being a participant at that meeting.

Conference call services may be outsourced and can also be implemented in-house. The technology typically uses conference phones or VOIP systems. If you are hiring these services for your conference calls, you would have to designate the date and time of the meeting that you would want to hold.

You will be assigned with a group dial-in number, and also with a password through which you can access the conference network at the date and time that has been set for you. When you outsource, you do not need any special equipment, systems, or special phones for your conference call.

Web conferencing is the new way in which business is being managed today. By availing of web conferencing, enterprises save on the costs of travel and accommodation. Moreover, web conferencing helps enterprises gain access to people in any part of the world.

Communication technology has gone far to serve the different areas of business and development programs. Web conferencing is one of the present day media in the field of communication. All you need is a PC and an Internet connection to set up web conferencing with others. This is one of the modern ways that enterprises use to remain in touch with their people and their customers who are based all over the world.

Web conferencing saves the cost of people traveling to other parts of the world. As a result, it significantly contributes to substantial savings with regards to hotel accommodations and local commutes. Web conferencing is the only communication medium which supports all the three ways of conferencing that are currently available. These are the audio, video, and web conferencing.

It is only web conferencing which makes it possible to have real-time communication, two-way communication, one-way broadcast, and non-real time communication. Web conferencing is becoming popular amongst the business community, offering several benefits, and emerging as one of the most popular methods in which conferences are held.

Web conferencing has helped in bringing together to a central place, the concerned people who are geographically apart. Business houses have been putting to use this modern communication system through which they are able to hold meetings with remote personnel and customers.

The communication system allows you to communicate with your employees, customers, and business partners from your home or office, instead of having to physically present yourself at the places where they are located.

Web conferencing helps you to update yourself on the progress of work that is being done at a place geographically separated from the place where you are, and provides you with the opportunity to collaborate with the people who are directly concerned with your business operation.

There are professionals that we know who are practically living out of their suitcases, taking showers in the airport, and are on the go most of the time. Web conferencing has provided them with the facility to be in touch with the world, while allowing them to spend quality time with their family.

There are consultants who work from home on projects that are assigned to them by companies on the other side of the world. Web conferencing keeps them in touch with their clients. Through this medium, the consultants are able to confer with their clients regarding project details.

The recent trend in distance learning also takes the help of web conferencing. Irrespective of where the moderator is located, the attendees who are in different parts of the world are provided with education through these distance learning centers.

Here too, the requirement of the students to attend the classes physically is done away with. Hence, there is substantial cost saving towards the development program being imparted through this communication channel.

Some rules must be followed when you are attending a conference call. These rules apply as the etiquette that you should maintain to make your conference call a success.

You should respect the etiquette of a conference call, and deal with a conference meeting just as you would deal with a person sitting face to face. It is true that no one can see you, but it would be wrong to take advantage of such a situation. Also, do remember that everyone will somehow know if your attention is diverted away from the conference call.

Remember, that you always leave an impression when you finish your conference. So you should make the best presentation of yourself, irrespective of whether anyone can see you or not.

It is necessary that you know the ground rules for the conference meetings, and what you should or should not do. You must be able to draw the attention of the participants by following the right teleconferencing manners. You need to make sure that you make a good impression on others. The basic rules for maintaining conference call etiquette are as follows:

1. Be on time to attend the conference.

2. Be prepared with all relevant documents and the subject matter.

3. Pay attention to what others say.

4. See that you participate actively in the conference.

The above are very preliminary things that you can do to have a smooth and successful conference call.

In some conference call systems, the set is programmed to beep when someone joins the conference. This beeping can confuse and disrupt ongoing conference calls. However, in most of such conference call equipment you can turn off the beeping by dialing a code. If you are not sure regarding about this, you should check with your local phone service provider.

If you are the host of the conference call, it is expected that you will arrive a few minutes early and greet all the participants. While you are doing this, you will also find out if everyone is present and what is a good time to start the meeting. Presenting yourself earlier would also help you to deal with the pre-mature discussions which may be raised by the participants.

Though people are in a different place from where you are, it is always pertinent not to indulge in something else while participating in a conference call. You should not walk into a conference call with a bag of potato chips and munch away while attending the meeting. Always remember that such sound travels through the network and may be audible to the other people who are attending the conference call.

As a host, you should introduce each person as and when all the participants are online. As you introduce each person, speak very briefly about his background. If the use of cell phones has not specifically been included in the conference call, you should switch off your cell phone, or put it on vibrator mode. In fact, during the conference call, it would be wise to not use the cell phone at all.

A question that comes to everybody's mind is whether etiquette for conference calls does exist. Indeed it does, and should be followed if you want to make your next conference call a winning one.

There are several stories of how conference calls went sour, and failed to be successful. It failed because of odd background noises, such as the sound of a dog barking somewhere outside, that of loud typing on a keyboard, babies crying in the distance, and so on.

It is true that the person on the other side cannot see you. It should not mean that you get busy with your other work while the conference call is on. It is imperative that you should not carry a bag of pretzels while you are walking in for a conference call. The munching of the pretzels would be heard all over the place and that is not desirable.

You also should not carry your laptop in a conference call and start to energetically type out matters different to what the conference call is for. The sound of your typing would not only disturb the people in conference, but would show your disrespect to others in the room.

THE DO'S AND DON'TS

The conference call is mostly considered to be a special medium. Thus, it has its own rules of etiquette, which set the path towards having a successful and meaningful communication.

THE DO'S

* Before you go into a conference call, you should be well prepared on the subject matter of discussion.

* You should be punctual, and arrive before the conference call can begin.

* You should adjust the volume of the microphone and speak clearly into it.

* Before you start to talk about matters of concern, you should introduce yourself to others.

* As you begin, you should be brief and to the point. Also, when asking questions you should name the person to whom your question is directed.

* You would need to remember that, the participants in the conference call cannot see you, and hence, are not aware of your expressions, or other non-verbal communication. For this reason you should particularly apply yourself to verbal cues.

* You should be aware of the conference call agenda and the time that you have been allotted for making presentations or fielding questions.

* You would be required to see that background noises, if any, should be cut down to the minimum.

* When mentioning telephone numbers or web site addresses, you should be as clear as possible. Repeat them for a better comprehension.

THE DON'TS

* Do not ever put your conference phone on hold. If you do that it may start playing music which would then be transmitted to others. It is always better to mute your phone and call back into the conference.

* Do not carry on a conversation with the person sitting by your side while a conference call is going on.

* Do not use acronyms or terms specific to your agency.

Always maintain a friendly attitude towards the other participants. Do not worry about the titles of the people attending the conference. Always remember that collegial approach works best.

Conference calling systems have provided business organizations with the advantage of bringing together their customers and employees. At the same time, it is saving them costs as well.

Conference calls have long been aiding organizations with their business operations. They have been helping in getting together key persons from faraway places into virtual conferences to discuss matters of mutual interest. There are occasions where meetings are conducted via conference calls, in which different people from distant places can come together on a common platform to discuss and take decisions about business matters.

The advantages of conference calls are many. The conference call brings a group of diverse people together to attend presentations and gain new information, enabling them to put through their questions in real time.

In the present day, the Internet has opened up the conference calling facility for practically anyone who would like to join. Earlier there was only restricted access to this facility. At times it also involved long distance call charges. The Internet has provided the facility to bring down the cost of such calls. As a result, these calls have been made available to a variety of medium and small companies.

With the advent of modern technology, affordable conference calling systems have introduced a change in the way business used to be done before. It has changed the previous ways of communication, and the state-of-the-art technology in audio and video systems has improved our lives to a very great extent.

The broad benefits of conference calls are briefly mentioned below:

* Conference calls help organizations to take faster decisions on matters of business operations. Thus, they help in saving a lot of valuable time.

* Conference calls help an organization to be in touch with their customers and employees all over the world at a click of a button. Hence, they save on the costs that the organization would otherwise have incurred.

* On a non-business level, conference calls help to keep family members in touch, with individuals joining the call to have a chat.

* In the medical field, audio video technology has brought in advantages in patient care, where the patient can consult the doctor from a faraway place without visiting him. There are situations when conference calls bring in specialist doctors from all over the world together to discuss and decide upon critical patient matters.

Conference call services are being offered by many service providers. Small businesses are one of the biggest beneficiaries. It is very affordable for them to set up customized calling systems. To set up an affordable plan, you would need to shop around for the best calling rates that you can get, and also for the types of plan that are being offered by various providers.

You would then be able to select the one that suits your application requirement within the budget that you have to set for the system. Before you go for shopping, you would need to understand your requirement first. You would also need to do research on the kind of prices that are being offered for low cost conference calling systems.

Over the last few years more and more corporate companies have decided to compete with each other over the quality of their training and development. Some have integrated using Videos. Various reasons including a recording tool for reference and training quality. As a demonstration or promotional tool. In some cases as a web conferencing tool. This last aspect is now gathering more momentum where the world of green issues is coming to the fore.

Fact! People no longer want to sit around drinking Hotel coffee and driving home to their family's exhausted from a twelve to fourteen hour round trip. Web based conferencing is now available and for companies, if the right products are used, is very affordable and less time consuming enterprise.

Fact! Globally the saving on the carbon footprints is being increased in a dramatic way. How? Read on. When videos where first being hosted on websites or for corporate trainings et all it was common for the companies to try and maximize the time length in order to cover a whole range of promotional trainings and other well intended uses. The trend soon started to change with shorter videos being made to around eight to ten minutes in length with the video specializing in one particular aspect rather than covering a whole range. This has now moved on and the video now comes in at no more than five minutes and in some cases under 120 seconds becoming a "normal" video stream length. Allowing for more effective presentations being hosted with less cost to the production side of video making.

The use of Video gave rise to the opportunity for Corporations and smaller businesses to utilise the online video web meeting format so that individual travel necessities could be reduced or at least limited, the savings on this far out way any contrary consideration. Even The politicians are being hounded for unnecessary travel by air. We have all seen the gimmicks. The attitude of this is reflected in the printed press being guilty by association for flying around the world chasing green issue stories with which to promote their own contrived green ethic.

Now in most cases for video editing and web conferencing, the most expensive aspect being the equipment being used or the production companies using state of the art imaging and lighting. The use of "Celebrity" or character actors etc being introduced to produce TV or film quality videos. This is now an ever increasing marketing opportunity with new production companies getting listed and being welcomed using the Green issues as bait to build larger client bases.

Small companies and individuals are now harnessing the advantage of video hosting on websites as an introduction to their specialized product range. Anything from Ebay style auction videos to corporate walk through presentations are being hosted. Newsletters are becoming popular in the online video field. Companies such as My Video Talk and Myle Marketing utilizing this very medium. For example Myle Marketing in particular is sending out video newsletters to upwards of 10,000 recipients on a weekly or monthly basis. Myle Marketing also have in some cases offered free advertising on a first come first served basis to have website links hosted within the body of the video presentation screen back drop, otherwise known as a "Bill Board advert"

So where does this put those companies who are struggling to find ways of cutting costs and generating improved training and or other presentations when they insist on staying behind the times and expecting people to cow tow to the corporate image of "Coming together we all achieve more" and travelling to hotels meeting rooms and in some cases, International travel taking place?

Make no mistake video is the new communication tool. It is worldwide in availability and the Major players being My Video Talk have increased their foothold to incorporate over 90 countries and growing.

Video online is still at it's Product Introduction stage and momentum is now starting to kick in. Where does this leave you and your corporate image in a greener world with "Carbon Footprints" becoming the new buzz words? Our job is to look after ourselves first, that way we can look after our future.