Audio/Video/Data Conferencing

Jason TisdallData Connection

http://www.dataconnection.com/

"Video conferencing is inevitable, but so is the day when the sun flames out and consumes the

earth. Which will come first?", Stan Gibson, 1999

Audio/Video/Data Conferencing

• Data Connection background

• What is conferencing?

• History

• Current status

• What’s next?

Data Connection Background

• What we do• Software developers• Supplier of core communications technology to major vendors and service

providers • Still growing in a difficult market

• Products• Conferencing (audio/video/data)• Directory and messaging• Network protocol stacks (used in routers)• Telephony softswitches

• My role• Professional services + sales support• Products - DC-MeetingServer, DC-MailServer

What Is Conferencing?

• What is conferencing?• Video• Audio• Data

• What should be in a conferencing toolset?• An experiment…

What Is Conferencing?

• What is conferencing?• Video• Audio• Data

• What should be in a conferencing toolset?• An experiment…• Data

• Share apps

• Whiteboard/annotate

• File transfer

• Ability to record

• Chat (personal and general)

• Peer Vs presented

Conferencing Defined

“Conferencing is a means of offering any or all of image, voice and data communication between remote sites in real time.”, Jason Tisdall, 2002

DC-MeetingServer Web Interface

Historical Development (1)

• First Seen• Isaac Asimov ‘The Naked Sun’ – 1956• AT&T PicturePhone

• demo at the World Fair 1964

• Commercial offering 1970, $160/month

• Compression Labs commercial offering• 1982, $250,000 system, $1000/hour

• The conference room (early-90s onward)• Small market• Tens of thousands of pounds per unit• Single purpose hardware and software• PictureTel, VTEL, BT, TANDBERG

Traditional Videoconferencing

Historical Development (2)

• Desktop (Personal) Systems (mid-90s onward)• Huge potential market• Cheap(ish)• Proprietary islands of interoperability• Data Connection, Polycom, Microsoft

• Key Developments (late-90s)• Standards: T.120, H.323

• H.32x

• Audio/video

• T.12x

• Data sharing

• Multiple endpoints

• Internet / Web conferencing

Desktop Conferencing

VideoconferencingRoom System

Conferencing Networks (1)

Telephone Telephone

VideoconferencingRoom System

PublicSwitched

TelephoneNetwork

ISDN (H.320) Videoconferencing

Room System

Conferencing Networks (2)

Telephone Telephone

IP Network NetMeeting

H.323 - PSTN Gatew ay

H.323 - H.320 GatewayISDN (H.320)

VideoconferencingRoom System

PublicISDN

Network PublicSwitched

TelephoneNetwork

DC-Share for UNIX

ISDN (H.320) Videoconferencing

Room System

Conferencing Networks (3)

Telephone Telephone

IP Network NetMeeting

H.323 - PSTN Gateway

H.323 - H.320 GatewayISDN (H.320)

VideoconferencingRoom System

PublicISDN

Network

DC-Share for UNIX

Firewall

DC-MeetingServer

HTTP

PublicSwitched

TelephoneNetwork

Java-enabled Web browser

Conferencing – Market Status

• How big?• $14 billion by 2005 = 38% compound growth from 2000 to 2005

(IDC: July 2001)

• Home Market• Low bandwidth (traditionally – but changing)• Video phone + chat + adult

• Vertical• limited deployment• Helpdesks, call centres

• Corporate• Security / firewalls • Measurable benefits – cost/fear of travel• Other benefits - improved work practices, productivity, morale• Strong bias to data

Conferencing – Who Uses It?

Conferencing – Who Uses It?

• Cambridge Technology - management consultants and systems integration

• Purpose: training and sales

• Users: 4000 employees and worldwide customers

• Solution: integrate voice and web conferencing

• BNFS – Huge american railroad operator• Purpose: mission critical communications, training

• Users: planners, engineers

• Solution: 28 state deployment, with over 750,000 minutes per month of usage

• Merrill Lynch – Financial Management• Purpose: real time collaboration for employees and clients

• Users: 63,000 employees in 44 countries + clients

• Solution: world-wide deployment, with over 500,000 minutes per month of usage

• Money: saves over $1 million per year

• See www.latitude.com

Conferencing – Who Uses It?

• We do• Between sites

• High levels of interest/deployment across sectors• Engineering – Ford, Boeing, BMW, …• Military• Service providers

• Example• Ford have mandated all their suppliers must deploy standards based

conferencing

What’s Next?

Conferencing Limits• Access

• local and wide area• Equipment/security

• Bandwidth• Audio requires 5-64 kbits/sec, video requires 150 - 500 kbits/sec• Latency• Infrastructure

What’s Next?

• Web• Fast growing

• use anywhere• no install (saves a lot of money)

• Lack of standards• opportunity for bridging between web and traditional clients like NetMeeting

• Conference Servers• In-house or via ISP (hosted)• Security, management• Bridging communications – IP and PSTN• Services – web “proxy”, recording

• Development of infrastructure• More bandwidth• QoS in VPNs

• predictable bandwidth• predictable latency• charging

What’s Next?

Email was the major corporate growth “technology” of the 90’s ...

Conferencing is a major corporate growth “technology” in the new millennium

Final Quote

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”, Winston Churchill