By Michael Brook

Cisco Telepresence

What is Telepresence?

Cisco Telepresence is an advanced video conferencing system

Advantages over normal video conferencing: Very low latency Crisp video and audio quality Directional sound People appear life size Allows for direct eye contact

The Technology

1080p High Definition plasma screens (variations in size and price)

Each screen requires 2 to 3Mbps of bandwidth Two 1Gb Ethernet ports must be in the room Requires low latency network with QoS for voice Call setup and connection is managed by the

Cisco Call Manager backend (installed locally) Uses HD cameras, many microphones and

speakers, and special lighting arrays

The Technology

What it Means for Business

Businesses with Cisco Telepresence can have live conferences with contacts all over the globe as if they were literally in the same room

Time-sensitive issues can be resolved quickly and easily with effective collaboration

High return on investment for the future Lower travel expenses Helps businesses to ”Go Green” due to reduction in

travel, therefore cutting carbon pollution

What it Means for Cisco

Cisco is working on installing 100 Telepresence suites at their offices around the world

They expect to save $100 Million in travel expenses during the first year of deployment

Video conferencing equipment sales are expected to reach $1 Billion by 2011

An increase in router and switch sales and network upgrades are also expected

How Much Does it Cost?

Currently, the cost for a single Telepresence suite is about $300,000

The cost for a ”small” Telepresence system (which is a single 65” plasma screen) is about $79,000

Cisco plans to bring Telepresence into homes within 2-3 years for about $1,000

With high prices, Telepresence is expected to be used only by very large companies

Other Uses

Even though Telepresence is primarily meant to improve the quality and effectiveness of remote collaboration within a business, it can also be used to interact directly with customers

Conclusion

Cisco Telepresence takes video conferencing to a whole new level, allowing for unparalleled realism, which in turn makes remote collaboration more comfortable and effective

Despite high costs, the ROI of Telepresence is very high, most notably reducing travel costs

For businesses, Telepresence can both improve efficiency and dramatically lower costs, as Cisco has clearly demonstrated themselves

Sources

http://www.petri.co.il/cisco-telepresence-what-is-it-what-does-it-take-video-conferencing-hdtv.htm

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/tata-communications-to-set20-public-telepresence-rooms/92341/on

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns669/networking_solutions_solution_segment_home.html

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/090607-cisco-conferencing-coming-to.html

http://www.bradreese.com/cisco-it-telepresence-case-study.pdf