According to industry research firm IDC, 2009 is potentially “the year of the great video experiment” for large enterprises worldwide. Additionally, SMBs worldwide are expected to spend more than $2.8 billion on audio, video and web collaboration solutions through 2012, according to a November 2008 AMI-Partners report. With both UCE Collaboration and Hosted Collaboration, companies have the ability to build closer relationships with existing customers, expand their reach, and project a more professional image with minimal upfront cost and a low total cost of ownership (TCO).
NEC’s UCE Collaboration, a key element of NEC’s UC for Enterprise Suite, and the Hosted Collaboration service facilitate scheduled or impromptu video or web collaboration, thereby helping companies extend their reach and potentially reduce costs. Each solution allows enhanced business relationships by providing the opportunity for frequent, meaningful touch points with customers and employees. By leveraging UCE or Hosted Collaboration, businesses can ease network management issues and reduce the need for costly business travel. Both UCE Collaboration and Hosted Collaboration enable:
- Frequent, meaningful contact for enhanced customer service
- Remote product demonstrations
- Remote technical support and training
- More effective meetings compared to audio only conference
“We believe that businesses large and small are becoming more geographically dispersed and mobile than ever, driving a need to collaborate and react quickly and efficiently in order to stay competitive,” said Jay Krauser, general manager of core solutions and engineering, NEC. “As organizations look at their bottom line, applications that can help decrease costs, increase revenue or help attract and retain customers are more likely to be considered to help the overall business objectives.”
Both UCE Collaboration and Hosted Collaboration incorporate the audio, web and video components needed for live online meetings. Users only need a PC with a broadband connection to the Internet. A basic webcam and microphone are required to participate in a video collaboration session. UCE Collaboration offers the added security of residing behind the corporate firewall, while Hosted Collaboration offers the convenience of a Web-based service.
Features of both UCE and Hosted Collaboration include:
- Video Conferencing – from 1 to 16 video windows open during a conference; the meeting moderator can dynamically control the video feeds to select which conference participants are visible at any time; the moderator can define who is viewed and by whom, as well as mute individual participants’ video and/or audio (if using VoIP streaming audio). The total number of participants is only limited by the number of seats purchased.
- VoIP –Voice over Internet Protocol is provided to enable participants to talk and hear one another by using standard PC speaker/microphones or headsets.
- Whiteboarding – a freeform whiteboard for drawing, brainstorming, and working out ideas that is shared between all conference participants.
- Desktop Sharing – users share desktop or a specific application with others for them to view as they present, demonstrate a product, or provide training.
- Applications/Computer Sharing – participants can work on a document, spreadsheet or presentation on one user’s computer together; users may give other participants control of their desktop.
- Polling/Surveys – take instant polls and have the system provide an immediate graph of the results to be shared with the group; survey participants in detail and store results on the conference server for review after the conference session.
UCE and Hosted Collaboration are offered in conjunction with XL Meeting, a reservationless third-party audio, video and web hosting service.
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