Screen Calls
Before you ask them to pass the sugar, just remember that the people at the end of the conference table could be on the other side of the world. Sharon McFarlane reports on the latest developments in videoconferencing.
Tune in to any re-run of Star Trek and you're sure to catch a scene where the Klingon leader, pictured on a giant screen, and Captain Kirk have a terse but meaningful dialogue. Once, such an interaction may have been the stuff of science fiction. But now, talking business with people in a different time zone and seeing a virtual view of them at the end of our conference tables is a distinct possibility. And it's all thanks to videoconferencing, or VC.
Now, there is a plethora of companies promising the benefits of virtual meetings. Such solutions mean we can conduct meetings, presentations or discussions, all without leaving the office. Successful VC rooms operate at their best when designed with such communication in mind. The Video Conferencing Cookbook, a website that details the correct 'ingredients', sums it up: 'The technology should enhance rather than detract from the success of the meeting'. Given that there is adequate room to accommodate the necessary equipment, new furniture more suited to the task may be necessary.
The way in which the room is lit is also important. According to Angela Hector, knowledge manager at consultant DEGW, the ideal videoconferencing room is 'one without windows in order to set constant controls to lighting and illumination, eliminating the need to reset the equipment in the cases of changing sunlight reflections'.
For those businesses where videoconferencing is a viable option, there is certainly no shortage of suppliers. Electronic giants such as BT and Sony have been joined by a growing band of VC specialists. And then there are companies handling office re-fits, including installation of conferencing equipment. One example is AKA Design's work for Windsor-based Arthur Andersen, where it overhauled all working environments and upgraded existing VC facilities. The resulting office environment fuses high-grade technology with an appreciation for each room's function. In one videoconferencing room, screens are positioned to look like eyes, with ear-shape side-entrance doors. The message being that it's imperative to get into the customer's mind.
Ericsson Telecom operates in 140 countries so videoconferencing is an essential tool of business. More than half the company's systems, equating to 350 room-based suites and many more desktop applications, have been supplied by VTEL. Per Rosenkvist provides Ericsson's technical support and believes: 'The best way to get people used to new technology is to let them play with it'. With this philosophy in mind, the PC-based hardware has been installed throughout, even in communal areas, so that staff become used to talking to colleagues at different sites.
Videoconferencing's versatility is highlighted in the way that Locomotion Digital Facilities is using BT's equipment. With offices in Hamburg and Dusseldorf and a global customer base, the specialist in computer generated special effects uses the technology not only as a way of communicating with customers and suppliers, but also as a means of editing film in real time, irrespective of whether technicians are based in England or Germany.
Those businesses that don't have videoconferencing in their own offices can still benefit from the technology through initiatives such as Lucas Corporate Europe's e-Meetings. Within the plush setting of the Grade II listed Naval and Military Club in London's St James's Square, Lucas has created The Palmerston Room, which can be rented on an hourly basis by organisations wanting to talk on a global scale.
Businesses are becoming savvy about the possibilities presented by the new technology . Hector goes as far as suggesting that VC applications will become as 'widespread as the telephone', and that desktop-based systems may hold the key to such increased usage by providing real-time, face-to-face interaction from the workstation.
For offices where dedicated VC rooms are still feasible, Hector suggests that 'screen sizes will actually increase to mimic a physical face-to-face meeting in a virtual space'. This means that half of the group sit around half a round table and the screen represents the other half, but as a virtual image. Will videoconferencing mean that we'll never need to leave the office again? Probably not. As Andrew Pearce, executive vice president at videoconferencing specialist Genesys points out: 'Considerable business activity is based on personal relationship and teamwork so there is clearly a need for people to spend time together'.