Seeing the whites of their eyes: the Telepresence versus Smartphone Video debate

(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) As the proliferation of smart devices continues to evolve within the enterprise, the use of video communications is undoubtedly on the rise. Yet the question arises of whether enterprises are in fact favouring telepresence or smartphone video for corporate communication. Manish Sablok, Head of Marketing for CNE Europe at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, takes a look at the differences between the two modes of communication, and whether there is any conflict between them.

As the newfound maturity of the telepresence market coincides with the era of the smartphone, the question that's often asked is: why would people want to use a telepresence suite when easy to use mobile devices exist which connect people across all kinds of locations, with video if needed? According to recent research from Infonetics Research, for the full year of 2011, sales of videoconferencing and telepresence equipment were up 34% to $2.99 billion. And whilst telepresence provides a much richer, 'almost being there' experience than smartphone video, the two can and in fact should work side-by-side to enable a mix of these solutions in one conversation.

In determining whether there is indeed a conflict between the telepresence market and the ever-popular smartphone, we first need to define what exactly the differences are in video experience between the two.

When we think of telepresence, we are looking at room-based collaboration with rich tools of integrated data and web conferencing, with the same face-to-face conversation effect as if we are sitting in the same room with someone. But we may not have the same user experience on a smartphone it's not like sitting across from one another. Instead, it allows effective mobile collaboration, available anytime, anywhere, across multiple smart devices.

An effective enterprise communication and collaboration strategy needs to be able to support both these video solutions in tandem. It is true that they do provide different user experiences, but they are both needed in today's workplace telepresence for those meeting at the office enables a realistic environment, while smartphone applications enable video for those who are out of the office and need to drop into the conversation on the go.

Both technologies have real significance in terms of enterprise communication, and should be encouraged to work together, not undermine one another.

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

(c) 2012 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

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