In my top 5 list of missing investments, once companies deploy VoIP, is basic video conference integration.  In order to do Voice over IP well, we have to implement Quality of Service on our network.  Yes even on the Local Area Network not just the WAN.  QoS will even out the traffic spikes that can interrupt both voice and video.  If the network is already prepared to handle voice then it should only require some minor tweaking to also handle video.  The question then becomes, why not do video? 

The reasons for not doing video vary from cost and maintenance to just a lack of perceived value.  Mature end users are not used to or comfortable with the always on concept introduced with video.  Most vendors try to sell companies video by discussing return on investment.  They discuss hard costs and they discuss soft costs and those variables are important, but do they cause people to buy?  No, people buy video when they “see” the benefit.  How can we help them see the benefits?

The first step is to understand video conferencing.  There are two major implementations of video conferencing.  First is video conferencing via ISDN (integrated services digital network) from the telephone company.  ISDN lines to each video unit (called a codec) can be extremely costly.   Second is video conferencing via IP (internet protocol) either by using h.323 or SIP (session initiation protocol).  IP based conferencing is much more cost effective when deployed on a high speed network like a LAN or well designed WAN. Those are the basics, now lets add a few more elements.  Video conferencing can be point to point (codec to codec) or Multipoint (multiple codecs to a video bridge also called a Multipoint Control Unit).  We can combine the best of IP and ISDN by centralizing ISDN trunks at the edge of the network and then use IP conferencing internally to the network by using an IP to ISDN gateway.  An h.323 gatekeeper/SIP registrar is very much like a DNS server in that it maps names to IP address to make calling from one codec to another much simpler for end users.  While by no means complete, this paragraph should give the reader a basic understanding of video conferencing components. 

When VoIP was deployed, the network infrastructure was most likely revamped to accommodate the voice traffic by adding a separate VLAN to isolate the voice traffic.  PoE switches were added, a phone was placed on each persons desk and maybe software on each users machine to act as a soft phone.  Many people have some form of instant messaging, at home at least.  IM is overcoming security and legal issues and is moving into the workspace.  We have prepared the end users for communication and are on the very short path to collaboration.  The network is 98% of the way to supporting video, a few changes to the QoS policies locally and with the WAN provider and bingo, video ready network infrastructure. 

Now, where are the benefits?  They are different for each company and can revolve around feeling a need, satisfying the fear that they are not being left behind the competition, vendors and partners.  Executive decrees to meet green initiatives, provide face to face meetings with their peers.  My goals in collaboration are very simple, presence, voice and video.  If I can enable a corporation’s existing business processes with presence, voice and video, then I have helped them take the technological step to collaboration.  Collaboration is really a combination of three things Technology, Culture and Process.  Changing technology and process are simple, but culture is what will make or break any technology and / or process change.  My objective is to insert the new technology into the existing culture and process to limit change and increase adoption.  I know what you are thinking, “but what are the benefits?” Ok, let’s get to those. 

Benefits of video (collaboration) enabling your business processes are:

• Increased efficiency, which leads to…
• Increased productivity, which encourages…
• Reduced overhead, which allows for…
• Fewer employee related expenses, and causes
• Increased profits.

 By presence enabling your existing process you reduce the time to action, by identifying which team members are available immediately and how you can reach them.  By reaching the team members by IM, Voice or Video, decisions can be made on what discussions need to be reviewed as a group and which does not.  Documents can be shared and reviewed in minutes instead of waiting until the conference room is available.  By video enabling these meetings you can see the team’s body language, which of them is comfortable in the decisions, being made and who is not.  When team members see each other they are culturally more respectful of each others opinions and time.  When you bring remote team members together you can hire the best and brightest people for the position regardless of where they are located in the country or the world for that matter.  Utilizing document sharing and video conferencing and content sharing fewer employee related expenses are incurred.  I will caveat that statement with the fact that infrastructure requirements will increase but technology costs tend to reduce year after year as the given technology, in this case bandwidth becomes a commodity, while employee costs seem to continually rise year after year.  These benefits combined will lead to a higher bottom line and hopefully drive a more robust top line as well. 

There are of course a million other reasons and a million other benefits because there are at least a million different situations, but video enabling collaboration on a VoIP network will pay off.  It will pay off, if your company actually has processes and actually takes the time to improve and follow them.  Technology will enhance the Process, but if the Culture is not in place then, Collaboration can not be successful.