Desktop videoconferencing is beginning to establish a foothold in the area of telecommuting. Like all new technologies, desktop videoconferencing has had a slow start but as prices have dropped while functionality and quality have improved, these products seem to be positioned to take-off.
At a recent seminar, Dr. Richard Baker, Chief Scientist for PictureTel in Boston, Massachusetts explained that 10 years ago the adoption of industry standards for facsimile transmission made the technology ubiquitous. Today very few businesses can survive without it. Baker believes the next significant shift will involve "video mail" which will have a similar impact to fax in the 1980's.
The major advancements in the video conferencing area has been the use of ITT standards which allow users to communicate with each other with out having to worry about which product the receiver is using. The latest standard, H.320, is now supported by several of the key players in this arena.
Baker's presentation was, of course, brought to the audience via desktop videoconferencing! This arrangement allowed Baker to hold a two-way communication with attendees without having to leave his office. Baker presented at four seminars in one day (Toronto, Vancouver, San Jose and Singapore) without having to travel. Baker, has in fact, significantly reduced his travel thanks to this new technology.
I saw three of the top desktop videoconferencing products in action. These included the AT&T Vistium Personal Video, Intel ProShare Video System and the PictureTel Live PCS50. All three products have an entry level cost of approximately $2,500US.
On the technical side the products run on a 486 or higher processor. While they are advertised as running on a 386SX or higher, but very few people are using 386 chip machines for this type of function. You typically need: Windows 3.1; 8 MB of memory; 8-20 MB of disk space; and a SVGA or VGA monitor. The PictureTel product includes a VAFC graphics board to mix video and computer graphics, video/audio board with an ISDN bridge, headset or speakerphone, a camera (fixed focus set at 2-5 feet) and appropriate software.
The PictureTel product voted the Editor's Choice by PC Magazine (April 25, 1995 Volume 14 Number 8) is designed for ISDN. This makes the product extremely attractive for telecommuters in areas where ISDN service is available in residential communities. ISDN use in the United States is growing rapidly and the availability of service to residential areas in large cities is excellent. In Canada the penetration of ISDN is not as great but the supply does seem to be increasing. Once organizations see the power of these desktop videoconferencing products the demand for ISDN will definitely increase.
Many people were excited about the potential of videoconferencing when AT&T introduced their Display Phone a few years ago. These same people were in turn also very disappointed by the speed and size of the unit (2-4 frames per second). Desktop videoconferencing products run at higher speeds (8-15 frames per second) ... much more appealing. The integration of video and desktop tools also allows for showing presentations, reviewing documents, jointly creating spreadsheets, etc. through the use of the vendor's whiteboard, displayed at the same time as the video.
Desktop videoconferencing has a role to play in the future of telecommuting. Your organization would benefit from learning more about this technology and letting your telecommuters experiment with the tools. You also need to consider making yet another paradigm shift to consider new and creative ways this technology can be used to make your virtual office a success.
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