Welcome to our very first BLOGEoOoOo! This is take one of the new Easymeeting video blogs, we promise- there will be more to follow. And the jokes can only get better from here- right?
A year in review- it's been an exciting year for cloud technology and video conferencing. Here's what we have seen, and what we're looking forward to!
Check it our for yourself- we are happy to join you for a free demo and an introductory call to the world of Easymeeting!
Want to check out some of the topics we've chatted about this year?
BYOD
Benefits of Video Conferencing over Teleconferencing
What is the Cloud?
Five Benefits of Video Conferencing
25 Participant Video Call
Happy Holidays from the Easymeeting Family around the World!
Despite the fact that I had the misfortune of growing up to music from the Backstreet boys and Britney Spears- I have trekked my way out of pop music and settled into my own rhythm. Which happens to be a lot of the music my parents listen to(eeek, how did that happen??).
With that being said- Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" is a personal favorite of mine. I can't help but belt it out in my horribly out of tune and off key voice when it comes over the radio. What does this have to do with video? Nothing really- but part of the lyrics popped in my head today while setting up services for a new customer, and I am sure I will be singing it for the rest of the day.
"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot"
The correlation is this... video is becoming more popular, and more well known. Companies are aware of it, and think they might want it- but they generally aren't quite sure yet. We often see potential customers run through a 14 day free trial, love the services but not be quite ready to pull the pin. This, my friends- is where the tune comes in. When they have the video cloud at their fingertips they love it, but they are not sure how much they need it. But low and behold, the moment always comes, that they need it- NOW. A partner meeting, a potential customer, a buyer, an investor, someone wants to meet on video and you don't have the ability to do it. You didn't realize the value of cloud services, of video conferencing, and of Easymeeting- until you didn't have it anymore. This is where the beauty of cloud vs. traditional video comes into play...
With traditional video, as in- buying infrastructure, hosting infrastructure, and managing infrastructure, this takes time and a BIG budget to deploy. If you are supposed to attend a video conference tomorrow, reschedule it for after the delivery, install, and training for your new infrastruture is completed.
With Cloud video, you can have instant access to your services. Place the order, and within 24 hours you are connected with your contacts from computers, tablets, and video systems alike. It's instant access, and instant gratification. Your company continues to be ahead of the game, and on track with your video meetings, without the investment, the infrastructure and the wait. It doesn't get much easier than that.
Easy to use, easy to order, and easy to deploy- it's the Easymeeting way of life.
Don't miss a meeting, or drop the ball for your boss when you need a video application. The video world is at your fingertips, dig in!
Check out our whitepaper on video to learn more about how video can change the way you do business- or check it out for yourself with a 14 day free trial!
First I want to personally reach out to all of those who have suffered from the brunt of Hurricane Sandy that devasted the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and Canada this week and tell you our thoughts are with you. May there be a speedy recovery for everyone touched by this catastrophic event.
The easymeeting.net offices in Mystic were surrounded by floodwaters and highwinds but weathered the storm suffering only loss of power to our offices but not services. Our staff are all safe and sound and have been working from home using their IPADs, PC/Macs.
At the same time the Hurricane began to hit land in the United States a major heavy wet snow event happened in Oslo, Norway, home to our global headquarters. 10-15 inches of heavy wet snow hit the region and caused massive traffic jams so I heard. Long being a champion and proponent of technology in creating new and more efficient work environments I, like our Mystic, Conn. USA team simply logged on from home, held productive meetings and was home with what I call "less stress baggage". "Stress baggage" is when one takes home the stress from their job, the commute and into the family space. #TimeWellSpent!
As I follow the various New York area news media I ponder how stressful it is for those employees and commuters to get to their office to "produce" while mass transit is paralyzed and roads nearly impassable. Sadly enough for the majority of businesses they have not yet embraced technology well enough. While people and businesses are suffering on the East Coast the rest of the world moves on without missing a proverbial "beat". Imagine a future work space whereas employees can continue being productive from remote locations and businesses continue to function without resources onsite? It is here and is available for everyone via video conferencing in the cloud.
(Connecticut Shoreline Damage)
Is it not time for employers to begin to change how they communicate and collaborate? I think so.
I saw this "snapshot" on the USAToday webpage earlier this week about people choosing if they would have picked a different career if they were given a second chance. Just below the infographic, they were quizzing about what's important and if people rather have a better commute or a better workspace. Questions like these are always popping up-- we live in the age of too many choices, and too many polls. The topic immediately reminded me of the beauty of telecommuting and having the best of both worlds-- no commute, and your own workspace.
Part of the Easymeeting way of life is thinking more green than the average business, and because of this we have had an opportunity to work with some other awesome companies that are promoting green technologies, telecommuting and the likes. One of the organizations, who I may have mentioned before is Workshift out of Calgary, CA. Workshift is helping companies in Calgary adjust to less commuting, lower overhead costs for office space, and high productivity with employees who can choose the workspace that fits them, and motivates them the best. By making changes like these- companies are lowering their carbon footprint, and often using tech tools, like Easymeeting videoconferencing to have even more effective and more frequent face to face meetings than they were having in shared office spaces.
One of my favorite facts from the Workshift website (http://www.workshiftcalgary.com/) is..." A 20-minute commute to the office (40 minutes round trip) consumes the equivalent of four 40-hour work weeks per year? This equates to being in your car for over six days a year - just for your commute!"
That is ridiculous. I know-- I used to do it to. I was living in Hawaii for a few years and although it is in fact one of the most beautiful places in the world- the traffic is horrendous. I lived on the "North Shore" with some of the most beautiful, secluded beaches you can imagine (drool), but three days a week I had to drive around more than 1/2 the island to get the East Side. That's the thing about Hawaii-with all those luscious, un-developed mountains, you do a lot of driving AROUND things. Anyways- even though the other two days a week I only had about a ten minute drive, I was still spending over eight hours a week just in my car driving back and forth, and sitting in dead stop traffic when I could have been enjoying sunsets at the beach. It wears on the body, the mind, the gas tank, the wallet, the tires, and eventually your sanity. And for what? With the world of the cloud you can access files, run programs, and talk face to face with people all over the world instead of missing out on things that you want to be doing, like spending time with your family and friends.
I am lucky enough now to be in a position where my "commute" is a seven mile drive down a road that runs along the Connecticut coastline- and that when it is necessary, from the comfort of my own home- I can access anything work related I could possibly need to, and run an equally productive day. Although I am technically 3000 miles away from Calgary and the Workshift program they are running-- I admire what they are promoting. If I had to travel for meetings within my own company I would be spending a lot more time on planes to Norway and the UK, and a lot less time at home where I want to be, with the people I want to be with. If I was still doing the exhausting commute in Hawaii, I would still be too tired after the drive home to even think about enjoying my life or doing anything productive during the week.
Telecommuting, workshifting, and the likes are attainable dreams, more attainable than you might realize. Do some research-- there
are organizations all over the world that are promoting such a work/life balance and have programs in place to help you and your company do the same.
Check out this great tool of calculating your commute that Workshift in Calgary has provided and see if Workshifting is something that should be working for you!
Once upon a time, phone books were the "it" way of finding someones information. Today, they still are- but I must assume that yellowpages.com and google.com are frequented a little bit more often than someone going into the hall way closet and digging out the traditional, one million page long, dusty old phone book. (Luckily for all of us, there is a plethora of videos on youtube.com of how to rip a phone book in half and look like The Hulk. Don't worry, I included a video of it at the end of the blog, I couldn't resist)
However, the Phone Book was really and ingenious idea. It has been recreated in many forms online, and without search directories like this-- people and companies are just not nearly as accessible as they should be. With that being said, there does seem to be a lack of such tools in the video industry- or at least that is what everyone thinks. But as some of the video world is now learning, Easymeeting.net has created an online directory that is free to register and where you can list your videoconferencing systems under company names and locations. You can even make the room "bookable" if you want the possibility of renting it out to other people.
This idea is part of the catalyst in which the Easymeeting videoconferencing services were born. There are so many companies that have invested in videoconferencing systems, but do not use them (WHAT!?!), because no one else knows that they have them- but with a growing video "directory", the investment you have made into that system can be returned to you.
With the Easymeeting directory you can register your system with it's IP address so that your contacts can easily find you and contact you via video. You can also include some of the other Easymeeting services in your listing, like the easyConference virtual meeting rooms or easyNumbers for simplified dialing. As the directory grows, and our customers and their contacts become more familiar with the tools available to them in the video world they will be able to have easy, scalable and HD quality video calls, while being having access to their contacts, and being accessible by other companies through the video world.
If your company has a video system, or even more so, if you bought the videosystem, you know that it was an investment, now start working on getting the best use, and a great ROI by optimizing your technology to make it user friendly, or for that matter- used at all! We know that for a lot of people the whole video world, especially videoconferencing as a service and virtual meeting rooms can be a bit overwhelming. It's new, and it can be a little hard to wrap your head around-- but we are here to help answer your video questions-- just ask!
Now, back to ripping phone books in half- my husband did not believe this was possible, and although I tried it last night- I wasn't able to do it as easily as I explained. But I just had to share this with you guys- this is the shortest version I could find, without all of the muscular grunting- Enjoy : ). Warning: you SHOULD try this at home.
We are currently in the midst of election season here in the US, which obviously means cartoon after cartoon about policies and debates. I have to admit, I don't read the Newspaper anymore- I don't even receive the newspaper at my house-- but the cartoons section was always a personal favorite of mine and thanks to the fabulous World Wide Web-- I can have all the cartoons I want, and not just on Sundays!
I was clicking through some the other day that were poking fun at the candidates and so on and so forth and somehow ended up perusing through some business cartoons. I found quite a few videoconferencing cartoons that had me laughing- maybe not out loud, but in my head at the very least. Just like politics(which I am by no means gettings ready to discuss here, don't worry!) videoconferencing sometimes gets a bad reputation, simply because poeople are just too confused by it and rather stay away from it.
I get it, I've been there, and I remember how painfully awkward my first Skype call was- especially when I realized how ridiculous my face looks when it freezes for 35 seconds in the middle of a word! But now I spend most of my days chatting away on video- and generally don't think twice about it. But like I said, I get it- I know how confusing, or overwhelming, or awkward the thought of a video conference can be in the beginning. I also know that things have gotten a little twisted about who, how, why and where video can be used these days.
So in honor of it being Monday, and everyone needing a mental break-- I wanted to share some of my favorites!
(This is how NOT to make videoconferencing work for you)
(Our cars might not fly{yet}, but at least some of the Jetsons future came true!)
(And last, but NOT LEAST! Dress Code Requirements- better hope the door bell doesn't ring!)
I know that was short and sweet- but isn't that what cartoons are all about! Now don't be selfish- let us know if we are missing one of your favorite industry cartoons! We all deserve a little humor during the day and there just aren't enough hours in the day to peruse through all the options.
If you want to try a videoconference without getting on a plane and without having to have a flying "Jetsons" car (we will make no comment about whether or not you are wearing pants- if you promise to stay in your seat) - then check out the 14 day free trial of the Easymeeting Services and have a multiparticipants video call from video systems, computers, iPads and iPhones!
A few months ago I mentioned an upcoming event with some WWII veterans that had come to our office in search of connecting via video. The blog itself was a follow up to one that I had written in an effort to explain our cloud services a little bit better, "What is a virtual meeting room?, an EasyConference?, the Cloud?",while maybe slightly dogging my mother for not knowing what the cloud is. So to give you an update, my mom now knows what the cloud is, and how it works; and now- some of the 100th Infantry Association knows too.
To elaborate- Mr. William Glazier, of Mystic,CT had read an article about the Easymeeting videoconferencing platform and stopped by our office to check it out. As I mentioned in the previous blog, he wanted to connect the 100th Infanctry Association, in the Easymeeting cloud.
As you may have noticed in some of my other blogs- I am a big fan of the Easymeeting services; partially because I work here, but mostly because they really can change the way we communicate in business and bring face to face meetings back into the mix without all the travel woes. Typically, we see our services used in a business setting with discussions of marketing and business plans and so on. So this usage of our services was exceptionally exciting for us to be a part of. I come from a military background, both my father and grandfather serving in the U.S. Navy and my amazement and respect for the men and women who serve for their country never ceases to amaze me. Especially during the week of Septemeber 11th- when emotions are heightened and gratitude is plentiful. The opportunity to connect a group of Veterans from WWII was something that we could all barely wrap our heads around- and were all volunteering to be the one to come in on Saturday and help them connect.
(Mr. William Glazier(second from left), his wife, and part of the 100th Infantry Association connecting via the Easymeeting Cloud)
It was a pleasure, and an awesome experience to get to watch the veterans of the 100th Infantry Division chat via the Easymeeting video cloud. The bonds that they have reach so far back, and to be able to provide them with a technology that continues to let them connect, share stories from the past, and catch up on what they are doing in the present was amazing. They have had these annual meetings since 1946, and were scheduled to cease the conventions and get togethers. An age old tradition like that can't just be turned off for these men, and their families. Luckily, thanks to some out of the box thinking by Mr. Glazier- they don't have to stop.
We are looking forward to working with William Glazier, and the 100th Infantry again in the future. After the success of Saturday's meeting, there is talk of more video meetings to come for the division, and hopefully many more organizations just like them will start to adapt to this type of meeting so that they can carry on their traditions, in spite of travels. If things are going to change with the times, we are happy to see that people and organizations like the 100th Infantry Veterans are willing to change with them for the better.
To learn more about the Easymeeting, check out our Whitepaper and visit us on Facebook and Twitter!
Every once in awhile we like to give our blog followers a little something from someone different. You may remember one of our recent guest blogs from a customer at Risco, sharing his Easymeeting story in the Easymeeting of the Week Blog. Today- we have another guest blogger to share with you.
Gary Luhrman is part of the Easymeeting: West Coast Team. He has years experience in the video field, and has been inroducing our services to channels and end users in the land of California Sun. We have been hearing more and more questions and requests about SIP dialing and the Easymeeting services and wanted to share with you just how easy it is to connect via SIP into our cloud. We keep it simple, and we invite everyone, from SIP to H323, E164, Pc's, Mac's, iPhones and iPads... what else could you ask for!
So without further avail- here is a little something from Gary Luhrman about the never ending possibilities of Easymeeting!
"True story. Recently I was performing a live videoconferencing demo to an interested channel in the San Francisco area. We connected their LifeSize conferencing room to an easymeeting virtual room where our easyExpert – Caity Serra was waiting for us from our office in Mystic, Conn.
Caity put easymeeting through all the paces and demonstrated just how simple it was to bring in other systems to the video meeting along with PC´s, iPad´s and even iPhones. The customer was impressed and it was beginning to look like a done deal for a new channel.
Then, the customer grabbed a Polycom VX1500 videophone from his stock room and began to start it up, declaring “I´ve never seen this videophone work. Let´s see how it works with easymeeting!”.
I knew that Easymeeting was SIP friendly, but I had never actually seen it in action, so I sat back to watch the process. Caity kept her cool and explained that to connect a SIP device was as easy as dialing the easyRoom number along with “@easym.net”. SIP dialing: “####@easym.net”
It connected on the first try! We had systems connected using the standard H.323 and SIP protocols with no problems whatsoever. And once again, easymeeting had proved itself with unsurpassed connectivity and ease of use for resellers, and end users.
The contact was equally as impressed- as his company is a widespread IP integrator, not just video endpoints. Needless to say, there wasn't much more to discuss after that and we are now happy to invite Xtelesis into the Easymeeting Family!"
-Gary Luhrman
West Coast Channel Sales
Easymeeting.net
.... So there you have it, whether you are dialing via SIP, H323, Telephone, PC, or mobile device... Easymeeting has you covered!
We are very excited to welcome the Xtelesis team on board as a new Easymeeting reseller in California, Washington, and whereever video can reach! To check out Xtelesis or sign up for an Easymeeting trial through them, visit www.xtelesis.com
Often videoconferencing blogs are focused on selling one´s own product. There is another kind of blog that is very popular and it focuses on FAQs or frequently asked questions. You know... my screen is black what do I do type scenerios. One is created to sell, another to give tech support but what about considerations for a channel partner and their customers that go beyond the "great innovative product" and "tech support" argument? There are too few.
Channel partner strategies are so secret one would think they are so revolutionary that when the specific vendor rolls out his/her channel strategy that they will capture the entire world of resellers in one great swoop and 1000s of customers without coming up for air. The reality is quite the opposite. Most channel strategies are about filling segments of the "pie" eg. AV-integrators, Distributors and Value Added Resellers with the more the merrier model. In the end the channel strategy runs it´s course and for most this means lower profit margins, more neighborhood competition and less satisfied customers and partners.
Lets look at this from two sides of the coin 1-Channel Partner and 2-The End User.
1-The Channel Partner can very well come from any of those segments of the "Pie" however they are or should be most focused on the following areas:
a-Increases in Average Revenue Per
b-Strong product Mix
c-Cost of Sales
d-Increased Hit Rates
e-Increases in revenue per customer
f-Recurring Revenue
g-Increases in sale of core product
h-Increases in overall Gross Profit
i-Churn Protection
j-Strategic Value
k-Scalable
l-Stickyness
m-Risk Reduction
n-Customer relation
Each of these points one can go in depth on to discuss and is somewhat dependent on the make up of the sales staff. Not all videoconferencing reseller channels have a specific core product other than a specific product group made up of several brands. However with the market entry of VideoConferencing as a Service (VCaaS) these new clouds are helping sell core product. Easymeeting.net goes as far as offering suggestions of hardware bundles for desktop and conferencing rooms which goes in line with selling "core product" strategy and consideration.
One of the great challenges has been scalability and not necessarily only from a product perspective but from a sales and tech support perspective. Yes Polycom, LifeSize, Cisco etc... have global support centers from a tech perspective but not all have the scalability to support channel partners with little experience in selling videoconferencing products. What the main players have done is put the sales teams through training sessions however the customer needs and the technical requirements in order for video to work on a said network change as fast as the technology itself. There is not a day that goes by that I do not personally receive a question regarding something from a tech or use perspective that I have never heard before. A year in technology is a lifetime in other businesses. One has to consider how their sales staff will be supported locally and globally on deals.
The customer and what they are looking for and what benefits videoconferencing can provide are as numerous as blades of grass in a farmers field. Those ranking at the top can be summarized in one larger grouping - this grouping I call "Better Time". Save time, money, increases in collaboration and productivity, cutting the carbon footprint and a positive return on investment in months or even weeks are key. Add seeing body language while having a video call as very important. 60% of the way "you" are received is based on your body language only 6% based on what you hear. 94% in all is based on what one sees. Hummm so how important is a teleconference now?
Customers once bought on the notion of purchasing videoconferencing need to know in relatively simple terms "how does this support my company when I grow?"...and "how fast and easy is it to add more users?"... Can I use my laptop, MAC, smart phone and tablet or bring your own device "BYOD" ?
Channel Partners are looking for added and increased revenue streams while customers are looking to make an investment in something that will save them time and money while at the same time giving them an immediate ROI making them a champion internally. When selecting a videoconferencing service it is important to look at all of the points from a to n and all of the sub-points. Risk Reduction alone is a key factor in selection of new product for your portfolio. With VCaaS services there is no CAPEX (infra investment & development) needed as this is already made available by your VCaaS provider.
For Channel Partners and Customers there is an old addage that says "aim small, miss small" and this is something that Channel Partners and vendors across the globe have missed out on. It is better to get some business than no business - not every customer needs everything now... let them start small, show the benefits on a smaller scale and grow with the company. Customers start small, adopt into your internal communications practices and watch your investment pay for itself.
-Try it out 14 days
I have often blogged about the challenges videoconferencing as a product has faced and how videoconferencing as a service can solve this with creative go to market strategies, further corporate adoption of BYOD (bring your own device) etc... What opportunities are there and what does this mean for the customers... Why Video conferencing?
First and foremost one has to look at the key factors that are impairing growth as we know it. There are drivers and there are restraints.
Drivers:
-
Focus on reduction of the carbon footprint (CO2) by cutting "hard" travel.
-
Lower High Quality (HD) Video Conferencing System Price Points
-
Global and Remote Workforce & Collaboration
-
Increasing Focus on the SMB by Vendors and Providers
Restraints:
The more and more I look at each of these points and they are valid but why? Taking the Drivers first... there has been a general shift in focus whereas CO2 or carbon footprint initiatives have been mostly placed on the backburner due to the global economic environment. Less important today than in 2008-2009 as companies are not willing to invest in "green initiatives". Business is back to basics again and focus is only on the bottom line and keeping your business afloat.
There is an increased focus on the SMB market but most is from outside providers. Traditional video conferencing vendors still maintain their focus on the "whales" or the Enterprises or various reasons including contract size, technical complexity and awareness. However service providers operating in this sector or so called "video conferencing as a service" VCaaS are forcing increased adoption by the SMBs by offering to an extent previously high end services via the cloud instead of via the box(es). Saving the end user money and creating a product more readily available to the SMBs. However the message from the traditional vendors is askew. They continue to focus on the "tech talk" and make the end user in the SMB space concerned about everything from security and firewalls to admin tools and this before the customer or even segment has understood and accepted the "idea" of video conferencing as a solution to their current problem. I liken this to a bad salesman talking him/herself out of a deal even though the customer is ready to buy.
Ever dropping price points helps but not if the message continues to be tech talk and tech focus which most SMB´s do not have the experience or resources to be able to understand. This is a typical move of a desperate box pusher.
Global workforces are becoming more and more standard as the world continues to shrink with high speed internet readily available in most locations. One might wonder how much smaller the world would be and how much more global collaboration there might be if videoconferencing had higher usage and adoption rates. One day...
For the most part the restraints remain constant although outside players within the VCaaS space are offering easier to understand and use services that somewhat eliminate the complexity restraint. Global and local economic restraints remain a truth as well. One would think that with this economical environment that customers would cut travel and make investments in videoconferencing but then again 1+1=2 and not 11. Complexity + work habit = lower adoption rates.
The landscape has become more and more volatile and aggressive with vendors signing more and more channels to fight for the same business. I met with a UK partner yesterday and he said.."it used to be 7 others were competing for the customer...now it is 10 times that". The end result is the customer either passes totally or goes with the lowest price regardless of service level. This equals a poor and not supportive business model for the channels and a horrible user experience for the customer. Any wonder videoconferencing has not yet taken off?
Now the move to VCaaS models is forcing the hardwar vendor to play "me 2" and thus cutting off the legs (revenue) of their somewhat loyal channel partners. Time and time again I have seen this happen. It provides no benefit to anyone with the exception of the spreadsheet master at the vendor.
Videoconferencing has the great challenge of competiting with traditional technology (phone, plane, car) and hybrids (webconferencing with video chat)... the message is still difficult to understand. Perhaps a complete facelift of the industry is needed so that more companies adopt videoconferencing as their choice. But then again... 1+1=2 and not 11.
VideoConferencing As A Service - Try It Free 14 days!