Virtual Meetings

Increasing Collaboration While Reducing Costs and

Ensuring Business Continuity

Ram NarayanaswamyCTO

8x8, Inc.

Virtual Meeting – What is it?

• Realtime interaction /collaboration over the Internet

• Typically includes audio, video, chat, content sharing and electronic whiteboards

• Participants are connected through software applications

Typical Components

Advantages

• Distance learning and collaboration is a snap

• No need to travel – saves time & expense

• Enables greater scheduling flexibility

• Ability to RECORD and REPLAY meetings

• Efficient, effective and productive

Typical Use

• Academic Institutions– Remote student access to remote expert

• Sales Team – Pre-sale presentations and real time quotes

• Product Team– Product demonstrations

• Distributed team members– Real time collaboration

How does it work?• Software that runs in a browser with/without browser plug-ins• Services are typically hosted - delivered via web browser• Participants interact via chat pane, audio and/or video sessions

and shared whiteboard etc. – Electronically indicate non-verbal gestures (raising hands etc.)

• Content sharing pane that displays documents– Slides, text files, multi-media content being shared

• Any participant can take control of the meeting– Controlled through meeting administrators

• Entire meeting can be recorded and replayed– Automatic minutes of meetings

Why is it Significant?• Creates environment as if participants are in the same location - Provides social connections without having to travel, saving time & money

• Provide expanded/increased access to remote resources (like experts, lecturers etc.) in an academic setting

• Instant scheduling capability - Use of Flash enables anyone to schedule or access meeting from anywhere - No long downloads/drivers, no incompatibility, and (in fact!) no phone

required

• Highly efficient, increases productivity• Ability to play recorded content in portable devices (like mobile

phones etc.)

Real-Life Scenarios• Customer support agents can walk-through step-by-step

instructions with customers• Using Remote Desktop Control, a service technician can take

over a “remote” computer and identify/fix problems• Using webinars, a sales executive can communicate “consistent”

message to all sales personnel on the field at the same time• Remote/online students can participate in live classroom

sessions and interact with professors as if they are in the classroom

• Employees working from home do not need to miss meetings / presentations

Benefits• Distance is no longer a factor • Reduce costs (related to business travel & accommodations) up

to 80% • With budget cuts due to recession and slowness in economic

recovery, real time audio/video conferencing-based technology solutions are handy

• Enable more participants to attend meetings without the fear of cost and time

• Reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact of travel• Cuts down on non-productive travel time• No long term commitment - pay-as-you-go models exist

Service Provider Perspective• Infrastructure required to keep services up and running 24x7

– Redundant data center and network infrastructure• Browser-based vs. solutions that require download

– Platform dependent or independent• Security, scalability and ease of use

– User interface design, password based access and unlimited participants

• Support various vertical market segments that require special features– Education, corporate etc.

• Internationalization requirements – Language, time zone etc.

Challenges• Participants in different time zones

• Technical problems like Internet connectivity, network traffic, audio and video quality due to connection speeds

• Improper setup of tools and not having the “right environment” to run tools

• Some of the “in-person” meeting benefits cannot be completely addressed - can’t replace face-to-face

• IT management to keep up with the software versions that require downloads and platform dependency

Where is it going?• Webinars

– All meetings are web based

• Telepresence and virtual office locations– Why commute?

• Wider audience– Ease of adding more participants (one-click invite and join)

• Synergy with Podcasting and video blogging– Playback on portable devices

• Recent improvements in sound and video quality– Bringing experience closer to face-to-face meetings

• Integration with contact management systems– Outlook, Google contacts etc.