Wisely so, Cisco is positioning video as one of the elements within a real-time, highly effective communications ecosystem.  For obvious reasons (think bandwidth utilization —> router / switch sales), Cisco’s ongoing message is that video communication is THE way to communicate.  In fact, rumor has it that John Chambers sends video clips to his team in lieu of email.

During one technology demo, Cisco demo’d a function within its Quad solution that automatically brings all available parties from a specific group into a videoconference.  That’s right — if you’re online and “available,” you are immediately dragged into the video session.

In WR’s opinion, this borders on stepping over the line from pervasive to invasive.  If we agree that the “goal” of video / telepresence is to allow people to interact with remote folks as if they were in the same room, the “connect all available folks” is the virtual equivalent of shanghaiing your staff and dragging them into a meeting room.  From the Cisco perspective, a five person VC session eats more bandwidth than a 2 person session, so this is a winning formula.  However, in the real world such a workflow would not fly.

The message here is that video, like every other business tool, has its place.  However, even in the visual collaboration world, too much of a good thing is still too much.  Ease of use is key … but too easy (think the dreaded reply-all button in your email client) can be an issue too.

To separate fact from fiction, Wainhouse Research recently evaluated Polycom’s High Profile implementation with a particular focus on the overall call quality and user experience. The results are in, and you’ll be surprised by what we found. WR’s evaluation results document provides detailed information about our testing methodology and findings. And if you’re still skeptical, take a few minutes and watch the FREE video clip comparing a 1080p video call at 2 Mbps (baseline profile) with a 1080p video call at 1 Mbps (High Profile).

For bandwidth limited environments, Polycom’s implementation of H.264 High Profile may be just what the doctor ordered.

Topics covered include:

• General Company Information
• Breadth of Company Streaming Offering
• General Product Information
• Capture Device – Available Form Factors
• Capture Device – Management Methods Supported
• Capture Device – Inputs / Outputs / Compatible Signals
• Signal Pre-Processing / Mixing Capabilities (before encoding)
• Signal Encoding Information
• Metadata and Content Editing
• Content Portal (for finding / selecting content)
• Content Distribution and Viewing (via capture system only)
• Integration with Other Systems / Devices
• Model # / Description / List Pricing

This document is available FREE to Wainhouse Research (WR) VCP subscribers (or for purchase for $3,500). Whether you’re an end-user interested in content capture solutions, a competitor trying to gain competitive insight, or an industry expert seeking to stay “in the know,” this comparison matrix is a must have.

Videoconferencing equipment has been part of the Huawei offering since the early 1990’s, and Huawei continues to be a major force in China’s videoconferencing market. WR’s newly released Company Profile on Huawei includes detailed information, insight, and analysis on its involvement in the videoconferencing market.

- Company Background
- Product Overviews
- WR Analysis and Opinion

Whether you’re an end-user interested in Huawei’s products, a competitor trying to gain competitive insight, or an industry expert seeking to stay “in the know,” this WR Company Profile – available FREE to VCP subscribers (or for purchase) – is a must have.

Specific items covered within this document include:

- Market Segment Definition
- Total Market Revenue – Actual for 2007 through 2009
- Total Market Revenue – Forecast for 2010 through 2015
- Revenue Breakdown – by Region
- Key Market Drivers and Trends (Current and Future)

Key players offering enterprise webcasting services include (among others): InterCall (acquired Stream57 in January 2010), MediaPlatform (previously known as IVT), Netbriefings, ON24, Onstream Media Corporation, TalkPoint Communications, and Thomson-Reuters (acquired Streamlogics in July 2009).

This document – available FREE to VCP subscribers (or for purchase) – will be of great value to vendors, resellers, service providers, end-users, and others interested in the webcasting services market space.

As a part of this initiative, WR collects data from the leading vendors in the space, some of which is confidential and proprietary to those vendors. Once collected, the data is aggregated and presented in a form to enable analysis and tracking of industry performance and growth.

In a typical quarter, the SpotCheck report includes market data from the following vendors:

- Cisco (including Tandberg)
- Logitech / LifeSize
- Polycom
- RADVISION
- Sony
- A handful of China-based companies including Huawei, Kedacom, H3C, and ZTE (referred to collectively as Team China or TC)

For vendors seeking to estimate their market share, resellers looking to track the performance of their vendors and the industry at large, and all others seeking to understand this exciting, fast paced market, the VCP SpotCheck Report is a must read.

This document – available FREE to VCP subscribers (or for purchase) – will be of great value to vendors seeking to estimate their market share, resellers looking to track the performance of their vendors and the industry at large, and all others seeking to understand this exciting, fast paced market.

Damaka’s flagship product is the Amadeo visual collaboration platform consisting of software clients designed for a wide range of mobile operating systems and devices. Once loaded, the Amadeo client allows the user to leverage his device’s integrated camera and cellular or Wi-Fi data network to conduct SIP-based, peer-to-peer communication sessions with other Damaka users. The Amadeo line also includes a PC version of the software client.

According to the company, key features of the Amadeo product line include:

* Multi-party audio and videoconferencing
* Integrated desktop and application sharing
* Integrated presence and instant messaging (IM)
* Ability to operate across numerous devices / operating systems (Android, iPhone / iPad, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Windows PC, etc.)
* Ability to operate across numerous networks (Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G (WIMAX, LTE))
* Ability to hand-off calls from PC to handheld devices without disconnection (a capability Damaka refers to as “sweeping”)

In Q3 2010, the Wainhouse Research (WR) test team performed a top-level assessment of the Damaka Amadeo Mobile Collaboration Platform. To facilitate WR’s testing of the Amadeo solution, Damaka visited WR’s Atlanta test lab and then loaned WR two devices (an Apple iPhone 4 and an HTC EVO) preloaded with the Amadeo software.

See the just released “A Test Drive of the Damaka Amadeo Mobile Collaboration Platform,” available FREE to VCP subscribers, for the results of WR’s quick look at Damaka’s novel approach to mobile videoconferencing.

Join InterCall and Wainhouse Research Senior Analyst / Partner Ira Weinstein for this interactive panel covering UC best practices.  Register now

The Sample Version includes the first few pages of this document – including the table of contents and list of figures.

Available for purchase (US $3,995) or FREE to VCP subscribers, this report covers the following enterprise videoconferencing market segments:

- Personal and desktop videoconferencing solutions (including videophones, software solutions, and UC-based solutions

- Executive videoconferencing systems

- Single-codec (group) videoconferencing systems

- Multi-codec videoconferencing systems

- Videoconferencing infrastructure products including video bridges / MCUs, scheduling / management systems, gatekeepers, NAT / FW traversal systems, VC recording / streaming systems, etc.

Information provided within this report includes:

- Recent historical unit sales and revenue data
- Market breakdown for 2009
- 5-year unit sales forecasts for each of the above market segments
- 5-year revenue forecasts for each of the above market segments
- Regional breakdowns

This report also provides:

- WR’s definition of telepresence (and the difference between telepresence and videoconferencing)

- WR’s assumptions and analysis regarding the current and future performance of the videoconferencing market

If you’re involved in the videoconferencing market today (or plan to be tomorrow), this document is a MUST read.