“I think we should invest in Video Conferencing”, might be the last words your IT team want to hear. More technology, more network management, more skills needed, more servers & more IT staff onboard can often be the first thing that comes to mind – yet another ton of work loaded onto the IT department and in many cases, the need for dedicated resources to support the environment 24/7.
Traditionally, this would be the case. Hardware or virtual machine software servers to be deployed, months of configuration, complex integration with your existing infrastructure and an even bigger team to manage.
However by utilising Cloud Video Conferencing, these problems can be easily solved. With Cloud, very little additional work is needed by your on-site support team, because experts are managing the video environment within the cloud, with dedicated servers in managed secure data centres.
IT departments may struggle with the decision to hand over Video Conferencing technology to a third party, however for most, Video Conferencing is a very different set of technologies than what they are used to – new protocols, different firewall management, bandwidth challenges – and many organisations do not have the IT skills that are needed to successfully and efficiently manage the kit. Using cloud based Video Conferencing doesn’t just save money on technology, but also in the time and money that would be spent on training teams to support the alien systems.
Plus, IT departments are under extreme pressue to reduce operating expenses, especially within large organisations. Not only do the benefits of Video Conferencing to reduce expenditure come into play, but with cloud based Video Conferencing, companies can “pay-as-you-go”, as an operational expenditure rather than a capital one.
Managing the Cloud
Although the servers and back end technology are managed by experts in their field, the IT teams still have a very important role to play, which leads to a much higher saving in the long run, and puts the IT staff in a much stronger position in the organisation. By not having to spend time on fixing servers, time can be spent on monitoring and management of the solutions in place, to increase usage and therefore gain a much higher return on their investment.
Above: The Lifesize Cloud Dashboard
Reporting tools through a Cloud dashboard that give indepth statistics on room usage and meeting participation, system diagnostics and call statistics, the IT department has a much better view of how the kit is being used, when and by whom, and use this vital information to relocate systems, train users and create an overall better experience within the workplace.
For organisations looking to reduce expenditure, streamline IT and be much more efficient in communications, Cloud Video Conferencing could be the answer.
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