A global survey conducted for Microsoft Corp by Ipsos has found the need for social tools in the workplace is continuing to rise. The survey taken by nearly ten thousand workers across thirty two countries show’s workers are even prepared to spend their own cash to use new social technology.

The survey highlighted those in the oil and gas sector are encouraged to use team sites and video conferencing more so than in other industries. As a result oil and gas workers found video conferencing more useful than any other sector.

More than 30% of the companies surveyed underestimate the value of social tools and tend to restrict their use, which has led to employees being afraid to use social tools at work. Nearly 40% of employees feel there’s not enough teamwork in their workplaces and social tools in-fact drive collaboration.

Even so, the number of employees bringing their own device into the workplace is continually rising, as is the use of services which businesses are yet to adopt. Employees want to work and interact using more modern and connected technology as they do in their social lives.

The research also found notable differences between countries, sectors and genders as they relate to the levels of productivity, collaboration and communication tools used in today’s workplace.

Managed Service provider UCi2i have reported working from home have become the workplace of choice which coincides with recent research results from Ipsos MORI.

A survey of one thousand remote workers conducted by Ipsos MORI discovered 70% revealed they are more productive at home than in the office.

Much like Videonations managed service, UCi2i have seen their managed service increase by over 350% which demonstrates the value of video communication in today’s developing workforce.

According to data from CIPD, a HR management organisation, they have found seven out of ten businesses find remote working helps retention, motivation, and improves communication.

This pattern is reflected across the video conferencing industry demonstrating video is now an integral part of business communication for both internal and external purposes, and is used across multiple devices including desktop and mobile.

Flexible working in the workplace is definitely more prevalent and companies who have implemented the technology are seeing their employees engage face-to-face more frequently.

Many believe employee’s creating their own working environments is the future of business communication.

Home working has steadily been on the rise for the last few years and shows no signs of slowing down.

Businesses have seen productivity in the workforce rapidly increase following the adoption of home and flexible working.

Although not for every organisation, working from home is a great option for many, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. It requires a strong self discipline and organisation to ensure productivity levels remain consistent, and to avoid becoming isolated.

Below are five tips to ensure you remain productive when working from home.

Define your workspace

Avoid the sofa, turn off the TV. Avoid places where you’d choose to relax outside of working hours. Create a workspace which is bright and causes little distraction. Surround yourself with work related material. If you have the luxury of a home office, use it.

Attire

Dress for work. Your approach to work can easily be influenced by your choice of clothing. Pick an outfit you would typically wear to the office or for a business meeting. Wear shoes rather than your slippers. If you use video communication technology it’s unlikely your boss or clients would appreciate you joining a video calling wearing your favourite football shirt.

Define set working hours

Don’t work into the night. If you start work at 9am ensure you finish at a respectable hour. Take a lunch break away from your desk and avoid entering your workspace outside of working hours.

Communicate with colleagues regularly

Communication via email and instant messaging comes as standard, but it’s easy to become isolated when solely relying on these tools. Regular communication over the phone and via video calling is important to remain productive. If you haven’t […]

LifeSize, a division of Logitech, have launched their mobile video conferencing solution for their software based UVC platform. LifeSize UVC ClearSea is a feature rich and intuitive solution available for nearly all desktop and mobile devices.

Offering the broadest support of smartphones, tablets, and desktops the UVC ClearSea is like no other solution available with unlimited user accounts giving desktop and mobile access to everyone.

Now businesses have the flexibility to choose their own infrastructure setup and capacity. LifeSize UVC Platform is available as hardware or as virtualised software allowing organisation to extend video conferencing to any employee in any location using any device improving collaboration and productivity within the workforce.

The LifeSize UVC ClearSea highlights:

• Invite anyone: extend to users without video conferencing.
• Dial all: contact any user on multiple devices simultaneously (mobile phone, tablet device, laptop and room based system), guaranteeing those important calls are never missed.
• BYOD support: users can choose PC, Mac or more than 50 iOS and Android devices with optimized clients
• Unified directory: UVC ClearSea users are all able to view one unified directory from any device, so you can easily contact anyone, anywhere, from any device
• Multiparty calling: seamlessly invite new participants to your call by clicking on a contact name, enabled through LifeSize UVC Multipoint
• Transfer your calls: continue with the call even when you leave the workplace by transferring an the call from your desktop to your mobile device
• Improved call routing: create simplified dialling plans and custom routing rules to control how calls are handled

As the LifeSize UVC ClearSea is part of the UVC Platform it means video collaboration is now more flexible, scalable and affordable than ever before. Additional features:

• Easy to buy: as […]
  

Thousands of organisations are focused on cutting costs, but how are they able to do so whilst maintaining, and even improving productivity?

That’s the question being posed by Video Conferencing specialist Videonations – www.videonationsltd.co.uk – as businesses across the globe grapple with austerity and slowing growth.

“Millions of us are afraid of change, which makes us averse to using new technology, especially in the workplace,” says MD Ian Carter. “But the proven fact is new technology in the workplace is the main contributor of cutting costs, improving productivity, and even speeding up the decision making process.

“Business magnate, Richard Branson, is quoted as saying that anyone who thinks new technology isn’t going to keep changing the world has got their head in the sand. I know what many of you are thinking! Richard Branson is a multi-billionaire, and for him the initial cost of implementing new technology into the workplace is a mere drop in the ocean.

“For business owners and budget handlers, yes new technology can be costly, and no it’s extremely unlikely you’ll generate an ROI within the first six to twelve months. But even in these tough economic times, is a business’s roadmap really only twelve months? If it’s just ‘ticking along’ and capital expenditure has halted, it is definitely time for them to get their head out of the sand. If they are not prepared to invest in new collaborative technology solutions, then they best stop aspiring to be successful. Sounds harsh, but it’s the truth!”

With claims that London would ‘grind to a halt’ during last year’s Olympics, Videonations saw a staggering 300% rise in update for hosted video conferencing throughout the South East, spanning virtual meeting rooms. Interestingly usage remains high.

Carter explained: “The […]

Businesses using video as a communication tool is expected to rise throughout 2013 and 2014.

A unified communications market report from Canalys shows enterprises of all sizes have been driven towards video conferencing technology following the continuous success of consumer tools like Skype and Apple’s FaceTime.

Implementing video conferencing into a business has previously proven to be problematic, expensive and even a security concern.  The developments in interoperability and bandwidth mean video is now of a higher quality, more resilient, and importantly more affordable making it available to everyone.

Also supporting the rise in video usage is BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) which has been adopted by many businesses. Employee’s using tablets and Smartphones with front facing cameras encourages the use video communication and makes collaborating with mobile users simple and productive.

People are naturally using video in their professional and private lives. Video is considered by many as the preferred method of communication over email and phone calls. Collaboration is no longer just a buzz word. People are constantly communicating and sharing information, even whilst on the move.

At Videonations we have been supplying and installing collaboration equipment for over ten years.

I’ve just returned from a great weekend away with friends. We walked the dog in the countryside whilst filling our lungs with the fresh air, cooked a delicious lamb dinner, and of course discussed many topics over copious amount of alcohol.

At some point during the evening the topic of discussion turned to work, as it often does. When discussing my line of work, my friend, an IT Exec who works in a small town in Yorkshire, told me about the video conferencing setup in the main boardroom of the business. He told he had heard how impressive the kit was and how much the Managing Director seems to enjoy using the technology. “Who else utilises the setup?” I asked him. “Oh, only the MD uses it. It’s really only for him to use” he responded. I wasn’t surprised to hear this as it’s often the way it is when video is restricted to the boardroom. I then went on to tell my friend about the deployment of video comunication across entire organisations in both conference rooms and desktop setups. He fully understood the benefits of further deployment, but he could not see video being rolled out across his place of work anytime soon. “Why?” I asked. “The MD sees video as a corporate tool for high level environments.”

This conversation has led me to re-visit why businesses are depriving their staff of video communication, even after they have invested in the technology.

For those who have adopted video conferencing and restrict its use to the boardroom and for director use only, I suggest re-educating yourself about the

The introduction of cloud services has caused a shake-up in the world of video conferencing. It seems many IT departments are no-longer prepared to put up with the challenges they face with the technology.

Although the “Cloud” is a hot new topic, it’s important to note cloud services are not exactly new to the video conferencing arena. In fact the service has been available for quite some time. The recent buzz around the “Cloud” meant VC providers simply couldn’t ignore the opportunity to re-badge their formerly named “Managed Service”. And why should they, since most service providers have added the “cloud” to their offerings.

With video conferencing fast becoming a must-have communication tool, and with IT departments becoming more accepting of cloud offerings, businesses are keen to explore the various options available to them to ensure their existing or future investment doesn’t become a white elephant, which can often be the case if not installed and configured correctly. It’s important for them to recognise the benefits of these services over traditional hardware solutions.

So, what are the advantages of cloud video conferencing?

1. Reduces Costs – Rather than investing and maintaining expensive infrastructure equipment, users can simply dial into a virtual meeting room, managed by the service provider, resulting in reduced maintenance costs.
2. Interoperability – Most cloud video conferencing services inter-operate with, and support, video equipment from the leading manufacturers; including Cisco, Polycom, LifeSize and Radvision.
3. Fast and simple – Existing video conferencing users, and even non-video users, can connect to a video conference within a matter of minutes. For non-video users, cloud service providers offer downloadable desktop clients allowing anyone with a web cam to connect to a video call.
4. Bandwidth relief – Ideal for organisations with bandwidth limitations, as […]
   

The introduction of cloud services has resulted in questions being raised about the value of video conferencing infrastructure equipment. Although nothing new to the video collaboration market, the previously named managed service has attracted the attention of many and is becoming widely accepted by a growing number of organisations.

VC providers renaming their managed services has been a good move, and has no-doubt created new opportunities in what is clearly a desirable, yet competitive arena.

With the continual rise of video collaboration adoption in the corporate space, organisations are prepared to investigate alternative options to that of infrastructure solutions, typically labelled as expensive and unreliable by service providers.

There is no doubt a market for cloud based video conferencing solutions, but will organisations be prepared to relinquish control of their video network? Unlikely!

Below are the advantages of video conferencing infrastructure over cloud based solutions.

• Bandwidth Management – The deployment of video conferencing across an entire organisation will have an immediate impact on bandwidth usage. Centralised bandwidth control ensures bandwidth if managed effectively.
• Scheduling – For organisations who carry out multiple video conferences, centralised scheduling ensures meetings start and finish at the correct time and require little, if any, on-site support.
• More cost effective (Long term) – Cloud conferencing incurs a monthly or annual costs for as long as the service is used. Owning infrastructure, although more expensive at the outset, is more cost effective in the long term.
• Dedicated IT staff – Infrastructure is likely to be managed by the IT department. If any problems do arise during a call, IT staff will be available to provide immediate on-site support and maintenance.

Although cloud services can offer a higher level of resilience through their backup MCU’s, the chances of an MCU failing […]

The launch of browser based and cloud based services from leading telepresence providers could be considered as them admitting defeat in attempting to conquer the world of desktop video communication. New services offering interoperability with social video platforms such as Skype, Google Talk, and Facebook, is the vendors attempt to bring social and business video tools together. Many are still asking the questions “If video communication is free using social platforms, why would anyone choose to pay for desktop video conferencing?”

So rather than battling against the free video applications, the aim of the vendors is to work with them and ensure video becomes the preferred choice of communication irrespective or device or location.

Room based video collaboration solutions have proven to be successful, and there is still a place for the technology in meeting rooms and boardrooms, however there has always been the frustration of being unable to invite a Skype user into a boardroom video call. That was until services from the likes of BlueJeans Network, and the latest addition to Polycom’s portfolio, CloudAxis, have been able to break down these barriers and enable interoperability between business and social applications. So now Skype users can communicate with standards based video conferencing and telepresence solutions which, in some cases, could tempt people back to using the solution they invested in all those years ago.

So why have the telepresence vendors chosen this route and what impact will introducing these services have?

Open doors – Well firstly it could open up the doors to the social market. The opportunity to develop brand awareness through social channels cannot be over-looked. However, unless they are offering […]