Enterprise video is a cornerstone of unified communications technology. It's one of a suite of tools that saves time and increases colleagues' ability to collaborate. Even with crystal clear high definition (HD), enterprise video doesn't require dedicated endpoints or tremendous bandwidth. Plus, it's easy to use.
So how do you reap the benefits? To ensure a high rate of user adoption and realize a substantial return on investment, consider utilizing these implementation best practices.
Section 1: Planning and implementation
An enterprise video solution will need to be set up in a way that suits your existing network, workflow and spaces. Here are best practices for incorporating those factors into your planning:
1. Quantify business benefits
What you do with video will determine the kinds of benefits that it brings. Would you like to use video to reduce business travel, or is it just another way of increasing communication and productivity? Each of the three kinds of enterprise video solutions has its own specific uses:
- Desktop video at the workstation improves communication and collaboration between colleagues and partners, boosting productivity
- Multi-room solutions connect groups in high definition and replace in-person meetings
- Telepresence is an immersive experience where the lighting, furniture and sound in both locations is identical, creating the illusion of an in-person meeting
What your organization needs will depend on your business goals. Once you determine these targets, you will be in a position to calculate the benefits, both hard and soft. The productivity benefits of desktop video speak for themselves. The soft benefits of using video instead of travelling include better work/life balance, greater job satisfaction, increased productivity and more.
In terms of hard costs, video represents significant savings: according to a recent survey, the average overnight domestic business trip in North America costs $1,334 per meeting participant, plus 30% for benefits and administration.
2. Gear your rollout towards adoption
When it comes to deploying video, the vast majority of organizations find that it's not just a matter of outfitting the whole enterprise at once. Companies are rolling out enterprise video slowly, based on business unit demand. And your choice of what to roll out first–desktop video, multi-room room solutions or telepresence–should take into account what is most likely to encourage adoption.
3. Build video into Unified Communications
What role does video conferencing play in your organization? Is it just a boost to voice communication, or does it play a more fundamental role in your overall unified communications strategy?
If you have yet to roll out unified communications, it's important to plan a video installation in such a way that it dovetails nicely with future UC integration. Be sure to invest in technology that will integrate into your current or future unified communications infrastructure.
4. Connect with the network
Years ago, every endpoint required a dedicated network line with guaranteed bandwidth. With quality of service (QoS) prioritization, IP-based video now runs over the data network together with voice and other services. With the right bandwidth, you can even plug in HD telepresence without ordering more network access.
But keep in mind that even if LAN throughput is significant, most organizations use video over the WAN. Where you set video endpoint bandwidth thresholds will depend in part on your WAN access. To obtain true high definition, endpoints may need to reach 2 megabits per second (Mbps). But setting the bandwidth threshold substantially lower dramatically reduces network load while barely impacting quality.
To make sure your network is ready for video, it's best to:
- Perform a network assessment including measurement of WAN access from the core and available bandwidth at endpoints
- Decide on endpoint speed thresholds
- Develop technical plans and prioritize adjustments required
- Plan the implementation rollout
5. Make it look good
Video is literally a window into your organization. Just as you might put on a suit for an important meeting, you will want the rooms, lighting and sound to be just so.
Outfitting a room for video conferencing involves more than installing a screen, a camera and hoping for the best. Room size, acoustics, glare and other considerations influence the number, size and placement of speakers and screens. Even desktop video needs to take several factors into account. It's a good idea to perform room evaluations to decide how best to outfit them.
Section 2: User experience and adoption: creating excitement
Implementation is only half the story. The other half is making sure that video catches on. Just because it's there doesn't mean that people are going to love it and make good use of it.
6. Create the right kind of awareness
Ten people might have 10 different perceptions of video in the workplace. Some will be enthusiastic, while others might feel uncomfortable in front of a camera. It's important to let future users know that video is coming and to educate them about the benefits. Some ways of raising awareness include:
- Internal newsletter or intranet communications
- A manned kiosk in the cafeteria or other high-traffic space
- Live demonstrations for select audiences
7. Dovetail video adoption and travel policy
With no disincentive to travel, many employees will continue to hop on planes as they always have instead of using video. So if cutting travel costs is a big driver for you, instituting a formal policy can help you to change ingrained behaviour. These kinds of directives normally come from the executive level, so reach out to individuals who can make it happen.
8. More training, less support
Video today is easy to use. But the best way to get adoption to soar now and to minimize support demands in the future is to give new users a full orientation. If training is well done, experience shows that you won't need much support.
Any support that you need can be provided internally or through a vendor. If you choose to provide support internally, consider teaching support personnel technical troubleshooting skills in addition to comprehensive knowledge of use.
9. Connect users
One important way to increase desktop video usage is to provision a directory of internal and partner video users, complete with status. That way, users can know who is available and initiate a video call right from their desktop.
10. Get analytics
Want to know how often video is being used? Just like a Web site, video can come with full monitoring, back-end analytics and statistical reports. These can be used to plan further rollouts, identify gaps in training and more.
There's more to making enterprise video work than simply installing cameras and sending out an email. But if you plan it properly, video will work great from the outset and prove a popular tool. To find out more about enterprise video or to enquire about planning or implementation, contact Bell or request to have a Bell representative contact you.