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Having just returned from Enterprise Connect and seeing display after display showing large video "immersion" experiences, I am impressed with the technology.
However, earlier in February I visited an end-customer of ours for a case study interview. During our tour, the interviewee was very insistent that we stop and see his new video conference room. Was it an integrated Tanberg, Polycom or other video solution? No, it was a projector, whiteboard and a Logitech camera on Microsoft Lync. I think the whole setup cost him $2,000 using consumer electronics. Was it as good as the dedicated equipment? No, but it was pretty darn good for the money.
So what did I take away from the demonstration?
First, for video to succeed, it needs to get out of the board room and into the regular conference room and on the desktop. This mean afford-ability - most likely with consumer solutions.
Second, people have to have a clear productivity reason to use video. Using video for the sake of using it won't stick. Frankly, most people don't want to be seen on camera and getting over that hurdle is still very much a challenge for the success of broader video adoption.
We here at AudioCodes have been on Lync/OCS for over two years with almost all of us having video cameras on our desktops. Do we use video? Yes, but very rarely and then only when it makes sense.
One last thought: we use Lync desktop sharing almost every day and have found it to be one of the greatest productivity enhancements of UC. So why aren't we talking about that?
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