For many years, we’ve questioned the prevailing method for deploying video conferencing gear. Essentially, most enterprise systems are put outside the firewall, exposed on the public Internet, and given a static IP address for making and receiving calls. Advantages are numerous to this approach: It avoids many of the issues for traversing corporate (and home) firewalls and for overcoming NAT (network address translation from private to public addresses in real-time), and it offers a simple IP address for dialing and being dialed.

But this is also highly risky. It basically takes an important communication tool and window into company conference rooms and opens the rooms up to those outside who could relatively easily hack in, take over systems, and even as the article reported, potentially eavesdrop on highly sensitive conversations.

Placing enterprise systems outside the firewall has always confounded me. In the voice over IP (VoIP) world, it’s common practice to place phone systems behind the firewall. Sophisticated mechanisms have emerged to both protect and open up voice communications with the outside world (after all, what good is a voice system that can’t connect with others outside your company boundaries?).

Video has often been treated differently. IT managers would routinely say that it’s not a problem because… well… it hasn’t been a problem. Coming from the same IT managers who take security very seriously in other realms, it’s curious.

Opposite but also problematic is other major approach taken in the video conferencing industry: Putting video systems behind the firewall and letting NO ONE else reach them. This works okay if you are only interested in speaking with people within your own company and for larger companies, a case can be made that internal communication is the first problem to solve. Compounding the problem is that calling others in the video space often requires pretzel-contorting custom opening of firewall ports, special configuration, and interoperability issues.

Fortunately, there is another way. At Vidtel, we believe we’ve solved this problem through our Vidtel Connect service. Business customer can put their video systems securely behind their own corporate firewall and overcome NAT while also being publically reachable with a simple email-like calling address. Vidtel’s solution is based on a large service provider and enterprise customer approach for VoIP but is uniquely adapted for video conferencing. Adaptations include a tremendous effort around auto device configuration and interoperability between video devices at other companies. Best of all, through our cloud service companies can have this solution for about the same price as a phone service, without investing tens of thousands of dollars in network infrastructure and on top of that a savvy video specialist to run it all.

Today’s article was a wake-up call to the world’s companies running video conferencing: Put your systems out on the public Internet at your peril. Enterprise video devices will need to follow a similar path as the VoIP world. IT professionals will need to both secure video conferencing systems behind the firewall AND at the same time make it more open for others to call (it is a communication device after all). So, IT people: What are you waiting for?

Polycom launched its new cloud offering, RealPresence Cloud, yesterday with great fanfare. This is significant as Polycom became the last of the 3 major video conferencing vendors to throw their full support behind a cloud offering of their own.

The RealPresence Cloud offer provides Polycom-based services without the need for network infrastructure (e.g., bridges, gatekeepers, session border controllers, gateways, etc.) on the part of the end users.

What’s different from the Polycom offer vs. their competition is that it clearly states it is a wholesale offer to be sold through the service provider community and not directly to end users. By contrast, the Cisco Callway service and LifeSize Connections services are sold directly to end customers potentially competing with their own service provider channel partners. This alternative approach is understandable from a Polycom point of view in that they have a much larger installed based of service providers on the VoIP handset side and have always feared not being seen as neutral.

Now that all three of the major vendors have launched their own cloud services, the idea of cloud video conferencing has rapidly moved from a good idea to a must-have mainstream service for the industry.

Having said that, I see a number of deep flaws shared by all three vendors in their collective approach.

For starters, all of them focus their offers around their own technology. The Cisco offer only supports Cisco equipment, LifeSize for LifeSize, and Polycom for Polycom. This worked reasonably well for these players when their sales were directly at small, largely internal-only deployments at the Fortune 500. But SMEs are going to want to speak with others outside their organization. And those other companies will have a mix of other solutions that might include the same equipment but also would surely include some that deploy the Big Three.

Additionally, many SMEs regularly use consumer-oriented video conferencing services like Skype and Google to name a few. In order to really make these cloud offers valuable, the network of potential called parties needs to extend from a handful of internal conference rooms to the billions of people who use their laptops, tablets, and smart phones (mostly on the consumer platforms like Skype) every day.

And finally, the pricing of these cloud services is still very similar to the “white glove” video conferencing vendors who target larger enterprise customers who are relatively price-insensitive when the boss is considering the option of Learjet or Telepresence room call. SMEs strive for the higher enterprise-grade quality these vendors can provide but are not willing to pay the same stratospheric prices.

Vidtel addresses all of these offering limitations through a vendor-neutral service that integrates the enterprise systems with consumer ones (like Skype and Google) at prices that are an order of magnitude lower than the big guys.

So thanks to Polycom and their fellow competitors for stepping up to the cloud world. We are thrilled to have you join the cloud party and make this a must-have for the mass market.

Click Here

Vidtel, a cloud-based video conferencing service provider and CommX, a technologically savvy service provider of hosted telephone systems for businesses, today announced their distribution arrangement to market Vidtel’s hosted Meet Me Video Conferencing Service for multi-party conferencing to CommX’s national customer base of hosted voice business customers.

Many small-to-medium-sized enterprises find business-grade video conferencing highly desirable but also highly challenging to implement. Barriers to implementation include high infrastructure costs, video conferencing expertise and device interoperability issues. CommX and Vidtel have partnered to deliver a hosted solution that even the smallest enterprises will find accessible. Vidtel’s hosted video conferencing service removes IT hassles and expenditures on infrastructure and enables interoperability between 90% of standard video conferencing equipment (e.g., Cisco/Tandberg, Polycom, LifeSize endpoints). With this outsourced solution, SMBs have no need to acquire additional expensive infrastructure to initiate a business-grade on-demand multi-party video conferencing call with third-parties.

“CommX is well-known for moving ahead of the curve on technology evaluations and trends in the hosted VoIP market, and was an early pioneer of VoIP implementations. We are enthusiastic about working with CommX to deliver our service to its national customer base,” said Scott Wharton, CEO of Vidtel.

“The Vidtel hosted service solves a major problem for small to medium-sized businesses who seek business grade, multiple point video calls. This offer radically expands the addressable market for HD video conferencing and it dovetails with our existing hosted voice offers. Vidtel is a leading edge player in this space and we’re excited to be working with them,” said Mike Viren, CommX’s CEO.

The CommX Meet Me Multi-Point Video Conferencing service is live and commercially available through CommX channel partners.

CommX is an early Voice over IP (VoIP) pioneer, founded in 2002 after the core team had performed significant testing/evaluation of numerous early VoIP platforms developed by BroadSoft and other softswitch companies. Funded entirely by its employees, the CommX organization worked hard to build its customer base in the early stages of the VoIP market, focusing on the Tampa Bay and New York City area business community. This disciplined effort provided invaluable experience that would help the company make a strategic move three years later, when it began delivering wholesale VoIP to business partners in other markets. More information is at www.commxinc.com.

Vidtel is a cloud-based video conferencing service provider. Our open video conferencing network service provides compatibility between a diverse set of business-grade video endpoints at enterprises worldwide. Vidtel enables even small and medium enterprises to experience the productivity of secure, high-quality video conferencing with partners, suppliers and customers around the world. Vidtel is located in the heart of Silicon Valley in Mountain View, CA. Find more information at http://www.vidtel.com.

Scott Wharton is at BroadSoft Connections October 25-27 at the Arizona Biltmore.  To set up a meeting with him there, contact him at 650-353-1010.

At the Cloud Communications Summit today, October 4th, 2010, panelists will address how communications as a service drastically lowers capital expenditures, reduces project risks and increases service agility and value. The panel will be moderated by Thomas Howe, CEO of Light and Electric. The panelists are:

• Scott Wharton, CEO, Vidtel
• Moshe Yudkowsky, President, Disaggregate
• Dave Michels, Principal, Verge1
• Dan York, Director of Conversations, Voxeo Corporation
• Crick Waters, Co-founder, EVP Strategy and Business Development, Ribbit Corporation

Vidtel CEO Scott Wharton will serve on the Expert Panel as a judge for the StartUpCamp2 Comm Edition presentations from:

AdelaVoice: innovative and interactive relationship between the consumer and their smart device

Vokle: virtual townhall platform

VAL9000 (stealth): cloud-based system for clinical information systems

GroupMe: organize and communicate with the groups of people by SMS and voice

Cloud Telecomputers:  functionality of a smartphone in a desk phone

Tomorrow, October 5th, Vidtel CEO Scott Whartion will serve on the Multimedia Services – Peering Video Telephony and HD Voice panel of the VIPeering Conference at ITEXPO.  While video telephony and HD voice can be enjoyed within a single network, to reach true widespread mass adoption they must be able to function on a network-to-network basis.

The discussion will explore how peering federations, SIP infrastructure, ENUM and other advances combine to ensure end-to-end IP communications.  Speakers include:

• Scott Wharton, CEO, Vidtel
• Alan Percy, Director, Market Development, AudioCodes
• Mark Benisz,VP Americas, XConnect

Also on October 5, Vidtel CEO Scott Wharton will be speaking on the Upselling SIP Trunking Panel.  This panel of SIP veterans will discuss how a super SIP trunk can add value to a business and help create bundles specifically for a vertical market.  The panelists are:

• Peter Radizeski (Moderator), CRO, RAD-INFO
• Scott Wharton, CEO, Vidtel
• David Byrd, VP, Sales & Marketing, Broadvox
• Steve Vickers, President, Newport Audio and Video
• Joseph Gillette, President & CEO, Stage 2

A report in July-August 2010 Channel Vision Magazine (circulated to nearly 20,000 channel partners and wholesale carriers selling voice, conferencing, IP and other network-based services), points to the growing demand for video conferencing outside of purpose-built room systems.

In the magazine’s “Beyond the Conference Room” report, Martin Vilaboy argues that video outside the conference room “gets really interesting only when sessions can be initiated across all types of endpoints, from telepresence flat screen to an iPad in a hotel room, and vendor brand names attaches to services and endpoints don’t make a difference.”  That, and it’s an easy to use, on-demand service. “Only at that point,” Vilaboy maintains, “does it truly become accessible for SMBs to routinely collaborate with partners, customers, mobile workers, suppliers, etc. At this point, for an SMB to achieve interoperability on its own, it would require tens of thousands of dollars in network investments and some degree of IT resources.”

Even though the major video conferencing vendors have made advances towards standards and cross capabilities, seamless connectivity still presents what Vilaboy terms “significant challenges” including firewall traversal and a “market landscape, from Google to Cisco, of proprietary platforms and technologies.”  In the report, Vidtel CEO Scott Wharton notes that even when standards are established, it can be hard or impossible to get them to work together since the SIP standard is an interpretive one, meaning interpreted differently by various vendors.  This is too much for the average SMB IT department and even the video VARs to handle so they tend to recommend that customers stay with one vendor’s brand and use it for internal use only.

The key to widespread SMB deployment of business-grade video conferencing will be a service provider solution “that can deliver affordable and robust hosted services”, Vilaboy reports.  Outside of a hosted solution, SMBs would have to invest in gateways, session border controllers, service bridging, and SIP proxy functionality.  Then, there are cases where SIP needs to be integrated with H.323, which is not a simple matter.

Ugh. Most SMBs don’t even know what those terms means, nor should they have to (we think).  As an alternative to SMBs undergoing this infrastructure investment, cloud-based service provider Vidtel put all this functionality in the cloud and offers a hosted service for a monthly fee.

Our approach seeks to have SIP, H.323 and proprietary video conferencing systems all work together.  The Vidtel network also has the capability of integrating with the PSTN so local phone numbers can be used for regular phone calling as well.  Multi-point is easy, too.  The bridging function hosted in Vidtel’s data center enables multi-party video conferencing.

Vidtel pursues a channel strategy to deliver service and has announced deals with hosted voice providers to integrate the Vidtel multi-party video conferencing service.  Vidtel’s SIP core enables the hosted voice providers to use SIP trunks for bridging to Vidtel. End-customers then dial into the bridge on-demand with a 10-digit number from their Polycom VVX1500, LifeSize Passport, Tandberg E20 or other standard device.

The Channel Magazine report begs the question of how long the lower quality and lack of support of software-based consumer-oriented video conferencing solutions will be tolerated by businesses. Research Now’s study demonstrates that audio quality is as important as the video experience. “With user expectations raised by the popularity of HD everything,” the report quotes Research Now, “video conferencing or video chat without HD voice and HD video usually results in poor user experiences.”

PC-based solutions are limited by processor speed, Wharton points out. It’s the same reason people prefer to watch movies on TV vs. on a handheld device – better processing capability provides better quality.

As video device prices are shrinking and hosted solutions become more available, HD video conferencing will come more into the hands of the SMB market. “Endpoint prices are starting to come down, ” Wharton is quoted, such as from LifeSize, Cisco/Tandberg, Sony and Polycom. “What’s not coming down is the complexity or the need for someone to manage things in the middle.”

All of this is good news for Vidtel.

Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC, asks Scott Wharton, CEO of Vidtel, about Vidtel’s cloud-based video conferencing service. Scott discusses the vision of the company to provide HD video conferencing for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Vidtel service enables SMEs to have business-grade video conferencing without investing in video conferencing infrastructure (e.g., session border controllers, gateways, SIP proxies).  Vidtel is device-agnostic, enabling any SIP device (e.g., Polycom, Cisco, Tandberg, LifeSize, Sony) to register to and connect with others over the Vidtel network.

Vidtel’s approach is to provide a hosted service, similar to a telephone monthly service fee, eliminating the need for customers to invest in additional IT support, servers, testing and interoperability.

To gain new customers, Vidtel is pursuing a channel strategy with video conferencing vendors, VoIP providers and and VARs.  Vidtel’s service allows VARs and VoIP providers to expand their hosted voice offerings to include hosted video.

In the case of the major video conferencing vendors, Vidtel helps solve the problem of these vendors’ niche focus on the large enterprise. Teaming up with Vidtel enables these manufacturers to address a much wider audience. Without a hosted service such as Vidtel, potential customers would be required to make substantial IT investments to accommodate HD video conferencing.

What’s next? Vidtel has already enabled interoperability between the major players’ equipment (Tandberg, Cisco, Polycom, LifeSize and Sony).  H.323 to SIP  interoperability is next.  Vidtel’s vision also includes gateways from SIP devices to proprietary standards (e.g., Skype, Google, Microsoft, Apple).

See Scott Wharton interviewed on TMCnet.

IP5280 is one of the industry’s best in driving hosted voice, evidenced by their distinctive focus on the value of applications to their SME customers. Their proven capabilities in successfully conveying the value of a hosted application makes them an ideal partner for us

A critical problem faces mid-market companies who seek to conduct business-grade multi-point video conferencing.

Almost all small-medium enterprises (SMEs) find acquiring and managing video conferencing servers, handling addressing and dealing with firewall issues too resource-consuming. The Vidtel Multi-Point (Meet Me) Video Conferencing Service is a hosted, outsourced solution that cost-effectively solves this problem.  Vidtel has partnered with IP5280,  which specializes in business VoIP and cloud-based communications delivered via state-of-the-art unified Internet Protocol (IP) technologies, to deliver this service to IP5280′s customer base.  This service provides a hosted unified communications solution (voice and video) as part of IP5280′s best-of-breed cloud computing infrastructure, called “CLOVER,” or “CLOud OVer Enterprise Resources.”

“IP5280 is one of the industry’s best in driving hosted voice, evidenced by their distinctive focus on the value of applications to their SME customers. Their proven capabilities in successfully conveying the value of a hosted application makes them an ideal partner for us,” said Scott Wharton, CEO of Vidtel.

“Vidtel, an industry innovator and leader in the video communications industry, has developed an offer that exemplifies the type of cloud-based unified communication application we seek to offer. Vidtel Meet Me Video Conferencing Service will be the first application provided by a strategic partner who is added into the IP5280 CLOVER network, designed specifically to optimize the performance of interactive cloud-based applications,“ said Jeffrey Pearl, co-founder and managing partner of IP5280.

Vidtel’s multi-point video conferencing service integrates IP5280’s hosted voice offering with Polycom® VVXTM 1500 business media phones and the Vidtel network. The service enables three or more VVX 1500s to connect via a simple dial-in number for on-demand multi-way video conferencing.

Beginning in Q2 2010, IP5280 will offer Vidtel’s Multi-Point (Meet Me) Video Conferencing service to its small-medium-sized enterprise customers. For more information about IP5280, contact Jeff Rundles at  303-952-2565. For Vidtel, contact Mariette Wharton at 650-353-1125.

For this year’s VoiceCon, the leading enterprise communications and video conferencing event, Vidtel CEO Scott Wharton has been selected to lead the discussion panels on choosing the right video device, extending video across the enterprise boundary and the challenges in a mass deployment of video endpoints in an enterprise.  The Video For the Enterprise program at VoiceCon will be in Orlando on March 22-23, 2010.

The Right Video Device:  How To Decide Who Gets What?

Today, most video conferencing systems reside in conference rooms. In order for video to expand to everyday use, different devices will be used. Executive systems (dedicated video systems on a user’s desk), laptops and video phones are alternatives to high-end room systems and telepresence systems. To determine which devices are the best options, some questions will be addressed, including:

• What are the key video device options today and the pros and cons for each device?
• Which device is the best suited for what types of workers, locations or use cases?
• What are the key tradeoffs in terms of quality, price and productivity considerations?
• How are the different device alternatives evolving and what will the future hold?
• How would this change the mix of video devices used with the enterprise?

Other panelists include Robert Romano, VP Enterprise Marketing, Radvision, Matt Jordan, Enterprise Development Manager, Skype for Business and Ira Weinstein, Senior Analyst & Partner, Wainhouse Research.

Extending Video Across the Enterprise Boundary

Although the vast majority of video conference calling is within the enterprise, it’s only a matter of time before these same systems are used to make calls to people in other organizations.

There are some challenges, though.  Unlike voice communication, which uses the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to link together all phones, video devices have no such network.  To further complicate matters, there are significant barriers to making inter-enterprise video conferencing as easy as a voice call such as addressing, security, quality of service and interoperability.  In this VoiceCon panel, Scott Wharton will be leading the discussion on these topics:

• What are the different approaches to inter-enterprise video conferencing today?
  How do you find and call other video users (use “regular” phone numbers, URI address, IP Address, iNum, FDQN)?
• Will enterprises rely on service providers or handle this issue internally?
• When should dedicated bandwidth be used vs. the public Internet or a hybrid approach?
• What are the security requirements and tradeoffs for inter-enterprise video?
• What are the different requirements for inter-enterprise video conferencing between video endpoints from the same vendor? From different vendors?
• What are the considerations for opening up bridging (e.g., an MCU) for inter-enterprise video conferencing vs. using a 3rd party?

In addition to moderator/speaker Scott Wharton, CEO, Vidtel, are panelists Chris MacFarland, COO, Masergy, Michel Sagen, Director, Product Management, Tandberg, John Bartlett, Principal, NetForecast Inc. and Ted Tracy, Director, Engineering & Architecture, TelePresence Exchange BU, Cisco.

Challenges in Mass Deployment: From Tens to Thousands of Video Endpoints

Enterprise use of video is growing, but it remains a “niche” application, largely used by a select set of users in planned sessions.  For video conferencing to move into the mainstream, it needs to evolve into a universal tool for business – an application that is used both inside and outside a company’s boundaries.

Incremental growth isn’t that difficult, but challenges abound for any CEO or CIO who wants to extend video deployment to everyone in the enterprise – expanding from dozens of systems to thousands.  In this session, Scott Wharton will moderate these topics:

• What are the product requirements for scaling a deployment and are today’s solutions up to the task? What about bandwidth requirements and network upgrades?
• What makes sense to tackle internally vs. outsourcing or hybrid choices?
• Are people outside the firewall (teleworkers, branch offices) out of luck?
• How does VOIP help – or hinder – the expansion of video?
• Should the video network be integrated with other network elements (i.e., the PBX, PSTN) and if so, when and how?
• Most enterprises are multi-vendor environments; how does that affect options for scaling video?

Others on the discussion panel are Chris Lauwers, CTO, Avistar, Brent Kelly, Senior Analyst & Partner, Wainhouse Research, Ofer Shapiro, CEO, Vidyo and Roy Skillicorn, Senior Director, Advanced Services, TelePresence Practice Management Organization, Cisco.

To meet up with us at VoiceCon or suggest any additional questions for the panels, please send an email to voicecon@vidtel.com.