IBM - Video Communications - An Enterprise Perspective

© 2009 IBM Corporation

IMTC Event: CTO Roundtable

An Enterprise Perspective

Bill Rippon – IBM Research, Sr. Network Engineer

09 March 2011

© 2009 IBM Corporation2

Agenda

Background, Statistics and Timing

Value, Assumptions and Needs

Recent Deployments and VaaS

IBM Research Efforts

A Few Final Thoughts

IMTC: CTO Roundtable – Enterprise Perspective


Video Background

IBM has been using video communication for over 30 years– Mix of proprietary, standards and open source– Satellite, ISDN, TCP/IP Based, Multicast, Unicast, P2P, Multi-point, Etc.

Within the past 20 years, hundreds of legacy (non HD capable) video conferencing units were installed at IBM sites around the world.

– Very low utilization (<5%)

PC soft clients for video have been available for 10+ years. – Only recently has a small base of substantial use been established

The Big Question: “Why was video not more widely deployed and used in the past?” Some of the reasons include;

– Difficulty in coordinating and connecting meetings– Lack of centralized services– Poor quality, high cost, limited interoperability, limited security– Systems were typically not user friendly– Little or no integration with voice, messaging or collaboration environments



A few interesting stats for the IBM enterprise

Operating and serving customers in over 160 countries – Approx. 400K employees wielding over 550K client workstations

• Approximately 50% are mobile and, or remote

400K Hard phones (205K IP), 50K+ soft phones, 150K+ mobile phones

IP Toll-bypass at 125 sites, serving 150K+ people

2.4 Billion minutes per year of Audio Conferencing

Legacy video conferencing units (600+)

40-50 Million instant messages per day (IBM Lotus Sametime)–Up to 230,000 concurrently active users

Well over 200K web conferences annually (Over 100 million minutes)

Multivendor production environments for voice and video



Later part of 2000’s became the right time for video

Major IBM initiatives identify video communication as a key component

Factors influencing the drive towards more video communication

– Economic conditions

– Reduction in travel and the desire to reduce carbon footprint.

– Critical need to simultaneously reduce cost while at the same time, improving communication and increasing business

– Solutions have matured significantly • Quality, reliability, interoperability, security and ease of use

– Increasing network capacity at more reasonable price points

All indications point to a continued acceleration of growth in the industry and within the IBM enterprise.

Many of our customers, partners and competitors are moving forward with high quality video deployments.



Agenda








Value proposition

Key enabler for the Globally Integrated Enterprise

Enhance communication

Increase collaboration

Improve “get to know” phase

Bridge cultural gaps

The “face to face” experience

Reduce language barriers

More effective distributed teams

Increase sales

Eliminate travel time

Support green initiatives

Reduce cycle times

A platform for future innovations

Improve competitive advantage

Demonstrate industry leadership

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Assumptions for the IBM enterprise

Multiple vendor solutions will be utilized

IBM will have a variety of video endpoint platforms– Handheld, PC, Desktop Appliance, HD Room, HD Mobile Cart, STP, ITP

IBM will leverage internet and video service providers for video communications, in addition to it’s own intranet services

Solutions will be based on two main session protocols - SIP and H.323– SIP has been the strategic choice in the IBM enterprise for nearly a decade– H.323 will be utilized tactically for video communication when necessary

The IBM enterprise will communicate with the multi-vendor, multi-protocol environments of our customers, partners and suppliers

There will be a continued blending of personal and commercial environments for IBM employees world wide

“One Size, One Experience, One Expectation will not fit all”



In general, what does IBM need

Solutions based on industry standards, open APIs and best practices

Fully interoperable communication between systems and networks–while maintaining appropriate levels of experience for each endpoint

Video communication offerings that provide a range of meeting experiences that match the profile of the major usage categories

Seamless integration with other business applications and services such as calendaring, voice services, web conferencing and messaging

Integrated content sharing and other collaborative tools

Solutions that embrace and accommodate accessibility

Consolidated, integrated and globally consistent adjunct services such as calendaring, directories and dial-plans

Secure border traversal solutions to communicate to and from IBM



Where “One” is just enough:

Name and number

Integrated scheduling interface

Common meeting (not multiple, parallel)

Support organization

Common session protocol (SIP)

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“One” is not, or may not be, enough:

Vendor solution

Network provider

Video provider

Type of platform

Directories

Media standards

Where there is still too many or too much:

Isolated “islands” of video communication

Prep meetings, time and people to test and establish calls

What is enough?



Further statement of the needs of the enterprise

Standards and APIs

One number, one name

Ease of use (“caveman ready”)

Bandwidth optimization

Call quality tracking (per call)

Security and privacy

3PCC when/where applicable

Flexible, controllable meeting experiences

Flexible cost structures

Collaboration enhancements

Accessibility integration

Fixed and mobile systems

Automated, Dynamic, Adaptable

A better LCD (Low Com. Den.)

Embrace mobile platforms

Embrace consumer integration

Embrace cloud services model

Access to data across boundaries

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The global video arena needs ubiquitous connectivity and reachability – Combine the best of all worlds

• Voice model, IP based model and the UC model (names, numbers, addresses)– Encompass public and private name/number/address schemes


Agenda








Recent world wide IBM deployments

TelePresence (TP) – 29

High Definition (HD) Video Room Systems – 25+

HD Mobile Video Conferencing Carts – 10+

HD Desktop Appliances – 10+

PC Based Video Soft Clients – Several thousand

Video as a Service (VaaS) – initial enterprise offering

Bridging and recording services - pilot & limited production

Mobile Computing Environments – No production. Prototype testing only.



Immersive TelePresence

High Definition Room / User

Personal Video Appliance

IBM Endpoints

MPLS Video Network

Initial Services:

• Call Scheduling

• Call Hosting

• Operator Support

• Level 1-3 Support

• Testing / Monitoring

• B2B Setup / Hosting

• Security

• B2B

• Exchange Peering

• Internet

• ISDN

• Multivendor

• Immersive TelePresence

• High Def.

• Standard Def.

• Legacy

• Desktop

• Mobile (future)

External Entity

EndpointsVNOC

Video as a Service (VaaS) for the enterprise

Enterprise Networks

Video Provider Network

VaaS

IBM MPLS Internal Network

Session Border

Contollers

IBM Sametime Video


Agenda








IBM Research Integrated Solutions

Subject Matter Expert (SME) consulting–IBM organizations as well as our partners and suppliers

Established a test environment for evaluating & piloting video solutions–Multivendor infrastructure components and endpoint systems

Research environment was leveraged by various IBM product and service organizations.

Built and evaluated Simulated TelePresence (STP) systems

Accessibility / Enablement

Scheduling and other meeting logistics

Facilitated leading edge video conferences–A pioneer in the TelePresence interoperability space.

Defined key standards and features for video conferencing



Major focus areas going forward

Continue video room deployments, move to global video service offering

Ramp up for significant expansion of PC based video clients

Iteratively refine enterprise standards

Interoperability has improved significantly, but more work is needed

Tight integration with voice, web conferencing, messaging, etc.

Collaboration (digital whiteboards/annotation, etc.)

Leveraging mobile platforms for video communication environments

Video meeting recording, storage and playback

Integration of enterprise and consumer based environments

Scheduling and meeting logistics

More work is required in Privacy and Security

Accessibility (live transcription, etc.)

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Agenda








A few final thoughts for vendors and providers

Deliver better public network connectivity for video communications– Secure network access with appropriate border components– Reachability by name, number or address

Provide gateways to the “video islands”– Extend video calling reachability to large volume video environments

Cultivate better and more extensive peering– Expand reach and make peering transparent to the customer

Continue to iteratively improve interoperability and security

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IMTC Event: CTO Roundtable

Backup Slides

Bill Rippon – IBM Research, Sr. Network Engineer

07 March 2011


Standards categories

Registration, Call Processing and Border Traversal

Audio and Video

Content

Streaming & Recording

Other “In-Conference” Features

Scheduling / Calendaring

Directories

Platforms - Endpoints, Infrastructure and Services

Conference room standards for various platforms

Other Related Standard, Features and Services

Integration with Other High Value Technologies



Snapshot of a Multivendor TelePresence Call

22


Video Conference Room Locations (New)Some of our more recent HD and TP deployments

23

ISL Briefing for UPS – Video Communications

IBM - Video Communications - An Enterprise Perspective

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