Audio/Video/Data Conferencing
Jason TisdallData Connection
http://www.dataconnection.com/
"Video conferencing is inevitable, but so is the day when the sun flames out and consumes the
earth. Which will come first?", Stan Gibson, 1999
Audio/Video/Data Conferencing
• Data Connection background
• What is conferencing?
• History
• Current status
• What’s next?
Data Connection Background
• What we do• Software developers• Supplier of core communications technology to major vendors and service
providers • Still growing in a difficult market
• Products• Conferencing (audio/video/data)• Directory and messaging• Network protocol stacks (used in routers)• Telephony softswitches
• My role• Professional services + sales support• Products - DC-MeetingServer, DC-MailServer
What Is Conferencing?
• What is conferencing?• Video• Audio• Data
• What should be in a conferencing toolset?• An experiment…
What Is Conferencing?
• What is conferencing?• Video• Audio• Data
• What should be in a conferencing toolset?• An experiment…• Data
• Share apps
• Whiteboard/annotate
• File transfer
• Ability to record
• Chat (personal and general)
• Peer Vs presented
Conferencing Defined
“Conferencing is a means of offering any or all of image, voice and data communication between remote sites in real time.”, Jason Tisdall, 2002
DC-MeetingServer Web Interface
Historical Development (1)
• First Seen• Isaac Asimov ‘The Naked Sun’ – 1956• AT&T PicturePhone
• demo at the World Fair 1964
• Commercial offering 1970, $160/month
• Compression Labs commercial offering• 1982, $250,000 system, $1000/hour
• The conference room (early-90s onward)• Small market• Tens of thousands of pounds per unit• Single purpose hardware and software• PictureTel, VTEL, BT, TANDBERG
Traditional Videoconferencing
Historical Development (2)
• Desktop (Personal) Systems (mid-90s onward)• Huge potential market• Cheap(ish)• Proprietary islands of interoperability• Data Connection, Polycom, Microsoft
• Key Developments (late-90s)• Standards: T.120, H.323
• H.32x
• Audio/video
• T.12x
• Data sharing
• Multiple endpoints
• Internet / Web conferencing
Desktop Conferencing
VideoconferencingRoom System
Conferencing Networks (1)
Telephone Telephone
VideoconferencingRoom System
PublicSwitched
TelephoneNetwork
ISDN (H.320) Videoconferencing
Room System
Conferencing Networks (2)
Telephone Telephone
IP Network NetMeeting
H.323 - PSTN Gatew ay
H.323 - H.320 GatewayISDN (H.320)
VideoconferencingRoom System
PublicISDN
Network PublicSwitched
TelephoneNetwork
DC-Share for UNIX
ISDN (H.320) Videoconferencing
Room System
Conferencing Networks (3)
Telephone Telephone
IP Network NetMeeting
H.323 - PSTN Gateway
H.323 - H.320 GatewayISDN (H.320)
VideoconferencingRoom System
PublicISDN
Network
DC-Share for UNIX
Firewall
DC-MeetingServer
HTTP
PublicSwitched
TelephoneNetwork
Java-enabled Web browser
Conferencing – Market Status
• How big?• $14 billion by 2005 = 38% compound growth from 2000 to 2005
(IDC: July 2001)
• Home Market• Low bandwidth (traditionally – but changing)• Video phone + chat + adult
• Vertical• limited deployment• Helpdesks, call centres
• Corporate• Security / firewalls • Measurable benefits – cost/fear of travel• Other benefits - improved work practices, productivity, morale• Strong bias to data
Conferencing – Who Uses It?
Conferencing – Who Uses It?
• Cambridge Technology - management consultants and systems integration
• Purpose: training and sales
• Users: 4000 employees and worldwide customers
• Solution: integrate voice and web conferencing
• BNFS – Huge american railroad operator• Purpose: mission critical communications, training
• Users: planners, engineers
• Solution: 28 state deployment, with over 750,000 minutes per month of usage
• Merrill Lynch – Financial Management• Purpose: real time collaboration for employees and clients
• Users: 63,000 employees in 44 countries + clients
• Solution: world-wide deployment, with over 500,000 minutes per month of usage
• Money: saves over $1 million per year
• See www.latitude.com
Conferencing – Who Uses It?
• We do• Between sites
• High levels of interest/deployment across sectors• Engineering – Ford, Boeing, BMW, …• Military• Service providers
• Example• Ford have mandated all their suppliers must deploy standards based
conferencing
What’s Next?
Conferencing Limits• Access
• local and wide area• Equipment/security
• Bandwidth• Audio requires 5-64 kbits/sec, video requires 150 - 500 kbits/sec• Latency• Infrastructure
What’s Next?
• Web• Fast growing
• use anywhere• no install (saves a lot of money)
• Lack of standards• opportunity for bridging between web and traditional clients like NetMeeting
• Conference Servers• In-house or via ISP (hosted)• Security, management• Bridging communications – IP and PSTN• Services – web “proxy”, recording
• Development of infrastructure• More bandwidth• QoS in VPNs
• predictable bandwidth• predictable latency• charging
What’s Next?
Email was the major corporate growth “technology” of the 90’s ...
Conferencing is a major corporate growth “technology” in the new millennium
Final Quote
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”, Winston Churchill
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