Video conferencing and telepresence solutions help enterprises to work faster, smarter, cheaper, more effectively and efficiently across distances to keep business moving forward. Not just that, such solutions have huge potential to bring about positive changes in the lives of people especially in a country like India, says Neeraj Gill, managing director (India & Saarc), Polycom. ?Just imagine an individual in a rural area not having access to best of healthcare facilities, being treated remotely by competent doctors, through video conferencing,? he says.
Gill is responsible for guiding Polycom?s business strategy in this region, and for extending its share of key markets. With more than 20 years of experience in the information and communications technology (ICT) market, Gill has worked across multiple geographies in Asia, the United States and United Kingdom, and has held senior management positions with a number of high-profile companies including Intel and AT&T. While unified communication might be the buzzword in industry circles, irony is that it still lacks clarity, Gill tells Sudhir Chowdhary in a recent interaction. Excerpts:
With broadband penetration still dismal in India, how do you see the uptake of unified communications, especially video conferencing solutions which require high bandwidth?
While wired broadband penetration is still very low in India, there is certainly hope that broadband wireless access (BWA) and 3G roll-outs will aid in increasing the penetration. I would like to point out that Polycom continues to push the boundary in bringing leading edge compression technologies, such as H.264 High Profile, that continue to reduce the bandwidth required for high definition video conferencing and telepresence solutions. This ensures that video conferencing and unified communications solutions can be delivered without compromising on quality at fairly low bandwidth capabilities.
How will the recent 3G/ WiMax spectrum auction impact the unified communications space in India?
I believe that unified communications should eventually mean seamless interaction across any medium, wired or wireless. True unified communications solutions must, therefore, encompass all forms of wireless, be it 3G or BWA. As 3G and BWA networks are rolled out in India, it will certainly help bridge the gap between broadband ?haves? and ?have-nots? and help spread the benefits of broadband connectivity to the SME and SOHO segments as well as consumers and also take broadband beyond the confines of the Tier 1 cities to Tier 2 and beyond.
As broadband becomes more ubiquitous, all types of applications as well as unified communications will grow. We have only got to look at the growth of the mobile market in India in this last decade to get an idea of the potential broadband revolution that wireless broadband could unleash.
But is the interest level in government circles towards video conferencing high?
The government sector accounts for a fairly large part of the video conferencing market in India and, in fact, quite often leads the way in deploying high-end video conferencing and telepresence solutions. The government was increasingly adopting video conferencing solutions on account of e-governance and to integrate the state headquarters with the district headquarters.
A Frost and Sullivan study on the video conferencing market points out that the growth of conferencing endpoint market in India was driven by huge uptake for high definition conferencing solutions by government and public sector units followed by IT & ITeS. Industry verticals like education and healthcare also took to the adoption of these solutions and are expected to go a long way in the market.
Bharti Airtel has launched managed video conferencing services on demand for its enterprise customers. What impact do you think this model will bring for SMBs?
The announcement by Airtel is a very welcome step and I believe that service providers are certainly going to be key in driving the ubiquity of video conferencing and collaboration services in the market, particularly in the
SMB space who may prefer a pay-as-you-use model with minimal infrastructure investment than go in for a large capex. Reliance Communications had also announced a managed wireless video conferencing service a while ago and I see that as a key service offering for the SMB and SOHO segments, particularly with the impending 3G and BWA roll-outs that could help ?untether? broadband from the traditional wired networks.
Do you think that unified communications solutions will bring any change in the lives of end-consumers and how?
I feel that unified communications is all about transforming lives of people in general. One of the biggest advantages of unified communications can be seen in the space of e-governance, wherein state headquarters are linked to districts, thus making administration more accountable and seamless. This translates to better governance and transparency for people in general.
Also, education and healthcare are some of the areas where unified communications is transforming lives of end users. Just imagine an individual in a rural area not having access to best of health care facilities, being treated remotely by the best of breed doctors, through video conferencing. Unified communications solutions have huge potential to bring about positive changes in the lives of people especially in a country like India.
Healthcare and education sectors have been early adopters of video conferencing…
Without any doubt, yes. The obvious benefit of video conferencing solutions in the education sector is that it breaks the traditional boundaries and takes learning beyond the walls of the classroom. With fully interactive video conferencing as well as streaming solutions being available, lack of teaching resources and vast geographic spreads can be conquered and learning brought to every district and every village in the country.
In fact, globally, educators and trainers are tasked with providing a wide range of content and services to administrators, staff, students, stakeholders and employees. Yet even as they provide so many services, organisations must reduce operational costs and save resources while preparing and sustaining learners for today?s world and its increasingly global economy. Video conferencing ensures reach while it also enables a rich and productive learning experience.
On the healthcare front, organisations face challenges mainly in three areas: delivering quality patient care, streamlining care delivery processes, and improving business processes.
Duplications, delays and errors in communications are a major factor in healthcare delivery processes, costs, and outcomes.
Polycom offers a portfolio of end-to-end, scalable, secure, unified collaborative solutions that increase productivity of healthcare professionals, are used extensively for training of hospital staff, can extend patient care and expertise to remote areas, and also improve patient care with mobility solutions.
