IT Manager of the Month : Its Crucial Now

The most common thing that any organization does is conduct weekly or
monthly meetings. But what if people have to travel long distances to attend
these meetings? Here comes the role of videoconferencing, which not only
helps to cut down travel costs, but also simplifies work processes.

According to Pradeep Suryavanshi, regional manager, IT operations, CDC
Software, videoconferencing solutions were considered by many as luxury five
years ago. But with the passage of time companies became conscious of
cutting costs wherever possible. The company has been using Polycom
solutions for the past five years. Global offices in Atlanta, Vancouver, and
Bengaluru are connected through this solution. These solutions are usually
helpful during HR meetings. The company has a 10 Mbps Internet lease line
with VPN tunnels that connect these offices. Telecom service providers for
the company are Airtel and Spectranet. They use the services based on
redundancies.

Pradeep Suryavanshi, regional manager, IT operations, CDC Software

However, there is no specific bandwidth allocated for the
videoconferencing solutions. But, Suryavanshi says that they prioritize
traffic for voice and videoconferencing whenever there is an urgency. Since
the company has Internet lease lines for its videoconferencing solution, it
also saves a lot of money on ISD calls.

Apollo Hospitals started using the facility of videoconferencing since
2004. Initially, it was used for the purpose of telemedicine and then for
DVD conferencing. Now, its use has been vastly extended with many
telemachines and boardrooms having this facility. Videoconferencing has
proved to be a boon for consultants to share patient details, share
experiences, talk to consultants, etc. Videoconferencing has enabled the
group on a bigger scenario also, as it saves time that would be spent in
traveling; increases interaction between both the parties; reduces costs in
more ways than one; etc. The list of benefits is endless. However,
connectivity and bandwidth continue to be major issues that continue to mar
the use of this technology in an effective way. Apart from this, there are
very few technically qualified people who can address the needs of this
technology. This forces us to depend on a few qualified people.
Furthermore, according to him, a lot of technical support is required to
ensure that the facility offered functions smoothly. At Apollo, we use IP
and ISDN based technology for the purpose of videoconferencing. Apart from
the requirement of strong technical support, multi-connectivity and
improvement in bandwidth would bring about exact clarity in the service.
These are some of the things that would result in further usage of the
technology to the fullest.

Muktiranjan Sahu, assistant manager IT, Apollo Hospitals

The facility of videoconferencing is soon proving to be a boon as it
helps in saving traveling time, brings in more business, and on the whole it
helps in reducing the costs of the company. Looking at the bigger picture,
it provides the company the much needed boost in moving forward. We at
Amkette, do not make much use of the facility of videoconferencing as there
is a very less requirement for it. Recollecting our initial experience of
the service, it can be said that we started using the service approximately
two or three years back. We mainly use this facility once in a year. At
Amkette, videoconferencing services are mainly utilized for the purpose of
annual meetings. In other words, it can be said that by using this facility
the time spent in traveling is saved. Videoconferencing is facilitated
mainly by the use of Skype, sometimes. Videoconferencing, though useful,
springs forth security as a major cause of concern. Apart from security
concerns, bandwidth is another problem which comes as a hurdle in the
effective usage of the service. Even though we do not make much use of the
service, even a small security threat is something serious. Fuloria futher
adds that the future for this facility appears to be bright.

Neeraj Fuloria, assistant manager, systems, Allied Electronics & Magnetics

PC Suraj

surajp@cybermedia.co.in