Cisco launches TelePresence video-collaboration solution

Peter Hall, Research Director

On 23 October 2006, Cisco announced the launch of a telepresence solution for businesses, which it claims will revolutionise business collaboration. This positions Cisco as a new player in the high-end videoconferencing systems market, alongside players such as HP and Polycom.

Cisco is so confident that its new TelePresence solution is a world apart from traditional videoconferencing that it is going to huge lengths to distance it from the term 'videoconferencing'. The term 'telepresence' has been recently coined to describe the latest generation of videoconference systems and Cisco probably has the marketing clout to create an industry buzz around this term with its new solution. We had the opportunity to preview the solution earlier in October and it's very impressive indeed. It's not exactly in the league of 'Beam me up Scottie', but it is miles apart from what most people will think of as videoconferencing.

The combination of life-size images viewed through a bank of up to three high-resolution 65-inch plasma screens, and spatial digital sound, sets a new standard for what to expect from videoconferencing. Every aspect of the traditional videoconferencing experience has been addressed from scratch and the company has gained 25 patents in the process. This, and huge attention to detail, is the secret to the quality of this new solution - detail that even extends to the exact pigment of paint for the walls of the room. It is also very easy to use, being no more complicated than making a phone call.

The solution doesn't come cheap, with prices ranging from $79,000 for a system for two people to $299,000 for six people (the maximum that can be accommodated at each location). In addition, the system requires a high-quality data channel of up to 12Mbit/s.

The key question is, who will buy such a system? Videoconferencing has been around for many years and is used in a limited way by many large companies. But it has never had the success that was originally envisaged, which is largely because it has not been an effective substitute for the personal contact of a face-to-face meeting. Cisco believes that its TelePresence solution will change this because much more of the subtleties of body language and eye contact are preserved than in conventional videoconferencing.

We think Cisco's TelePresence solution will see some early success in areas such as international finance, where the cost will be seen as almost insignificant compared with the speed at which meetings can be set up as well as savings in time and cost of international travel. In the medium term, business adoption should extend more broadly but this probably depends on lower costs (cheaper bandwidth as well as the kit). 

This may be just the development that's needed to kick videoconferencing into a new growth phase. If it helps to reduce air travel and carbon emissions it will also be good for us all - except perhaps the airline industry. And there's more to come - Cisco believes that holographic videoconferencing is less than 10 years away!

Peter Hall is a Research Director with over 20 years' experience in the telecommunications industry. Peter is responsible for directing Ovum's research programme in enterprise communications and for managing relationships with key clients.