Enterprises Still Dicey About Telepresence
By CXOtoday Staff
Mumbai, Dec 13, 2007

Telepresence is a new digital form of communication that offers a comprehensive and credible experience of being present at a distant site from one's own location. Further, multi-users can easily interact with each other in real-time via a high speed broadband connection for audio and video footage transmission on a large screen.

Telepresence over Teleconference
Basically, telepresence technology is more advanced than its predeccessor teleconference. However, teleconference requires the user to sit in front of a computer system, facing the web camera and holding the microphone and headset.

While, telepresence system requires large-size high definition displays, sharp audio and video sensors backed by a high speed broadband Internet connection that makes it an expensive set of technology.

Teleconferencing has some disadvantages like the user's mobility restrictions, software program limitations, low audio-video quality and lack of compatibility etc.On the other hand, Telepresence technology has overcome such hurdles of teleconference.

Telepresence advantages
For enterprises that have multiple offices and worksite based in distant locations, telepresence technology can help them in administrating and managing their offices easily.

Meetings and discussions can be held between various offices and branches of enterprises at the same time and more frequently. Such arrangements can facilitate enterperises in smoother and faster business operations with better internal communications within its offices.

By using this technology, the businesses executives and top managers can save lots of time and money that includes the travelling cost while moving from one office to the other, heavy telephone and mobile charges etc. It aids enterperises in cutting down its annual administrative cost.

Availability of Telepresence
At present, telepresence is in its initial phase and less popular too. Hence only some companies are providing telepresence solutions and systems. Same way, there are not too many enterprises that have deployed the telepresence system in their premise and offices.

Companies like Cisco, Avaya, HP, Polycom and few more are offering telepresence solutions and systems to enterprises, but at high cost.

Enterprises have two options for using telepresence technology; either they can install the whole sytem with a studio setup at its offices or they can hire a company's studio on timely basis for conducting meetings or discussions.

For instance, Cisco's TP 3000 costs around USD 300,000, while its TP 1000 costs about USD 80,000 per room and Hewlett- Packard system starts at USD 200,000.

At the moment, both options are expensive, keeping away the interested enterprises. However, if the enterprise has installed a network system for the same company offer the telepresence solution than the cost would be slightly low.

In case, an enterprise is operating on Cisco network than it would need spend less amount while installing Cisco's telepresence system.

Barriers in Telepresence: -
Some of the barriers in telepresence include expensive systems, wide bandwidth usage, low bandwidth availability, lack of interoperability with existing videoconferencing systems and other applications.

Dominance of cost factor
However, telepresence solutions are quite expensive. This cost factor is curtaining its popularity amongst the enterprises and its usage.In a larger prespective, the enterprises needs to review and count on its annual expenditure involved in managing various offices and travelling expense of executives in comparison with the deployment cost of telepresence technology and its advantages.

According to a Frost and Sullivan survey, the telepresence market is expected to rise at a compound annunal growth rate (CAGR) of 59.6% from 2007 to 2013. While the market earned USD 9.5 million revenues in 2006, it is predicted to be worth USD 250.8 million by end of 2013.

Telepresence beyond business
The telepresence technology based application can be utilised in various areas like subsea work, nuclear industry, space and planetary work, hazardous environment, remote surveillance, remote surgery, education, advertising and sales etc.


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Telepresence Portfolio Extended for Enterprises