CASE ANALYSIS OF CISCO SYSTEMS: TELEPRESENCE AND THE FUTURE OF COLLABORATION

SUMMARY

·         Cisco's TelePresence system is based on the creation of special meeting rooms that are equipped with high resolution plasma monitors displaying all the attendees that participate to the meeting.

·          Additionally, an integratedVoIP phone line guarantees high quality audio communication.

·         The technology that stands behind Cisco's TelePresence system is seamless and Cisco states that it requires minimum training of the end users.

·         They simply have to access a calendar system, set up a meeting room in one click and the system will automatically send an invitation to the VoIP phone available in the telepresence locations.

·         Craig Huegens, director of architecture of networks, data services and unified communication services came with this unique idea as he doesn’t wanted to be far from his family.

·         Cisco 1.0 was all about getting connected by selling truckloads of routersand switches.

·         Cisco 2.0 was centered on business process change using all the hardware.

·         Cisco 3.0 employs even more hardware and software to transform business models.

·         Web 2.0 technology kept Huegens in touch with his team.

·         Jacoby has a single-screen telepresence unit to roll out the immersive conferencing technology.

·         Jacony and her team have undertaken to create an online communication centre for excellence where new collaboration tools from wikis to vlogs to telepresence.

·         Cisco faces competition from HP which introduced Halo telepresence system.

  

CONCEPT EXPLANATION

·         Telepresence technology allows people to feel as if they are present in a different place or time.

·         Common uses of telepresence technology include webinars, webcasts and telemeetings. 

·         Telepresence is a type of video conferencing giving the sensation that all participants are actually in the same room.

·         Telepresence deliver real-time, face-to-face interactions between people using advanced audio and video collaboration technologies.

·         Telepresence video is so clear that facial expressions are discerned during important decision-making negotiations. 

·         These technologies have made it possible for people to conduct business, take classes and communicate with friends all over the world from the comfort of their own homes and offices. 

·         The benefits of telepresence to your company's overall business efficiency as well as its Green IT strategy are tremendous. 

·         Benefits of Telepresence: 

*  Reduced travel costs for meeting participants.

* Better collaborative teaming, allowing members to set up separate teleconferences for specific ideas, thus reducing the overall time of the general conference.

* Allows for faster globalization of your company by removing location limits.

* Better quality of life for employees who don't have to travel as much away from their family and friends.

* Ability to record and playback the telemeeting event for record-keeping and clarification.

* Provides for business continuity by utilizing telepresense to integrate redundancy and global collaboration.

* Reduces your company's overall carbon footprint by limiting fuel use, and utilizing business space in a more effective way.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1.      Business benefits of the collaboration technologies:-

·         Reduced travel costs for meeting participants.

·         Better collaborative teaming, allowing members to set up separate teleconferences for specific ideas, thus reducing the overall time of the general conference.

·         Allows for faster globalization of your company by removing location limits.

·         Better quality of life for employees who don't have to travel as much away from their family and friends.

·         Ability to record and playback the telemeeting event for record-keeping and clarification.

·         Provides for business continuity by utilizing telepresense to integrate redundancy and global collaboration.

·         Reduces your company's overall carbon footprint by limiting fuel use, and utilizing business space in a more effective way.

These go beyond saving corporate travel in the following ways:-

·         Cisco uses e-mail and internet Relay chat which is a primoral form of instant messaging.

·         Usage of video blogs or vblogs.

·         Create online communication centre for excellence.

·         Introducing i-zone wiki, a companywide forum for new business ideas launched not by IT but by Emerging Technologies Group.

2.      Michelle Damrow of Polycom notes Cisco is betting on a proprietory standard for its TelePresence product, while competitors are going with interoperability.

Yes, I agree with Cisco’s strategy because of the following reasons:-

·         Standard-based communication will win eventually.

·         This is the right way to face the competitors like HP which introduced Halo Presence.

·         It will be easy to merge high-end telepresence system.

·         This will push enough the brand power into the market.

3.      I-zone wiki, a companywide forum for new business ideas launched not by IT but by the Emerging Technologies Group, headed by Marthin DeBeer.

This case has been discussed in the case because of the following reasons:-

·         Wiki has produced 600 ideas for potential one-billion-dollar-per-annum-size ventures.

·         This led to the next phase of internet.

·         This has led to the focus on collaboration and recognization of company’s hierarchy.

·         There was a shift in the usual products sales and marketing, and other financial groups towards a more horizontal less command-and-control.

Yes, these technologies foster creativity, provide an opportunity to communicate already existing ideas, or both in the following ways:-

·         The focus on collaboration and recognization of company’s hierarchy was made in the market.

·         There was a shift in the usual products sales and marketing, and other financial groups towards a more horizontal less command-and-control.

·             New ideas were tested and refined to create an online-communication centre for excellence.