ChannelTrends: Have We Finally Reached the Threshold of Telepresence?

Every once in a while, I encounter an article in a science journal or see a television report on the latest developments in jet pack technology. Back in the mid-1970s I saw an early prototype of a single jet backpack in Popular Mechanics magazine, with the pilot going approximately the length of a football field before running out of fuel. It was not only cool, but seemed like something we’d all have access to with a little more development. With all of the advances in other technologies over the last 40 years, wouldn’t you think we’d each be able to zip carefree through the skies by now? Apparently creating a compact jet propulsion system (including fuel to meet distance requirements) has been to tough hurdle to overcome—but I’ll continue to wait patiently for the day the UPS truck shows up with mine.

This week’s news trend reminded me of another piece of technology history that hasn’t seemed to develop as fast as expected: telepresence systems. While the Internet brought us the first effective video communications in just the past decade, I remember seeing early versions (1970s in my case, but they go back as early as the 1950s) of a phone with primitive picture technology at our local telephone company office. In a small town where we still had rotary phones and party lines (we shared a single line with three neighbors), this devise was as fascinating as space flight. But those early systems faced the same challenge as the jet pack: the lack of a cost-effective business solution. Over the past 40 years, the technology continued to develop for both inventions, but neither has been adopted in mass by the business community.

The jet pack still hasn’t overcome operational issues (the fuel/weight issue remains a challenge), but videoconferencing finally took off a few years ago with the advances in device technology and the shift from phone lines to the Internet. The original 1956 Picturephone test systems were only capable of sending  one image every two seconds, was hard to operate, and the picture too small. But today’s Web-enabled systems are finally ready for prime time. Through the wide adoption of free video and content delivery services such as Skype, businesses are beginning to understand the benefits of the technology. With the increase in the remote workforce, it’s a benefit to see employees and share documents in real time. This isn’t necessarily to keep track of each worker (ensuring no bathrobes or boxer shorts), but some individuals respond better to visual cues and need that type of contact to communicate.

While face-to-face discussions can be especially important in a sales situation, video is the next best thing. On an individual basis, video alone may suffice. But when executive or development teams from diverse geographies need to meet frequently to collaborate on projects or review materials, video telepresence solutions are a cost-effective alternative to constant travel.

Telepresence as a Channel Offering
One of the bigger questions for solution providers these days revolves around that next step in video and content sharing technology. Telepresence typically includes robust video (high definition, large screen) and content delivery, such as integrated slides or other presentation material. The key is to create a true virtual meeting, allowing the participants on both sides to not only see and hear each other clearly, but to collaborate on documents and projects. That allows businesses to accomplish what used to require expensive and time consuming travel in a virtual environment, whether across town or across the continent. Rather than taking a day to travel from New York to Los Angeles, the engineering team can meet quickly with their counterparts via Web and then get back to work. That’s a true productivity advantage. As businesses diversify their geographies, telepresence can be an essential tool for management, sales, marketing and a number of other teams to collaborate and plan their group goals.

Until this point in time, telepresence opportunities in the channel were limited to a very small group of Cisco partners servicing mostly enterprise customers. While that situation may have been good for those select few providers, telepresence was not a true offering for the IT channel.

With the new competition and advances (smaller scale offerings) in the technology, telepresence has the potential to bring network, implementation and ongoing support opportunities for solution providers. Where the technology was relegated to large business customers just a couple years ago, smaller companies and their IT consultants now can take advantage of the collaborative unified communication solutions.

While Cisco is considered the trailblazer in telepresence (with a half-size conference room demo), a number of other companies are getting in on the action. Vu Telepresence (an offshoot of Zenith Infotech) and Polycom are the most prominent competitors, each touting their solution opportunities for VARs and MSPs at last week’s InfoComm conference. Siemens is another player in telepresence, with its OpenScape solution sold and serviced through channel partners. The increased rivalry has both positive and negative effects on the channel; prices will drop and increase the market opportunity, but revenue (and profitability) per project will likely go down as well.

Cloud and managed services can play a major role in telepresence, allowing MSPs to deliver cost-effective and proactive network management services to their customers. Through remote monitoring, the quality of video and communication speeds, as well as a number of other aspects, can ensure greater customer satisfaction. After all, your company’s reputation is at risk when the CEO or other executives have their telepresence meeting interrupted due to technical issues.

Even with competition and the market growing, telepresence is likely going to be a challenge for solution providers to sell to SMB for quite some time. At this point in time, enterprise and mid-market businesses are the target audience, but that could change quickly as manufacturers expand their product portfolio and solution providers get their hands around the opportunity.

Brian Sherman is founder of Tech Success Communications, specializing in editorial content and consulting for the IT channel. His previous roles include chief editor at Business Solutions magazine and industry alliances director with Autotask. Contact Brian at [email protected].