Feature Story

October 23, 2006

The picture for virtual communications has become much clearer, thanks to new technology from Cisco Systems. Studies show that visual clues—such as the raise of an eyebrow or a slump of the shoulders—comprise roughly 60 percent of the information conveyed in a conversation. Until now, however, video technologies failed to provide the necessary fidelity to transmit those clues effectively. But the San Jose, Calif., networking leader has created a two-way video communications system that preserves all those important nuances, in the process pioneering a new form of digital communications that rivals the effectiveness of in-person meetings.

Built from the ground up by Cisco engineers, the Cisco TelePresence "as if you are there" technology has 25 patents pending. The system is not only ideal for global corporations that need to stay in touch with employees, partners and customers but is also well suited for such entities as governments, research institutions, and healthcare organizations. By July 2007 Cisco will have deployed this technology in 110 of its own worldwide offices.

Cisco TelePresence is the handiwork of the recently formed Emerging Markets Technology Group, which focuses on developing new products to add to Cisco's existing family of networking technologies. News@Cisco spoke with Marthin De Beer, vice president and general manager of the group, about Cisco TelePresence and how it promises to revolutionize the virtual meeting.

What is telepresence?

Marthin De Beer: Telepresence is a term that has developed within the technology industry to describe a new form of digital communications. The Cisco TelePresence system creates unique, "in-person" experiences for people in their business and personal lives. It is enabling the "human network' by changing the way we live, work, learn and play. Our first telepresence product, Cisco TelePresence Meeting, uses extremely high-definition video and audio technologies--including life-size plasma TV screens, sophisticated spatial audio, and advanced cameras that provide eye-to-eye contact. All combined, these innovations radically reduce the barriers that have limited the effectiveness of traditional analog and digital communications for remote meetings. Participants can easily perceive the subtlest facial and body expressions of their counterparts. The audio realistically replicates sounds, so, for instance, if someone on the left side of a table speaks, you hear the sound on your left. There are no technical issues with managing how and when people speak, so participants can talk in their normal tone and style. All this combines to make it seem as if all the participants are actually in the same room together.

In short, Cisco TelePresence catapults the concept of virtual communications to a remarkable new level. It is something you have to experience to appreciate. On paper it may seem like just a high-end videoconferencing system, but anyone who uses it immediately recognizes the radical difference. One industry analyst used this analogy: videoconferencing is like riding a 10-speed bike while telepresence is like driving a Ferrari. For me, I like a different analogy. It is like trying to describe chocolate. There's no substitute for having a taste. Once you do, you'll understand what all the fuss is about. And we have given a taste of this system to top executives from over 200 major corporations, as well as President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. They have all said the same thing: this will profoundly change the way people communicate.

What are the components of the Cisco TelePresence offering?

Marthin De Beer: As mentioned, our first telepresence offering is the Cisco TelePresence Meeting, which consists of very innovative video and audio processing technology, as well as all the equipment for each meeting room, including cameras, lighting arrays, microphones, speakers, one or more 65-inch plasma screen, and even the conference table and other room accessories. The plasma screens and Cisco's signal processing devices use a new generation of high-definition technology, making the video twice as clear as current HDTV. Also included is the Cisco TelePresence Manager, which provides the nuts-and-bolts tools for running the system day-to-day. It enables integration to enterprise groupware for easy scheduling and launching of Cisco TelePresence calls. Integration with Cisco Unified CallManager 5.0 and enterprise groupware provides Cisco TelePresence with just one button to push to start a telepresence meeting directly from a Cisco IP phone.

We are initially introducing Cisco TelePresence Meeting in two models, each designed for different numbers of users and different sized environments. The Cisco TelePresence 3000 supports meetings of six people per location, and The Cisco TelePresence 1000 is designed for use by one or two participants per site.

How much does the Cisco TelePresence product cost? What other possible expenses are associated with the system?

Marthin De Beer: The Cisco TelePresence 3000 costs approximately $300,000 for each installation, or room, while the Cisco TelePresence 1000 runs about $80,000 per room. If you are a large organization with an up-to-date Cisco-powered network and a Unified Communications (IP phone) system, you will likely have very few additional costs. To optimize the performance, management and functionality of the Cisco TelePresence system, it requires the Cisco Unified CallManager 5.0, which is the call routing system for our IP phone system and provides the call management for the telepresence communications. Also, each plasma screen requires between 2 and 4 megabits per second (Mbps) of bandwidth. Installation will be managed by 22 of our Cisco partners, and we are conducting rigorous certification of global service providers to support connections for Cisco TelePresence communications.

Cisco TelePresence, while offering impressive quality, is relatively expensive. Why would an organization spend a significant portion of its information technology budget on what some might view as an extravagance?

Marthin De Beer: While the initial expense is relatively high compared to previous video communications products and services, the return on the Cisco TelePresence system is proportionately impressive. This is not an off-the-shelf desktop video system, but, rather, a significant investment in corporate infrastructure. Because of its ability to create a real sense of an in-person, face-to-face meeting, organizations can reap considerable benefits from reduced travel expenses, greater productivity, and better relationships among employees, customers and partners. With Cisco TelePresence the value of physically being in the same location for a meeting is greatly reduced. Why travel to speak in-person if you can communicate just as effectively through telepresence? People no longer have to fly to meetings. They can simply turn them on.

Associated with travel savings, and perhaps even more important, is time-savings. Travel, especially for global companies, is a huge productivity disruption. And many of the people taking the most and the longest trips are usually some of an organization's most important executives and employees. Key executives are often out of pocket simply because they are traveling. So by greatly reducing that travel time, these individuals can focus on their jobs rather than worrying about catching their next flight out of town.

As a final comment to this question, pricing for most of the key telepresence technologies, such as the plasma screens and broadband connections, will almost certainly continue to drop rapidly, making it possible in just a few years to use telepresence in a far wider array of applications and making it affordable for many more organizations, even for individuals from the home.

Several reputable companies are also using the advances in video and audio technologies to offer their own telepresence products. What advantages does the Cisco TelePresence system offer over these competitors?

Marthin De Beer: The short answer is that Cisco has unmatched expertise in Internet protocol (IP) network communications, the language of the Internet. We have tapped our expertise to create a package of hardware, software, and services that offers unrivaled quality, reliability and simplicity for harnessing this ubiquitous communications network. Certainly, telepresence systems require sophisticated technologies in order to ensure quality. That quality rests in how the video and audio signals travel across a network. Cisco knows how that works better than anyone else. We have created this product in conjunction with a carefully thought out support system to help customers assess their networks for running Cisco TelePresence. The quality and reliability of telepresence requires a complete system. Simply installing giant TV screens into a conference room isn't enough. These signals need exacting quality-of-service, latency, throughput, and jitter protection—the technical things that make a video image dependably crystal clear. This can only be done within the network.

I would like to note that telepresence, while certainly more demanding, has similar network management requirements as voice-over-IP communications. Cisco leads the industry in this technology, and IP telephony has become the de facto standard for voice communications in corporations. But to reach this point, we needed to solve all the quality issues associated with transporting voice signals over IP networks. As with video, the signals require careful management to maintain excellent fidelity. We've been able to accomplish this with voice, and now we are able to apply this industry-leading expertise to ensure the same reliable quality to telepresence. I other words, there is no point in owning a Ferrari if its always in the shop. We believe our Cisco TelePresence system offers the very best of performance and reliability.

Perhaps even more importantly, because our system uses the ubiquitous technologies of the Internet and is based on widely deployed industry standards, it eliminates the need for a dedicated network that other telepresence systems require. Fundamentally, the Cisco TelePresence system is no different than any other corporate communications option Cisco supports, such as data applications, email, IP-based telephones, or desktop video: they all use the network to transmit information across distances to facilitate necessary organizational functions. By using Internet standards, the Cisco TelePresence system seamlessly integrates with existing corporate networks and their communications technologies, making it far simpler to use while making it a far more productive tool by greatly reducing management, technical support, and training overhead associated with the system. The Cisco TelePresence offering is part of and fully integrated with our Cisco Unified Communications product line. That means that our customers can manage telepresence meetings through their Cisco IP Phones. And once set up, the Cisco TelePresence system is as easy to use as making a phone call.