ReadyTalk already had audio and Web conferencing, so it wasn’t a big stretch for the company to get into video conferencing services.
The company also handles Web events and webinars, and the new video service is a natural extension to both.
Video conferencing over the cloud and a managed service is really taking off. "When it comes to video conferencing, several factors are aligning: laptops and mobile devices have become video-ready, Internet bandwidth has become available, and now leading-edge web conferencing offerings, such as ReadyTalk's, are adding high performance video conferencing as an easy-to-use feature to their web conferencing services," explained Andy Nilssen, senior analyst and partner at Wainhouse Research.
ReadyTalk points to Wainhouse study findings to support its move into video. According to a Wainhouse survey, “70 percent of those that use video conferencing in their web conferences indicate that video increases the ‘connectedness’ between Web conferencing participants and 62 percent like to see the reactions to their presentation or ideas.
A ReadySoft customer is making good use of the service already. "I work in a remote office, but I love being able to connect face-to-face with my colleagues. The ability to gauge reactions is so much easier with video and ReadyTalk allows me to do that on all my meetings," said Brandon Stamschror, senior director of operations at MECLABS.
The new video conferencing service can work right from within the Web conferencing offering, and can support up to 25 conference participants.
Besides video, the conference hosts can share their desktops, key applications or slides. With built-in annotation, hosts can highlight and comment on important points.
These meeting can be launched through Microsoft Outlook, the user’s desktop or from the Web. "Our goal to make it easier for customers to conduct remote meetings, interview potential employees and host small training sessions," said Paul Carollo, product strategist at ReadyTalk. "The ability to see someone's facial expressions and body language significantly improves the level of engagement and the effectiveness of the meeting."
Video as a Service
Offering such as ReadyTalk’s are creating a whole new category, Video as a Service (VaaS). Just recently, iQ Solutions Group (iQSG) unveiled a video service that, like ReadyTalk’s, extends the company’s video conferencing portfolio and its data center and managed services offerings.
"The requirement for businesses to be quick to market and able to meet the changing demands of their clients makes VaaS a great tool for any size company. The rapid growth and deployment of tablets and smartphone technology provides easy access to anyone, anytime and device. Interoperability with Microsoft Lync, phones lines and any standard video endpoint extends and enhances prior investments," said Tom Richardson, principal with iQSG at the time of the announcement.
One research house sees healthy growth in video. According to research from Global Industry Analysts, Inc., the video conferencing market will reach $24 billion globally by 2017.
In other VaaS news, MSP Today reported that Yorktel launched VideoCloud, a new cloud video conferencing suite that integrates with Microsoft Office 365 and Lync.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
