The holy grail for the video industry has been to have video be a pervasive resource--also know as the "any" vision: Any video endpoint to any other endpoint over any network. Video that's as consistent and as easy to use as making a phone call.
We've all heard this vision for over a decade, but are we really any closer to this happening? I'd like to give my take on where I think we are and what needs to happen for this to become reality instead of some far-reaching vision like Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth.
First let's take a look at where we are. I do think we've made significant strides. On my desk today I have a Cisco EX60 Callway System (now known as WebEx video), a MacBook Air with a built in camera and a Logitech BCC950 Conference Camera. That's right, I'm fully loaded for video! In the past couple of months I've been averaging a shade under a video call a day with the various systems I have on my desk.
While interoperability appears to work, it only sort of works. There's still a fair bit of work that I need to do on my end to invoke a video call. When connecting over my laptop, I need to install a new client per company that I want to connect to. For example, Vidyo has its own client, Logitech uses Connections, Polycom has its RealPresence client and other vendors have their own proprietary clients. Sure, the install is quick, but it still needs to be installed before I can communicate. Even when using the Callway system, sometimes I connect using IP, in which case I dial 99# first; some companies use a SIP address like a [email protected] and some use a name like [email protected] While I don't mind doing the front-end work to connect, most users just won't have the motivation to do so. Instead, they'll likely just defer to a phone call.
However, it's been a while since I wanted to do a video call but couldn't--so the industry is closer than it's ever been. Here's what needs to happen to get us the rest of the way.
* Standards based interoperability for basic functionality. While we talk about this all the time, I can't emphasize enough the importance of this. I think vendors used to think standardization equals commoditization, but I have seen an attitude change here. There seems to be a good understanding from the vendors now that if you create basic interoperability, usage goes up and that benefits everyone. Then you monetize the extras.
Consider mobile phones. Pick one up and you can call or text everyone--basic functionality. Then there's a bunch of stuff that you pay for on top of the basics and that's where the competitiveness comes from.
Pervasive, standards based video was the idea behind the Polycom-initiated OVCC (Open Visual Communications Consortium), but ultimately the responsibility needs to move to a non-partisan standards body. In fact, I'd like to see a structure like the ONF (Open Networking Forum), where a number of end users chair the standards body. Once the level playing field is set, vendors can build APIs or proprietary features for extra value.
* Complete vendor support. Standards based interoperability is great, but it requires support from the entire industry. Having some of the vendors adhere to the standard and others not creates islands of interoperability, and these islands need to be connected. All vendors must work together to make this happen.
For example, for all the accolades given to startup vendor Vidyo for their quality of experience (and it's very good), they've simply created another island, and the company seems to have little interest in breaking down the barriers. I understand that they now interoperate with some vendors, but representatives from Polycom, Cisco, Magor, BlueJeans, Vidtel and others have all told me that Vidyo, is by far the most difficult vendor to work with. The goal for all vendors should be a smaller piece of a much bigger pie.
* Consistent access method. When I pick up a phone, I call someone in the US using a 10-digit number. The phone or interface doesn't matter. When I call someone over video I might have a desktop client, I might be using an email address, I might be dialing an IP address, who knows? I made this point earlier, but the majority of users will use to the phone if connecting over video is inconsistent.
* Workflow integration. Today, video is primarily an augmentation to existing processes. Video is often added to an existing process, but processes should be redesigned to take advantage of the visual element. I recently thought of this when I went to my local bank to ask what to do with my old 401k, and was told that the person who handles that information only comes to that branch once a week. To deal with this situation, the bank could decide to build a video enabled process where "experts" in bank products are available on-demand, and could pull in other experts as needed. The addition of video can be very powerful with just a few simple changes.
Based on the above, it may seem like we're still nowhere near having pervasive video but I think we're actually pretty close. We just need all vendors to understand that interoperability and standardization drives usage, and that makes the pie bigger for everyone.
