Open VideoPresence

Orange Business Services, the division of France Telecom providing telecommunication services to corporate customers started service, unique for Russia, - Open VideoPresence. Before it was already provided more than in 100 countries of the world.

In fact it is a cloud service of a video conferencing which allows to use it at the corporate level without investments into the corresponding infrastructure. Respectively, deployment of service does not require purchase of own server of multipoint conference communication (MCU): it is in Orange "cloud" that allows to regulate flexibly use of resources of the multipoint server in process of growth of business needs.

Scheme of work of OpenVideo Presence service 

Connection to service is possible from any types of networks - IP VPN, ISDN, the Internet – and using any video terminals from any producers or computers with the webcam. Management of service is made from the special portal. Using Open VideoPresence in addition to directly video conferencing transfer of the presentations, demonstration of applications is also possible.

As Darya Abramova told TAdviser, the representative of Orange Business Services in Russia and the CIS, the cost of service for customers consists of the fixed install payment and monthly subscriber payment. The subscriber payment depends on a packet of the hours purchased for a month. Packets exist from 5 to 25 hours a month. The cost of the maximum packet is about 12 thousand rubles. "So also the small companies can take all advantage of VKS now", - she added.

So far Orange will provide service only independently. "Further, with development of the indirect sales channel, providing service and through partners – agents is possible", - Darya Abramova specified.

As respondents of TAdviser market participants noted, to estimate uniqueness of service in this case quite difficult: the essence of many services is similar. At this moment in the Russian market there are several products which offer similar service with different functionality, for example: Mirapolis and VideoMost.

Vladimir Savchenko, the head of department of work with corporate clients of department of cloud computing of Softline commented on TAdviser start of service as follows: "All solutions have opportunities for development. And only demand in the market will show what product will be more popular and demanded. Certainly, appearance of one more player is a good sign, sign that SaaS direction in Russia develops and goes forward. And the Softline company takes active part in this movement. And potential at Open VideoPresence service – very high".

Vitaly Kramar, the director of the company Teleport-Service, also told TAdviser that it is not the first such service. "Our partner of TrueConf started the similar project more than a year ago which is available also now", - he said. The TrueConf Online service allows to make free video calls to other users of service, to organize symmetric group video conferences, to carry out video lessons broadcastings and also to collect in one virtual audience up to 100 users in the mode of a conference video meeting.

As a rule, such services are interesting to the corporate users wishing to have an opportunity of group video communication, but not having funds for acquisition of the expensive equipment of a video conferencing from such eminent suppliers as Polycom or Cisco, Vitaly Kramar says.

According to him, hardware costs for the system of a video conferencing of the enterprise level can make at least 100 thousand rubles on a point and from 1 million for the server on 20 simultaneous connections above, depending on the total number of participants of group video conference. If it is software solutions, then from 300 thousand to 1.5 million for installation of the complete solution in network of the customer with 100 jobs or from 50 thousand rubles for lease according to the SaaS model.

Advantages of the systems of a video conferencing (VIDEOCONFERENCING) to business are obvious: they allow to conduct effective communication with remote offices of the company, partners and clients worldwide. At the same time the firm can significantly save on traveling of employees and corporate training. So, by estimates of Orange Business Services company, its Open Videopresence service in certain cases allows to cut down traveling expenses to 8 times.^[1]

Unlike the bulky classical VIDEOCONFERENCING systems requiring creation of own infrastructure, Open Videopresence created on the basis of cloud model represents the idle time and flexible video service allowing to increase efficiency of communications without serious costs. And though about 60% of the Russian enterprises are still preferred by the selected solution VIDEOCONFERENCING cloud (data of company TrueConf), very few people doubt bright future of cloud visual communication systems. Moreover, "cloud revolution" in the field of a video conferencing already goes.

The Open Videopresence service is brought to the market in the middle of 2009 and is available in 107 countries. Service allows not to care for what equipment is used by users. Open Videopresence "is omnivorous": it allows to be connected from any networks (IP VPN, ISDN, the Internet), participants of a video session can use any video terminals of any producers and also computers with webcams. Access to service with PC and Mac is performed using the full-function client of Scopia Desktop from Radvision company (in 2012 it is purchased by Avaya company).

The server of multipoint conference communication which is in Orange cloud is capable to process at the same time conferences in about tens and in hundreds of participants. For convenience of customers exists several schemes of payment depending on specific use of service. It can be the fixed monthly payment for the registered video terminals, constant payment for external participants (including mobile) or fixed payment for the virtual room with a certain number of participants.

General VIDEOCONFERENCING mobilization

According to experts, further mobilization of this type of communication services will become one of the main trends of market development of a video conferencing. Explosive growth in sales of smartphones and tablets with ample multimedia opportunities, along with fall forward of data transmission on wireless communication links, will allow to display high-quality video conference out of limits of offices with their VIDEOCONFERENCING stationary complexes already now.

Logical continuation of evolution of cloud VKS from Orange Business Services became its adaptation under mobile user devices: mobile application of Orange Video Meeting is released. The cloud service of Open Videopresence became available from mobile the device based on iOS and Android. The solution is based on Radvision Scopia Mobile technology and allows to be connected literally by one contact to video conference from the smartphone or the tablet.

Thus, Orange Video Meeting makes a video conferencing available practically in any place and at any time. The application is available in App Store and Google Play online stores. Having loaded it on the tablet or the smartphone, it is possible to be connected to a video conference session at once – it is only necessary to click the link of the VIDEOCONFERENCING session in an e-mail client or the calendar. The type of the device of each participant is automatically determined, installed application is started on the user device, providing connection to a video conferencing.

the Option Virtual Room - to mobile users

The Orange company officially provided the option Virtual Room for mobile devices, the press service of the company reported on July 31, 2013. The offered option simplifies use of video conference and makes it the most available at the price.

Virtual Room is developed for use of a cloud service of a video conferencing of Open Videopresence on computers, tablets and smartphones. Connection of a product will allow the customer to create the permanent virtual room with number of participants to 30, at the fixed monthly payment from 2 thousand to 4 thousand rubles.

Use

Using Virtual Room customers will still be able to take all advantage of Open Videopresence service. Use of the multipoint server of video conference from a cloud of Orange provides the fixed width of the used channel irrespective of the number of conferees and also allows to refuse capital costs for purchase of own expensive equipment of video conference. It is also possible to be connected to a conference on a telephone line, using own numbers of Orange in 38 countries of the world and toll-free number of series 8-800 in Russia.

It is possible to order service testing on the page of the website of the company vendor.

Notes