The promise of TelePresence — tools that allow one to feel as if in the presence of another person — has been complicated by a legacy of technologies and ideas unrelated to business experience. Instead, over time we’ve been exposed to a range of compelling fictions.
With TelePresence, the presence sensation is complete, and not specific to audio or video recognition. That said, it is generally allowed that TelePresence is a matter of degree. Present commercial offerings, for example, do not allow for a transfer of physical touch.
In the early going, one of the most famous of these technologies was the Sensorama. Developed in the late 1950s, the Sensorama was a multi-modal, mechanical device designed to improve the theatre-going experience. The virtual sensation of riding a bicycle, for example, was enhanced with 3D glasses, stereo sound, and even wind.
In recent years we have arrived at surround-sound and the impressive, dizzying experience of IMAX, as well as Star Trek’s famous holodeck, a fictional representation of a convincing holographic “reality” controlled by a computer. And, of course, there are the evocative virtual realities of on-line worlds such as Second Life.
The problem with all of these phenomena is that they aren’t designed to enhance communication within the context of what is recognizably real, meaning that they have little practical application for business. They are, first and foremost, forms of entertainment.
The reasons for this are obvious. The multi-point communication of a real experience, and the ability to create a sense of shared presence, require powerful distributed technologies and the means to connect them. The real has to be captured and communicated in a dynamic landscape, and for this to occur convincingly, data, voice and video capabilities must be at their best.
Proponents of TelePresence argue that today’s technologies are much more than souped-up videoconferencing, and a recent announcement that Cisco Systems made its first TelePresence sale to Rogers Communications has added some local buzz. Confidence is high; vendors are eager to get people into the studios to confirm that TelePresence is for real.
A recent trip to Cisco’s offices in downtown Toronto confirmed this. An hour-long TelePresence meeting with Cisco’s Calgary office went off without a glitch. The IP-PBX handled the job well, with only one or two instances of watery sound — Cisco’s proprietary technology for echo cancellation was up to the task. We were using the Cadillac of Cisco’s offering, the Cisco 3000, which sports a three-panel 65-inch plasma screen system.
During the meeting, Cisco confirmed that the Rogers deal was significant in more ways than one. Yes, a large Canadian corporation saw the value in TelePresence for internal use, but Rogers is also a potential channel partner in the Canadian market. Cisco, like HP with its Halo TelePresence offering, wants to team up with carriers and cable companies in order to drive business to large-enterprise accounts. Cisco is also partnering with third parties to gain more traction in specific sectors.
Earlier this year, outsourced workplace provider Regus Group announced it would install 50 Cisco TelePresence systems to assist its clients in saving on travel costs. Mike Adams, chief operating officer for Rogers, while being clear that there is at present no commitment, nonetheless admits to the possibility: “Could we be a channel? Yes. We have an interest in supporting the commercial customer base. This could be a package of products, done jointly, or with one party supporting the other.”
Adams feels that Canadian enterprises, many of which have significant travel expenses, have the infrastructure and cash to make TelePresence viable. However, Jayanth Angl, research analyst, Infrastructure for Info-Tech Research, is somewhat skeptical of Cisco’s claim that TelePresence represents a US$1 billion market over the next five years.
“Larger organizations can justify the cost due to flexibility and travel savings,” he says, “but for the majority of enterprises it’s not worth the cost to purchase and manage the bandwidth.”
As with so many cutting-edge technologies, the mid-market is the Holy Grail. Angl is quick to point out that there are disruptive companies out there, such as Telanetix. The vendor requires no upfront investment and sells its offering as a $1,000-a-month service. Teliris is also a player, and has recently announced that its TelePresence gateway can work with other vendors. As well, HP soon plans to enable video porting from Tandberg, one of the first players in this space.
COSTING IT OUT
The issue of interoperability is complicated by cost concerns. Polycom, who in May announced a partnership with Nortel, offers its RealPresence at the top end, seating 28 people and costing $600,000. Cisco’s three-screen offering, ideal for six people but capable of handling twelve, costs $300,000; its single-screen product comes in at $80,000. HP’s Halo, which was launched in late 2005 at $550,000 per studio, can now run in the low $300,000 range, particularly if more than one studio is purchased. Base option network and service fees for Halo run at $18,000 a month. Another Halo studio configuration will be announced this fall, with upwards of 100 studios in place worldwide by the end of 2007.
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