Deutsche Telekom is marketing a cloud based videoconferencing service, called VideoMeet, that allows users on different video conference endpoints to connect.
The service, built on BlueJeans Network’s technology, enables users of business solutions like Cisco/Tandberg, Polycom, Lifesize and others, and light weight solutions such as Skype and Google Video Chat to connect.
DT said VideoMeet is the first solution globally that connects practically any video client. The carrier starts marketing the solution from today in the UK, Germany and Austria. There is a free 30 day trial available, and you can view pricing here.
“Video is the next voice,” said Rainer Deutschmann, Senior Vice President Core Telco Products at Deutsche Telekom. “To support this vision we introduce VideoMeet, the very first service that bridges different end-points. VideoMeet is as easy to set up as an audio conference. It adheres to high security standards, and, as a genuine cloud service, it is simply scalable to the needs of our customers and does not require any investment. VideoMeet perfectly connects, for example, companies with distributed offices, home offices and traveling employees, as well as sales departments with their customers.”
Businesses are increasingly adopting enterprise-grade telepresence – a recent report from Ovum found. Ovum analyst Ian Jacobs sad that the market will boom, with spending hitting $1.1bn in 2016, growing with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% from 2011 to 2016.
Yet, Jacobs added, the vendor and service selection process is not an easy one. “Businesses will face a difficult task in deciding on the right vendor in a particularly rapidly changing supplier marketplace. They may return to their legacy video conferencing vendor for telepresence or look to new-breed video specialists. They might make the choice as a stand-alone decision or as part of a broader enterprise communication strategy.”
VideoMeet users are each given access to a secure “meeting room” in the VideoMeet cloud that they can use to schedule, host, and manage meetings via a web interface. Participants join meetings by dialling a number or clicking on a link to attend via video. There’s no hardware to buy or software to download.
VideoMeet can be used with an IP and an ISDN-based connection. In addition, Deutsche Telekom has introduced firewall traversal, which allows secure access between videoconferencing rooms behind a company firewall and any end point outside the company.