London Bridge Hotel chooses VC solutions
01/02/11

The latest sector to take advantage of affordable video conferencing solutions is the hotel and leisure industry, with the independent 4-star boutique London Bridge Hotel.

London Bridge Hotel (http://www.londonbridgehotel.com) is leading the way in its choice of video conferencing to enhance its banqueting and conference offering. VC-NET, recently acquired by AVM, is a video conferencing, network and managed services specialist that was appointed by the hotel to deliver the new facilities which will be available from 14th February 2011.

London Bridge Hotel is situated in the Borough of Southwark, the hotel’s heritage dates back to Roman times and many of the archaeological finds unearthed during the hotel's development are with the Museum of London. However, as General Manager Nick Cowell explains, the hotel intends to be at the forefront of technology and is leading the way in its use of IP technology:

 “Providing guests with simple ISDN technology is no longer sufficient. To differentiate our offering we now have impressive but easy to use video conferencing in all of our conference and meeting rooms. We also offer the latest audio-visual equipment and complimentary wi-fi access. As an independent hotel we have to manage our budget effectively and VC-NET (now part of AVM) surprised us with a very affordable yet state of the art HD solution.”

The Polycom solution which was provided means that users can experience the benefits of high definition video conferencing. Advanced HD video technology offers smooth, natural motion and sharp clear images for outstanding video. It offers flexible, cost-effective, high definition communications from low bandwidth – a perfect solution for a small to medium-sized environment.

One of the most exciting trends is towards a managed video conferencing solution. Businesses are realising that video conferencing is an essential business service that is easily outsourced in the same way that you outsource your payroll services. For example, AVM can take an existing, or newly purchased video system and register it to their Booked or Reservationless bridging service. This gives the customer self service or assisted bridged calls, to an unlimited number of endpoints.

 Video conferencing is now suitable for board meetings, C level meetings, global recruitment, education and collaboration across all industries - removing travel down time and travel costs. At the core of its network AVM has implemented a number of infrastructure products to offer clients the ability to roll out management, reporting and gateway and bridging services without the need for expensive on-site hardware or having to worry about scaling issues. 

 Video conferencing makes it easy to connect with people anywhere in the world, making for example, a CEO interview or company-wide announcement feel more personal. Staff can put a face to a name and a voice, and convey their message in the way they intend to.

 

Teach First chooses VC-NET video conferencing solution for e-learning
01/02/11

The latest organisation to take advantage of VC-NET’s affordable video conferencing solutions is Teach First (http://www.teachfirst.org.uk), an independent charity which works to address educational disadvantage by training exceptional graduates to become effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in schools in challenging circumstances.

VC-NET, recently acquired by AVM, is a video conferencing, network and managed services specialist. Following a competitive tender, Teach First selected a TANDBERG solution from VC-NET.

Matthew Horine, Head of IT at Teach First, explains: “Sharing and learning is fundamental to Teach First, whether we are in the classroom, communicating with our blue-chip business partners, or sharing best practice with colleagues around the world. As the charity grows and our networks develop, video-conferencing facilities will become an even more important tool to keep our teachers, ambassadors and staff connected.”

Teach First chose to work with VC-NET because of their experience with organisations such as TreeHouse, the national charity for autism education, and our unrivalled understanding of how to promote and adopt video conferencing internally. It’s wonderful to see video conferencing technology being deployed for such great causes.

The technology has progressed significantly and now offers a real, viable and affordable alternative to face to face meetings. HD video conferencing is at the heart of this, dispelling many of the old myths of poor quality.

AV Global Alliance Presents at the Wainhouse Visual Communications Summit
01/02/11

The AV Global Alliance, an international partnership of leading visual communications system integrators, presented at the Wainhouse Research Visual Communications Summit in Amsterdam in January 2011. 

Edward Cook, CEO of AVM, introduced the Alliance’s recent expansion to include joint delivery of video managed services with AVI-SPL. Managed video services take away the difficulty of setting up video calls, allowing customers to focus on meetings, not technology.

The AV Global Alliance has 26 members across 32 countries. The increase in demand for managed services to support video conferencing systems within international companies is the leading driver in expanding the AV Global Alliance’s offering.

“We are noticing an increase in opportunities for video conferencing projects within multinational companies,” said Edward Cook. “The growth of services enables the members of the Alliance to offer managed video services across all time zones and in more languages.”