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ace-to-ace meetings. It estimates that theuse o managed videoconerencing savescustomers at least 25 per cent on their travelcosts.

The number o videoconerencing unitsbeing deployed to customers has increasedby 34 per cent over the past 12 months.Internally, Cable&Wireless Worldwide usesvideoconerencing extensively, clocking upmore than 1.2m minutes across the businessin 2010.

Cable&Wireless Worldwide is also aounding member o the Open VisualCommunications Consortium (OVCC),which opens up videoconerencing usage

across networks enabling assured qualityconversations across the globe. This addsurther value to organisations as theyembrace videoconerencing because theycan move rom using it in their own companyto acilitating ace-to-ace discussions withtheir customers, partners, suppliers and soon. It will make video calli ng as simple asmaking a telephone call.

www.cw.com/video-services

It’s as easy as making aphone call – that’s whycompanies are jumpingon the video callingbandwagon in their droves

Seeing isbelieving

Business Technology Nv 2011 an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

Industry view

4

The number of 

videoconferencing

units being deployed to

customers has increased

by 34 per cent over

the last 12 months

The business landscape has changed asorganisations o all types are embracing newways o working and communicat ing, bothinternally and with customers and suppliers.

New platorms such as social media, instantmessaging and video services enablebetter collaboration and encourage greaterproductivity.

People still place a lot o importancein actually seeing peers and associates todiscuss business matters but in today’sbusiness environment travel is not alwaysenvironmentally or financially viable. Arecent survey by Cable&Wireless Worldwideound that 87 per cent o Britons claim ace-to-ace contact, either via videoconerencingor by being in the same room, is more likelyto lead to a business decision.

The survey also looked at people’socus and attention span during phonecalls, telephone conerence calls and

videoconerence calls,finding that in the UK 42 per cento businesspeople admit to having checkedor written emails during an audio conerencecall, while 35per cent have doodled and 3 per cent haveeven allen asleep – all quite ha rd to do on avideo call.

Dominic Jones, director o product andmarketing at Cable&Wireless Worldwide,says: “More than ever, the need or newways o working is critical. Businessesneed to collaborate in real time across the

globe and to do so need to makeuse o interactive technologies. Video

services provide a range o options, rom ul ltelepresence suites that ofer a liesize ‘sameroom’ experience, to meeting room units,desktop solutions and now handheld devices.The possibilities o these technologies areendless.”

Cable&Wireless Worldwide’s VideoServices have been designed to revolutionisevideoconerencing by ofering a reliable,high quality and simple-to-use servicethat is a genuine permanent alternative to

Driving forward new technologiesGermany’s motorway operator is reaping therewards of investing in digital signage for itsservice stations, but what are the benefits?German drivers who take a break romthe autobahn have had a new audiovisualexperience since the summer. Tank & Rast,Germany’s premier operator o motorwayservice areas, has installed more than 3,000digital signage displays at 360 locationsthroughout the country, creating the largestdigital signage network in Germany at

motorway service areas, and the largestanywhere on Europe’s road system.“Tank & Rast used to display conventional

printed advertisements, but the companywanted to switch to digital to increase itsadvertising revenues,” says Marius Marschall,group managing partner at Intelligent ServiceSolutions (ISS), the special ist AV companythat planned and installed the system and willmanage it or the next three years.

“Tank & Rast expects to make a muchgreater return rom selling advertisingspace on digital signage than it did romconventional poster sites,” he adds.

The eye-catching displays are located inentrance halls and retail and catering areas,enabling digital advertising to be targetedwhere it will be most efect ive. Contentcreation and distribution is done by Tank &

Rast’s advertising agency. All the contentis scheduled rom a single control centre by

ISS. Each screen can have a unique playlisto adverts that are careully tailored to suitits location and the time o day. “By time-slicing the adverts, Tank & Rast is efectivelymultiplying the space available,” saysMarschall.

A study by Germany’s Centre or ConsumerResearch has already demonstrated the

efectiveness o the digital adverts. Tank& Rast is now considering installing morescreens in the restaurant areas to displaymenus that change at diferent times o day,and even photo rame-sized units in thetoilets.

The initial rollout consisted o 3,200 42, 32and 22-inch high resolution LCD displays. Allthe 42 and 32-inch models, almost 1,600 intotal, were supplied by ISS’s vendor o choice,Philips Public Signage.

“We’re responsible or the entire systemor the next three years and are contractedto provide more than 99 per cent up-time,so we have to rely heavily on our partners,”says Marschall. “That means we need aully proessional product and proessionalaer-sales support, so there are only a ewcompanies we’re prepared to partner with.”

The technical specification o the Philipsmonitors met Tank & Rast’s exacting

requirements, including being bright enoughto compete with the high lighting levels insidea motorway service area. Availability was amajor issue, and not all the monitor vendorsISS considered could have supplied the largequantities required.

Philips’ pricing was also very competitive,and the low energy consumption o itsdisplays means that the lietime cost o

ownership – as well as related carbonemissions – wi ll be below average.

Finally, what impressed ISS was the sheerproessionalism o the people rom Philips.

“We had confidence that they’d be ashelpul aer the sa le as they were beore,”says Marschall. “I’m more than happy that wedid the deal with Philips, and in uture I woulddefinitely preer Philips over other displayvendors.”

www.philips.com/publicsignagesolutionswww.intelligent-services.eu

Eye-catching: digital signage displays are used to target consumers