Video Teleconferencing

Nefsis video teleconferencing lets you run all aspects of your teleconference — multiparty video, live web collaboration, and telephone conferencing — all through a single, easy-to-use online service.

Introduction to Video Teleconferencing

Traditionally, video conferencing involved large, installed-site, standalone systems connecting one boardroom to another via a dedicated line. Organizations that sought to connect more end-points in other offices had to make heavy investments in add-on products, gateway servers, and network re-engineering. The teleconference connection itself required a subscription, which is yet another separate expense. As many organizations put these additional products, services, and TCP/IP connections in place, security holes, synchronization problems, and steep learning curves took place.

Not anymore. Nefsis video conferencing online services provide multipoint video conferencing for desktops and conference rooms with live web collaboration; VoIP and telephone conferencing are all ‘baked in’. Today, there’s no need for managing a long list of separate products and teleconferencing subscription services. What’s more, Nefsis scalable video successfully operates over virtually any connection type regardless of bandwidth, so network upgrades and re-engineering are not required either.

The Old Model: Lots of Steps, Parts, and Snags

Is your organization using separate video conferencing end-points, infrastructure components, and teleconferencing services? Is it installed and running? If so, then you or someone in your organization probably went through the following steps:

1. You purchased video conferencing hardware, including codecs or multipoint conferencing units (MCUs) to connect more than two endpoints. The number of physical video ports was an impediment to expansion right from the start.
2. You installed the hardware in your conference rooms, or contracted for a third-party to manage the installation. Most hardware codecs use fixed bitrate encoding, so dedicated lines and matching "speeds and feeds" were required for best results.
3. For any web collaboration beyond simple H.239 screen sharing, add-on collaboration servers were required. These were often provided by a third party other than the video conferencing hardware vendor.
4. If you planned for external desktop users in your video teleconferences, then a desktop gateway server was required for firewall and proxy traversal.
5. For multiparty, telephone audio, somebody in your organization subscribed to a domestic or international teleconferencing service.
6. Once installed, all video teleconferencing sessions were scheduled since the installed-site equipment can only handle one session at a time.
7. The end result is not a point-and-click system. Somebody had to train the system users and be on standby for all video teleconferences.

Problems with the Old Model

While the video quality in traditional video conferencing systems is usually good, it comes with several costs and compromises:

• High capital expense and risk – The price tag for end-points and video-specific routers, gateways, and collaboration servers adds up fast. Total up-front costs are often over $50,000 with no guarantee of success. With multiple vendors involved, the risk of failure is high.
• Complex maintenance – The proprietary, single-purpose equipment used in many video conferencing systems requires hands-on, physical maintenance for security key resets and firmware upgrades at each location.
• Problems with interoperability – Standalone systems are almost entirely limited to conferencing with similar, previously installed equipment, so getting them to connect to other makes and models usually involves significant expertise not found in all IT departments.
• Lack of desktop connections – Most video conferencing systems cannot access desktop users, only other, installed-site systems.
• Security considerations – It can take significant effort to enforce security on point-to-point video connections. When collaboration tools are added, they use separate protocols and connections, often requiring equal or more effort to secure. The alternative is to send data in the clear and tolerate the network security holes.
• Often internal use only – Because of the above complications, most organizations cannot use videoconferencing products for external applications like sales and customer training, which require connections from external desktops and different networks.
• Lack of collaboration tools and media sharing – Without the addition of more costly products, most video conferencing systems don't have any collaboration capabilities beyond simple screen sharing. The limited support for file sharing, if any, does not extend to media like audio/video files and movies. To play a media file during a traditional video conference, the host must manually distribute it to each participant (via e-mail, FTP, network share, CD/DVD, etc.), and all participants must then run it individually on their own computer.
• Partial recordings – Some organizations need to record and save their conference session, but most products capture only a portion of the conference, usually phone or video, but rarely the data shared during the conference.
• Steep learning curve – The learning curve does not necessarily end once the teleconferencing equipment has been installed. It is common for ordinary users to require assistance in setting up and conducting video teleconferences. Most experience difficulty in part because the multi-vendor approach requires learning several different hardware consoles and user interfaces.

The Nefsis Approach: All-in-One, Easy Video Teleconferencing

Nefsis provides all web conferencing, video conferencing, and teleconferencing capabilities in one easy-to-use, cloud-based online service. The benefits of this all-in-one video teleconferencing approach are:

• Low financial risk – Working in the cloud means no capital expenditure or heavy, up-front costs, either to deploy Nefsis or to maintain it.
• Automated maintenance — Nefsis cloud-based online services automate maintenance and make it easy for IT staff to expand any installation.
• Suitability for any desktop or conference room – Nefsis supports webcams and HD pan-tilt-zoom cameras typical in laptops, desktops and conference rooms, so video teleconferences are no longer limited to specially equipped boardrooms.
• Worldwide reach – The Nefsis cloud is accessible anywhere in the world, all that is required is a computer and Internet connection.
• More secure – Industry standard SSL/TLS encryption is enforced and automatically maintained by Nefsis. All data communications, web, VoIP, and video, are encrypted for secure conferencing.
• Real-time collaboration and rich media sharing – Hosts can share their entire desktop, web browser, individual applications, individual documents, slide decks, and video files (including HD) for rich, productive meetings in real time.
• Complete recording – Hosts can record the conference for later reference and review. Nefsis records the entire conference, live sharing, audio, and video, not just one component or another.
• Easy learning curve – Nefsis’ all-in-one user interface resembles that of any other well designed application, with point-and-click simplicity for all web conferencing, video conferencing, and teleconferencing features. There are large, illustrated tool buttons and mouse-overs for every feature. Most users do not require IT help for productive online meetings and, for those that do, Nefsis offers free training.

Nefsis All-Included Features

Nefsis brings extra richness and depth to toll-free, reservationless teleconferences and online meetings. It supports dial-in and, where communications security policies apply, dial-out functionality.

Nefsis includes all of the web conferencing, collaboration and video features of common desktop products, plus enterprise-grade HD video conferencing, media sharing (play a movie file), and advanced collaboration tools. For details, click complete feature list.

Reservationless Video Teleconference Meetings

1. The host simply clicks into their own virtual meeting room to get started. The host can also take advantage of Nefsis features to create specific meeting rooms for recurring team meetings, customer meetings, and special events.
   
2. By telephone, e-mail, or instant messaging, the host invites participants to their meeting using ordinary web links (URLs) associated with the virtual conference room.
3. The participants click on the link and join the video teleconference session, where all video and live sharing components are displayed on the computer. Depending on the user’s computer and company network settings, software components are loaded dynamically or the user may receive a prompt or two during the first session.
4. If desired by the host, Nefsis prompts users to dial into the teleconference bridge or enter their phone numbers for dial-out service. Nefsis offers toll, toll-free, domestic, and international dialing plans. The meeting host can also select multiparty VoIP audio, eliminating teleconferencing fees entirely — a popular choice for recurring meetings.
5. The host and any designated presenter can activate video and easily share their own materials in the teleconference as needed.

Cloud-Based Video Teleconferencing is Easy to Expand

More customers are turning to online services, plug-and-play webcams and standard peripherals for their video conferencing requirements. In particular, Nefsis provides a full suite of business-grade web conferencing, multipoint video, and teleconferencing capabilities all in one easy-to-use online service.

In addition to the affordability, security, and ease-of-use advantages mentioned above, the Nefsis cloud offers automated fail-over, load balancing, and scalability — a much better fit with today’s IT strategies for managing business-critical services. You don't need to worry about a single point of failure or running out of video ports anymore; Nefsis is robust, highly scalable, and easy to expand.

Live Demos and a FREE Trial

Contact us for more details regarding dialing plans and prices. You can also schedule a live demonstration and take a free trial.