Cisco bets on telepresence technology in India

Bangalore: The latest versions of telepresence technologies are outshining the previous videoconferencing model of communication technology. Though both techniques fulfill similar needs, telepresence scores over video conferencing as far as the level of closeness it brings during conferencing is concerned.

Identifying this trend, the networking giant Cisco is betting on telepresence market by launching its latest collaboration portfolio where telepresence is one of the core area of importance. The Cisco collaboration portfolio also consists of Cisco Unified Communication and a new Web 2.0 application platform.

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Cisco claims that the new platform will help enable people to connect, communicate and collaborate from any application, device and workspace.

Eying on $34 billion market, Cisco is moving towards various sectors such as IT, retail banking, manufacturing health care and various other sectors, giving preference to markets in North America, Asia Pacific and West Asian region. Cisco believes that there is immense opportunities in India also as many of Indian firms expand their operation globally.

To popularize the product, Cisco Capital has announced the launch of its zero percent progress payment program. Cisco Capital specializes in financing networking and communications solutions by providing flexible financial programs to Cisco customers and channel partners worldwide.

Compared with video conferencing, telepresence has more chances to bring people in different ends in close contacts by expertly transmitting the movements of both parties as it is, and it is able to maintain eye contact even.

Telepresence technologies are getting preference over video conferencing techniques in many global companies and they are increasingly adopting such technologies as a strategy to reduce operational cost by eliminating business travelling expenses and other costs. A Wainhouse Research study finds that typical usage rates of telepresence are 77.4 hours per month compared to 10 hours for video conferencing.

Moreover, telepresence technologies also help companies to speed up the market entry of their new products as it enable the design and marketing teams who are spreading in different locations of the world to be in touch with all the time.

Indian IT majors like Infosys and Wipro have been using Cisco's various collaborative offerings. Cisco stated that they will continue to offer such services in future too.