Apr 22 2010
The TANDBERG Public Sector team just wrapped up the 4th Annual Federal Video Teleconferencing User Forum at the Dulles Hyatt in Herndon, Va.
This year’s event was expanded to include the entire federal government (DoD and Civilian representatives), and the result was a large and amazingly successful forum.
More than 175 participants representing more than 60 government agencies were present at this year’s event. Each one of them left having experienced the latest video teleconferencing (VTC) technologies, and learned best practices for VTC implementation.
Speakers from the United States Senate discussed their successful roll out of a comprehensive enterprise VTC system. Also, members of the Department of Veterans Affairs and United States Army Medical Command discussed their telemedicine solutions, which is the largest telemedicine implementation in the world. Appearing via VTC, representatives from the the Army discussed how their telemedicine solution is being used to treat and diagnosis wounded warriors and other patients across the world.
Also appearing via VTC from his office in Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colo., Major General Michael J. Basla, Vice Commander of Air Force Space Command, delivered the keynote presentation. General Basla spoke about how video is becoming universally accepted across the Department of Defense and has astonishing benefits in helping the warfighter accomplish missions and in saving lives. Brigadier General David Warner, AFSPC Director of Communications and Logistics, then interacted with Forum participants in an in-depth Q&A session.
Overall, the forum was an incredible opportunity for government thought leaders to network, and share best practices for the implementation and uses of VTC solutions. With multiple speakers appearing via video, attendees also got to experience just how natural and interactive video communication can be. This was especially obvious during Q&A sessions and when speakers interacted directly with their audience.
The one unifying thing the TANDBERG team heard from every attendee was a universal acceptance that VTC was a rapidly evolving tool that will increase collaboration and communication, enable agencies to operate more effectively and efficiently, and can save the government significant money by reducing the need for travel and saving time out of the office. Attendees understood that like email, and the telephone before it, video is the future of communication.
With TANDBERG now becoming a part of Cisco, telepresence solutions are taking another step towards becoming one part of the circle of unified communications services that all organizations are looking to embrace. Hopefully, this forum helped people overcome any fears of the implementation and use of VTC and will work to drive increased adoption of video across the federal government.
Feb 02 2010
Multiple recent events, from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, have led government pundits and officials to call for better communication between government agencies. This increased collaboration is necessary to keep citizens safe, respond to disaster and emergency, and operate more effectively and efficiently.
Unfortunately, there’s a significant roadblock for increasing collaboration within and among agencies. As a rising number of agencies turn to video teleconferencing (VTC), instant messaging and other advanced and rapid forms of communication, converged voice and data networks are relied upon more than ever. This creates a problem for disparate agencies each relying on a different vendor for their network and communications infrastructure.
The key to enabling interagency collaboration and communication across these varied, disparate networks is interoperability. At TANDBERG, interoperability and firewall traversal are some of the most important features of our VTC solutions.
In fact, TANDBERG was first to deliver a telepresence solution that could interoperate with third-party systems, the first to enable high-definition video between Microsoft Office Communicator and multi-screen telepresence, and the first to deliver HD telepresence and video conferencing solutions that can interoperate with any other standards compliant systems. Interoperability is at the core of our VTC products.
The ability to enable face-to-face communication regardless of distance gives VTC solutions the ability to truly bring government agencies together and increase inter-agency communication and collaboration. When agencies are looking for VTC systems that will help them work more closely with other government organizations, the most important feature should always be true interoperability.
Helping the government better serve it’s constituents through collaboration and teamwork – now that’s a new way of governing.
Dec 22 2009
As Americans, we enjoy unprecedented freedoms and liberties, but only thanks to the soldiers who have and continue to sacrifice everything to fight for them. Families and friends, comfort and homes are left thousands of miles behind as soldiers deploy to unfamiliar, often unfriendly locations across the globe where injury and even death can await them.
When these soldiers do finally arrive back to their families and homes, many face a new set of challenges, especially those that have been wounded in combat.
For wounded veterans, life can be a constant battle even when they return home. Many need constant care from doctors, others need conditions monitored or regular visits to doctors and specialists. Many times, this means strain on families and loved ones who have to prepare and travel with them from their homes to distant doctors on a regular basis.
In an effort to provide quality medical care and reduce the significant impact on veterans’ families, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been turning to an unlikely ally, video teleconferencing (VTC).
By embracing VTC technology and solutions, the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and its Care Coordination Home Telehealth program are giving wounded veterans a direct connection to their doctors and medical staff via video. This enables doctors to monitor medical conditions and vital data from a distance without having to travel to the patient, or vice versa.
For Joseph “Jay” Briseno, Jr., and his family, this new program has had a significant impact. Jay was wounded by gunfire during a tour in Iraq that left him with permanent paralysis, blindness and brain injury. A specialized telehealth unit was created by the VA and TANDBERG to bring Jay’s medical team right to his bedside. This not only ensures that his health can be constantly monitored, but also allows doctors to make more educated decisions about whether Jay needs to brought into the hospital for treatment, which is a difficult process requiring ambulance transport.
At TANDBERG, we’re proud to be creating VTC solutions that enhance the lives of veterans wounded while defending our freedom. Empowering a new way of caring for veterans is just a small way we can show our appreciation for their patriotism and sacrifice.