magazine
32
Video-conferencing
FieldAware, a rapidly growing provider
of SaaS-based field service management
solutions, is using reliable video
communications to bring together its
specialist engineers in a ‘virtual’ office
that enables instant teamwork and faster
project turnaround times.
Frustrated by the poor audio and
call interruptions experienced with
traditional video conferencing products,
FieldAware started using a hosted video
communications solution fromVaaS-t
at the beginning of 2013. The system is
used by engineers located at FieldAware’s
central engineering office in Dublin,
Ireland and by contract engineers working
in Spain, the UK, Greece and Germany.
It is mainly used for face-to-face
video meetings, but engineers also make
use of its screen-sharing capabilities to
manage de-bugging issues or for ‘pair
programming’ where two programmers
work together on a project simultaneously.
“I am based in Berlin, but I use VaaS-t
up to ten times a day to stay in contact
with the central team, and quite often we
keep the conference open so that there
is on-going two-way communication
between us,” explains Tim Kersten, senior
Another web-based video-conferencing solution suitable for small and
medium-sized businesses is Brother’s Omnijoin system, which we will be
reviewing in the next issue.
Brother recently enhanced the system with an iOS app that allows video-
conferencing software to be used with iPads and iPhones. Intelligent HD
video adjusts automatically depending on the network speed, giving clear,
uninterrupted video, even on a 3G connection.
Instead of being limited to audio participation when away from the office,
the new app enables users to communicate by video and share photos and
documents with other conference participants.
Omnijoin delivers simultaneous HD video streams across multiple displays
and allows attendees to work on documents in real time and record meetings to
watch later. For security, OmniJoin provides end-to-end SSL3/TSL encryption for
all conference data.
Subscriptions start at £15 per month for an unlimited number of meetings.
software engineer at FieldAware.
“We tried all sorts of different
solutions before VaaS-t, but because
our engineering department is spread
across the world, we had to find a way to
communicate by video that would allow
us face-to-face experiences with no lag
and no latency.”
VaaS-t delivers HD conferencing with
the ability to share data with multiple
participants on a wide variety of devices.
The solution is available on a fixed
price monthly subscription basis, which
allows FieldAware to host an unlimited
number of video calls without incurring
unexpected costs.
Field Aware has three basic VaaS-t
monthly subscriptions, costing £39 per
month. This enables it to invite up to 24
(8 x 3) individuals from inside or outside
the company into a video conference.
Other VaaS-t packages allow up to 25
invitees per subscription. The highest
priced subscription costs £95 per month.
No added overhead
“This is important to us,” says Kersten.
“We need conferencing for our day-to-day
interaction and we want to be able to use
Open communication
drives collaboration
& productivity for field
services specialist
it when we need it, rather than worrying
about the added overhead.We often use
VaaS-t for a quick 10-minute discussion,
which can help to clarify a problem and
avoids unnecessary work being done.”
Access to VaaS-t is available via a
web-link on any device, from desktops and
laptops to tablets, iPhones and Android
smart phones. It is based on award-
winning video collaboration technology
fromVidyo, which provides a stable,
glitch-free service through virtually any
Internet or 3G connection in the world.
“Having used other solutions, we have
found that audio in particular is unreliable
due to a lack of bandwidth.With VaaS-t,
the audio is good, we have fantastic image
quality and we can achieve accurate screen
sharing in full resolution,” says Kirsten.
“It is also flexible, with a good layout
that allows me to turn on and off other
people’s screens if there are a lot of
people on the call. I can also turn off video
completely, for example, if I am using
3G on a mobile tether and I just want to
use audio. Our engineers use a variety of
different platforms, but the user interface
remains consistent across all of them.”
Ad Hoc but Valuable
For many VaaS-t users, the security of a
retained service at a fixed price, no risk of
hardware failure and unlimited usage are
the key benefits. But for Kirsten, it is the
ability for FieldAware engineers to interact
with colleagues even if they are located
thousands of miles apart that really makes
the difference.
“The interaction adds value to what
I am doing. I am in full view of other
people who are not in the same location
as me, but we can see each other on the
screens. It’s hard to express how video
conferencing enables me to be part of
the office from so far away. It requires
no effort, and it can be ad hoc, but this
form of communication is so valuable
to what we do. It enables us to set the
tone or direction we are heading in, and
we are aligned because we are working
together. Nothing is missed because we
are connected, so we can react as quickly
as anyone else.”
...we have
fantastic
image quality
and we can
achieve
accurate
screen
sharing...
As flooding and Tube strikes make life difficult for workers
across the UK, we look at how one company is using video-
conferencing to transform its operations
Tim Kersten, senior
software engineer,
FieldAware.
iOS app for
Omnijoin
