Videoconferencing on the Rise and Available in North Brevard

Titusville, Fla. – December 13, 2001 – In a survey conducted by the National Business Travel Association, 58% of corporate travel managers say their companies will reduce travel and 88% say they will increase their use of videoconferencing. At the Florida/NASA Business Incubation Center (FNBIC) in Titusville, client companies already enjoy the ease of conferencing technology as they conduct business across the globe. Now with the increased demand for videoconferencing, FNBIC will allow the general public use of their videoconference center.

“With many companies suspending air travel and others still leery of airline safety, companies are turning to the cost-effective and time efficient use of videoconferencing to maintain the flow of business,” says Dave Kershaw, center director. “Aside from supporting the growth of healthy start-up companies, I see the role of the Incubator encompassing the health of the established business economy. We hope our technology resources will provide much needed assistance to the business community of Brevard.”

Conferencing traffic "is way up, by 20% to 40%, no question," said Elliot Gold, a videoconferencing analyst and president of Telespan Publishing Corp. in Altadena, Calif.  According to comments in the September issue of Computer World, Gold said, the sluggish economy had already pushed more companies to use conferencing technology. But now, he added, the increase could be sustained for months. He said videoconferencing costs have come down steadily while video quality and synchronization with audio and data—once weak points for the technology—have improved.

"We regularly use videoconferencing at the incubation center to connect our offices in Houston and Washington D.C.," says Jim Royston, president of Space Media's Stars Academy, an Incubator client company. "Videoconferencing allows us to operate more efficiently. We can include more people in meetings than if we were to fly to one center location and we have more time to focus on our core business."

Despite falling costs, the average video conferencing systems still runs about $20,000.  For larger companies with tightened budgets or for small to mid sized businesses purchasing a videoconference system is not a feasible option. In contrast to purchasing a system, FNBIC provides the facility and conferencing technology to the public for a fraction of the cost, only $100 an hour.

Established by the Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) in 1996, the Florida/NASA Business Incubation Center helps accelerate the success of technology-based, small businesses by providing affordable space, shared office services and fulfilling enterprise development needs to give companies a strong competitive edge.  The Incubator is managed through a joint partnership of Florida’s TRDA, NASA-Kennedy Space Center and Brevard Community College. The Incubator is located at Brevard Community College, Titusville campus, at 1311 N. Highway U.S. 1, Building 3.

Suggested sidebar:

How to Get Started

Here are some tips for companies trying videoconferencing for the first time: 

·         Consider hiring a service provider to avoid an internal tech-support burden. 

·         Make sure video feeds won’t compete for network bandwidth with other apps.

·         Make sure videoconferencing systems are secure and private through the use of a virtual private network.

·         Inform users about conferencing etiquette, such as not shuffling papers or talking over one another, and detail the limits of the technology.

·         Provide the required video production basics: good lighting and consistent sound quality without echoes.

 Source: IT users and Gartner Inc., Stamford, Conn.