Configuration and Design of Video Conferencing Systems: How to prepare for the future communication technology

Abstract

Vital Forsikring ASA( Vital)are planning their next platform of infrastructure, one of the objectives with this platform are better interactions. In order to gain more efficient interaction within the company, and to save travel expenses due to lot s of traveling between Vital s offices in Norway. Vital planes to use software based video- conferencing systems, also referred to as Web- conferencing systems. This thesis researches some of the challenges for Web- conferencing systems compared to traditional Video- conferencing system. It proposes some a set of minimum requirements and analyses the requirements with consideration to Microsoft s Unified Communications: Web- conferencing system. The thesis discusses a set of requirements, which need to be present in the system, in order to succeed introducing the system. The thesis considers the technical challenges for Web- conferencing, what thechnology needs to be present, and what strategies needs to be made in order to encurage and foster collaborative interactions. The research conludes that Microsoft s solution is an early verison with some problems delivereing a user friendly service. Their dedicated camera Microsoft RoundTable does not fulfill the requirements for eye- contact, which is one of the most vital parts of a video- conferencing system in order to represent the nonverbal communication that video- conferencing brings. The research within Collaborative Managements shows that very few companies have made an effort to arrange for collaborative work, most companies invest in inventory and operation facilities without considering how this will affect the collaborative work. The most effective way to encourage employees is to make use of the system is to enable the employee to see their advantages within the solution.