sys admins out there:what conferencing system do you use/recommend?

Rossin

it must have phone/web/video capabilities


We currently use globalmeet (eircom) which doesnt have video conferencing

Belfunk

We use a Tandberg system now Cisco Telepresence.

http://www.cisco.com/web/telepresence/index.html

Fantastic system, tickets all your boxes.

Rossin

site looks impressive, thanks Belfunk, will contact them now

more suggestions welcome folk, hoping to try a few out

Stuxnet

We use the cisco sytem above for large site meetings, but for more local stuff we use microsoft lync

Rossin

Hi Stuxnet, is there any reason why you wouldnt just use cisco for both?

and when you say local what do you mean exactly?

we'll have no more than 20 people in a conference but the calls will be from Ireland, uk and eastern europe. can the microsoft software do webinars?

thanks

Stuxnet

We use the cisco system if a group of us have to meet with groups round a table so to speak, we usually have this scenario if we are dealing with other company teams across Europe and Russia.

We use lync from our pc's then at our desks, if say we just need to have a local team meeting, no tv, just headset and mics, it has webcam options and screen share etc

Rossin

so microsoft lync is like ms messenger, sorry hadnt heard of it before

VictorRomeo

In the process of buying this.....

http://www.vidyo.com/

Stuxnet

No I wouldn't say its like messenger, yes it has the built in IM service, but its a very capable enterprise grade solution for what your looking for.

http://lync.microsoft.com/en-gb/launch/Pages/launch.aspx

Rossin

sorry i posted that before i saw your reply! going to read about it now, plenty here to digest thanks guys

Rossin

VictorRomeo wrote: »

In the process of buying this.....

http://www.vidyo.com/

any particular reason why you went for this one??

VictorRomeo

Rossin wrote: »

any particular reason why you went for this one??

To put it simple, it's awesome. It's the only true ip - bandwidth shaping -conferecing system available to date. They are the first company to use SVC and have a bunch of their own patents built around it. It's better quality(for the price) and much, much cheaper to deploy globally than legacy (polycom, logitech, cisco). It works on ANY device, does not need propietary room systems, works with proprietary room systems and all the way up to telepresence. It also works amazingly well in low bandwidth low latency environments.

Best of all - no MPLS needed for telepresence. Google and Microsoft have licensed their technology for their video platforms - with that said, Vidyo don't give them access to their HD codec...

A friend recently spend six figures on Logitech Lifesize kit and when he saw the trial version I have right now, he flipped....

It's really worth checking out....

Rossin

thanks for that victor, I will definitely look at the trial version

Rossin

gotomeeting rang me there and im doing a trial with their software next week.

have applied for a vidyo trial although ive a feeling we're not big enough for them! waiting to hear back from cisco

testicle

Rossin wrote: »

Hi Stuxnet, is there any reason why you wouldnt just use cisco for both?

Or indeed Lync for both?

excaliburhc

gotomeeting and arkadin are the two we use.

gotomeeting has become a main stay for the company .

handy for presentations / video conf and voice.

Rossin

yes, good question testicle hopefully he sees it!

what do you use testicle?

VictorRomeo

Rossin wrote: »

have applied for a vidyo trial although ive a feeling we're not big enough for them! waiting to hear back from cisco

Planet21 provide a hosted service for smaller customers. All you need is the application, a decent camera and the bandwidth....

(I don't work for Planet 21)

Oh, you can desktop share and integrate with Lync too..... Also, 32 concurrent users per conference session depending on licensing - 8 on main screen at any one time tho'....

Rossin

Thanks Victor, appreciate it

Stuxnet

testicle wrote: »

Or indeed Lync for both?

Im only a wee student intern, I work for the largest manufacturer of cpu's in the world, youll have to ask them

BaconZombie

There is Cisco TelePresence Movi desktop client that can link into any Tandberg { Cisco } Video Conf system.

But if you want to talk to external people you will either need a hosted service or a Gatekeeper and some extra kit.

CptSternn

Lync is good, especially if you have something like Microsoft Roundtable (now called Polycom CX5000) which is brilliant, but it is a bit dear.

pclancy

MS Lync is lovely but requires some investment in Exchange 2010 etc unless you're lucky enough to have it. I did a few days course last year and was impressed by its depth, it really is a full featured PABX solution if you want it to be as well as great unified comms (integrate with your exisiting VOIP solution if you have one) video conferencing, desktop sharing etc. Can even do complicated call reporting or routing. Wish we had the budget to implement it properly. One day hopefully.

Other software based solutions: Webex is excellent as is Gotomeeting.com

We've got 12 Polycom HDX7000s and some older VSX6000s that work very nicely too. With a good firewall they can easily be NAT'd to the wider world if required. Content sharing is easy but sometimes suffers from low resolution on the older models.

Rossin

trying gotomeeting on friday with a few directors so hopefully it goes well and they dont want to bother trying anymore!

Rossin

We've decided to run with gotomeeting, it seems quite suitable for a company of our size. Can anyone recommend a good headset??