Friday, Apr 13, 2012
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi Etislat’s Public Telepresence Suite was opened in Abu Dhabi at the Beach Rotana Hotel, its second after the one that was opened in the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in 2010.
Abdullah Al Ahmad, Senior Vice President for Business, told Gulf News that the public suite was driven by the growing demand in the UAE and the region.
“In order to meet the growing needs of businesses in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, we launched this centre to help businessmen to have a global reach,” added Al Ahmad.
“The UAE’s economy is growing rapidly and in an era when physical realities are paving the way for virtual readiness, the new service will help multinationals extend their reach globally, while reducing operational and overhead costs,” he said.
“When we have selected the best timing to launch the centre, we took into consideration the benefits that SMEs would gain from this transformational tool which has changed the way business meetings are conducted worldwide because there is too much talk about SMEs nowadays,” Al Ahmad said.
The etisalat suite uses a special interactive 24/7 online booking system which enables businesses to schedule a meeting in the same manner as a regular meeting.
High definition
Al Ahmad said that the suite gives the public high definition video with clear sound quality.
“It allows users to reduce costs, save flying time, increase business productivity and stay in charge of ongoing business activities,” said Al Ahmad.
“Users can also share files and other important documents during Telepresence meetings and they can also docu-sign,” he added, pointing out that the “cost of one hour of a public telepresence session is Dh2,000.”
He said, “Etisalat is carrying out feasibility studies and we are planning to launch a telepresence room in Sharjah in the future.”
Global network
“The etisalat services provide clients in Abu Dhabi access to a global video network of 42 other public telepresence rooms deployed by Tata Communications in prime business capitals of the world, such as New York, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Tokyo,” added Al Ahmad.
Radwan Mousalli, Managing Director of Tata Communications in the Middle East and North Africa, told Gulf News that this room, which was launched in collaboration with Tata and Cisco, provides a high-definition, life-size virtual conferencing experience that emulates an in-person meeting.
“The new facility is available for hire 24 hours a day and will enable local businesses to virtually connect with partners, customers and colleagues across the world,” said Mousalli.
This service helps deliver a live, face-to-face experience and the suite allows the flexibility to connect with up to six participants on either side of a call between multiple telepresence centres worldwide, he said.
Moritz Klein, Vice President of Rotana Hotel Management Company in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, told Gulf News that this agile connectivity option enables companies in the UAE to use the telepresence communications service on a pay-per-use basis.
“This will eliminate the need for them to set up their own facilities, thereby further reducing infrastructure expenses,” added Klein.
Hungry market
“This service will extend added value to guests and will offer the business community in the UAE and the region with a unique opportunity to connect to their global business partners,” he said.
The market is quite hungry for video business as more than 91 per cent of the worldwide internet traffic is via videos, said Mohammad Tantawi, Cisco Regional Manager.
“More than two billion YouTubes are viewed daily,” said Tantawi.
“By 2014, it is slated that the internet traffic will increase and video conferences will be there to help run businesses,” he said.
“According to our studies, it is expected that by 2014, more than 91 per cent of internet traffic will be through video which shows that it is very useful to rely on video conferencing and telepresence to reduce overhead costs,” Tantawi said.
By Shehab Al Makahleh?Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
