VCIG Live! Session Rescheduled for March 28th

 Please be advised that the March 21st VCIG Live! session "BYOD - How To Plan for the Next Wave" has been rescheduled for March 28th from 1 - 2 pm EDT to accommodate our colleagues attending the Enterprise Connect conference.

Please update your calendars to reflect this change. Those already registered do not need to re-register for this event.  In the event you cannot attend the live event, the recorded session will be accessible at the VCIG Live! Events page. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Best Regards,

VCI-Group Education Committee 

VCIG Live! February WebRTC Panel Wrap Up.

The VCIG-Group held a very successful webcast event on Feb.21 featuring the topic “WebRTC”. The event, which is part of the “VCIG-Live!” monthly education series, had over 200 registrants from 21 countries and broke previous VCIG Live! attendance records.  The webcast was sponsored by ChorusCall.com and featured a lively discussion among industry veterans JD Vaughn, VCI-Group Advisory Board Chair, Scott Wharton, CEO of Vidtel, Elliot Gold, publisher of industry newsletter Telespan, and Dave Michels, industry analyst and blogger for TalkingPointz.com. “This was our most successful VCIG Live! event to date and was well received by our membership and guests” said Doug Pearson, VCI-Group’s Education Committee chairperson.  View the archived session!  

Registration is now open for the March 21 VCIG Live! session featuring the topic “BYOD – How Organizations Should Prepare for the Next Wave”.  

Toni Alonso, VCI-Group President, panelist at Upcoming Conference Workshop.

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This year Elliot Gold and Telespan will be conducting the Eighth Annual Future of Conferencing Workshop on March 7^th – 8^th at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas.

 

In the past this workshop typically drew many companies to discuss the future of conferencing and what they were going to sell to End Users (you and me).  Now, Elliot has given it a new spin. Yes, Manufacturers and Conference Service Providers (CSPs) still attend the workshop; but, so do us End Users.  And this time we have a voice in the workshop to let the Manufacturers and CSPs know what we want and need for them to manufacture, sell and support.

This year Elliot will address such topics as; WebRTC – the application everyone keeps stating is going to change how we do our jobs, social media and that errant mobility.

Take this opportunity and use the VCI-Group discount to attend what appears to be an enticing, thought provoking workshop on the future of conferencing which will impact our future as Strategists, Implementers and Supporters of this technology and applications.

Toni Alonso – VCI-Group President

For more information please visit Telespan.com

VCI-Group Board Member Panelist at Upcoming National Conference

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VCI-Group Board Member Andy Howard, Managing Director of Howard & Associates, will be part of the “Videoconferencing as a Software Business: Impacts on Buyers and Sellers” Panel discussion at the upcoming Enterprise Connect Conference. Taking place March 18-21at the Gaylord Palms Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, Enterprise Connect is the industry's premier event for systems, software, services, applications for enterprise communications and collaboration. 

The Panel discussion, “Videoconferencing as a Software Business: Impacts on Buyers and Sellers”, will be moderated by Andrew Davis, Senior Partner & Analyst, Wainhouse Research LLC and the panelist includes: John Antanaitis, VP, Product Marketing, Video Solutions Group, Polycom Inc.; Andy Howard, Founder & Managing Director, Howard & Associates; Eric Kintz, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Logitech for Business; Krish Ramakrishnan, CEO, Blue Jeans Network. 

Topics will include:

 Videoconferencing has always been hardware-intensive, but Cloud and virtualization could change that. This session examines this software video scenario – how real is it, and what are the implications for buyers and sellers. Among the issues to be addressed are:
* What does it mean to have a “software based videoconferencing solution” – what changes on the buyers’ side and the sellers’?
* Can videoconferencing really be a cloud-based solution?
* How does “video-as-a-software-business” change the economics – for both buyers and sellers?
* What are the risks for customers, equipment vendors, and service providers?
* What should a buyer be doing today or in preparing an RFP?

For more information about the Panel please visit http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando/conference/overview.php?session_id=53

To take advantage of the 30% discount please visit http://www.vci-group.org/education-resources/resourcesstrategic-partner.aspx. If you are not a VCI-Group Member, please  visit http://www.vcigroup.org/Membership/UserMembership.aspx to sign up and receive your discount today.

You can also register by visiting Enterprise Connect at http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando

VCI-Group and Enterprise Connect offer 30% Discount

Your Visual Communication Industry Group (VCI-Group) Principal Membership includes special rates on VCI-Group events and selected industry activities that more than pay for your annual membership!  This years discounts include discounts for training and conference participation.

VCI-Group Principal Members can take advantage of a 30% discount to Enterprise Connect Annual Conference. Enterprise Connect provides the leading market and thought leaders, comprehensive analysis, in-depth technical sessions and the largest and broadest exhibition. Everything at the event is focused on one over-riding goal: To help you make the best decisions possible about migrating, designing and implementing the right communications and collaboration products, services, software and architecture for your enterprise. Taking place March 18-21at the Gaylord Palms Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, Enterprise Connect is the industry's premier event for systems, software, services, applications for enterprise communications and collaboration.  To take advantage of of the 30% discount please visit http://www.vci-group.org/education-resources/resourcesstrategic-partner.aspx. If you are not a VCI-Group Member, please visit http://www.vci-group.org/Membership/UserMembership.aspx to sign up and receive your discount today.

You can also register by visiting Enterprise Connect at http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando

February 2013 VCI-Group President’s Message

Our industry is at a “tipping point”.  Every week new companies are entering the conferencing/collaboration space or existing companies are changing how they deliver applications and services.

We are moving away from being a hardware-based “box” to a software “cloud”- based industry.  Many of us have been around since the boxes were the size of a refrigerator; now we are dealing with tablets and androids that fit into our coat pockets and can connect into a video conference with our six-figure telepresence units.

How do you keep up to date on new products, services and companies in this arena?  Some of you may attend conferences; but, you cannot be out of the office every month at a conference.  The time, cost is generally prohibitive; but, you still need to know what is out there and what can work in your company.

Let us help you find what webinar or conference you should attend.  Let us be your “one-stop” shop to know what is going on in the industry and where you can learn more about it.

We are asking all of our Alliance Members and Vendors to provide us with the information for all the webinars, in-person meetings and conferences being held throughout the year so that we may post it on our website.  This will give you the ability to see what is out there that you need to attend, when it is happening, who is offering it and how to register to attend. 

There are a few things coming up quite soon, including our monthly VCIG – LIVE!  webinar which will be held on February 21^st and focuses on WebRTC.  I don’t know about you; but, I have no idea what this is, yet everyone is telling me that it is going to change the way my company does their conferencing and collaboration.  Here is the link to register: http://www.vci-group.org/events/vciglivereg.aspx.

Another is Elliot Gold’s annual Telespan Workshop on March 7-8 in Las Vegas – his focus this year is: Game Changers.  Per Elliot, “the market is no longer just about offering conference calls or videoconferencing, it’s about several new waves, really a tsunami, of collaboration tools and options.”  Please register for this conference at http://www.telespan.com/workshop/index.html and as a VCI-Group member you will be able to take advantage of a conference discount.

Lastly, Enterprise Connect will be held in Orlando, FL – March 18-21, 2013
at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center and you can register at http://www.enterpriseconnect.com/orlando.

Visit our website often to see what webinars are available and how to register.  The best way to service your clients and your organization is to stay informed and educated.