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Break down the (great) walls: video connects government officials in Qinghai

We’ve talked extensively in the past about how video teleconferencing (VTC) technologies help government agencies and organizations run more effectively and efficiently. We’ve also discussed the ways that healthcare and education installations of VTC solutions help bring resources to remote and geographically isolated areas.

A recent article in FutureGov Magazine, which focuses on the modernization and use of new technologies in government, healthcare and education, contains an incredible example of VTC solutions making government work better and leveling the playing field for remote and geographically isolated regions.

The article discusses China’s largest province Qinghai, which stretches across the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Despite its size, Qinghai is one of the least populated provinces, with approximately two-thirds of its 5.2 million people living in the countryside and outside of cities.

With a majority of people scattered amongst the region’s mountains, deserts and grasslands, the local government offices are spread out. Some district offices are up to 1000 kilometers from the provincial capital of Xi’ning. With inclement weather common in the province, travel for government officials is expensive and difficult, if not impossible.

Last year, a VTC network connecting 42 county government and 13 provincial party committee offices was installed. The network has already hosted more than 600 meetings, some of which were between more than 100,000 government officials in Qinghai at the same time.

The system has already saved an estimated $3 million in travel expenses alone. The VTC system has also allowed individuals who may never have met in person before to have face-to-face conversation.

By allowing government officials to collaborate and communicate regardless of the distance between them, VTC is ushering in a new way of working in China. How can VTC help your agency work better?

Interoperability key for meeting federal mandates

The Obama administration is pushing agencies to begin insourcing jobs by bringing them back to government employees and relying less on outside vendors. The OMB is reaching out to agencies to help them appropriately understand and handle a directive that appears at face-value to be a complete about-face from the previous administration.

The administration is pushing for insourcing for many reasons. First, there is a perception, warranted or not, that outsourcing jobs is wasteful and expensive, and that agencies can be handling governmental tasks at a savings to the American taxpayer. Insourcing is also being heralded as a way of increasing collaboration among agencies and creating a tighter-knit and interconnected system where government employees work closely together.

However , there are some issues arising from this new directive for insourcing. One is the misinterpretation among agencies that they’re being asked to stop outsourcing altogether and bring all jobs in house. Another problem is directly tied to human resources and hiring. Insourcing will bring many jobs back to government agencies who are already missing tens of thousands employees in mission-critical positions, according to this year’s Where the Jobs Are report from the Partnership for Public Service.

The other problem lies in the directive for agencies to work closer together and collaborate across the board. Unfortunately, with agencies making their own purchasing decisions, the networks across agencies are disparate and disconnected. The video teleconferencing (VTC) systems that agencies have been turning to as a way to increase communication and collaboration internally could go a long way towards doing the same for interagency collaboration, but the lack of connected systems remain a roadblock.

This is why interoperability of VTC solutions is so important. Interoperability is essential for allowing disparate networks and VTC solutions to work together. Also, with cyber attack and network security on the minds of all agencies, firewalls and other security measures are often put in place with little to no consideration for video networks. This makes the ability to traverse firewalls essential for both network security and interagency collaboration.

VTC solutions are becoming increasingly popular in federal agencies, and with this directive to insource jobs, they will become even more essential. With the government already straining to fill mission-critical jobs at agencies, and with the government workforce graying and near retirement, flexibility and telework are going to continue to be job benefits necessary to keep aging government employees working and attracting the best talent into public service.

TANDBERG equipment has been the choice of many government agencies in large part for its ability to interoperate with other networks and equipment. By breaking down the walls between government agencies and giving them the means to increase flexibility and retain top talent, TANDBERG is providing a new way of working within the federal government.

Teaching airmen over the airwaves








5 Tips for Hosting More Effective Video Meetings

A video meeting is just like a live meeting — almost. If you’re used to conducting live presentations, you are already well on your way to becoming an effective video communicator. The techniques that ensure powerful live presentations and dynamic meetings also work for video communication.However, video meetings and presentations do require some minor adjustments. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

  1. Be more than a talking head. Your video system gives you the ability to share multimedia source materials such as video clips, Web sites, spreadsheets and other presentations. Taking advantage of this ability to communicate visual information will make your video meetings more engaging and effective.
  2. Look ‘em in the eye. Eye contact is important in any presentation. In a video environment, eye contact comes from looking toward the camera — not thedisplay. Make certain that your camera is positioned as close as possible to the top center of your video display. This will give the impression of strong eye contact,and help to build trust and understanding among your participants.
  3. Speak up. If you mumble and cannot be heard by the person seated next to you, the people on the other end will also have a problem hearing you.
  4. You’re in the spotlight. Cameras and video displays tend to make everything “bigger.” Nervous habits or little recurrent gestures will be magnified and a distraction to participants on the other end. Try not to rock, sway or fidget with paper or pens. Remember to relax. A video meeting is like any other meeting,except it includes people who are not physically present in your room.
  5. The camera is always paying attention. When you are connected in a video call, the camera and microphone will faithfully pick up all images and words. Smart remarks, quips and asides, or demeaning gestures such as rolling eyes, will be greatly amplified at the far end. You should assume that the other meeting participants can hear and see everything, even when the camera is not pointed in your direction.

These are just a few of the tips pulled from our Effective Video Meetings PDF that can be downloaded from our community

Video answers the call for healthcare access

Beneath political leanings, opinions on public options and discussions on whether the government should be involved in healthcare is a single, simple problem. Access. At the end of the day, can Americans receive the care they need, when they need it?

There are a handful of different roadblocks. The most obvious is the financial restriction. Even those who can afford insurance may face significant financial hardship from life’s broken limbs or chronic conditions.

Another roadblock is access. The logistics of getting to a specialist or doctor capable of treating a particular condition can be a challenge for many Americans.

This is particularly true of specialists such as neurologists or cardiologists. However, Video teleconferencing (VTC) is quickly becoming the answer for patients who may not have the access they want to the doctors they need. Through VTC, patients receive treatment regardless of where they are, and specialists in high demand see patients more quickly and efficiently, bringing the care that is needed to the patient who needs it, when they need it.

A great example of this is TANDBERG customer Specialist on Call (SOC), which recently delivered its 10,000th teleneurology consultation via VTC. Specialists On Call provides hospitals across the country with immediate, around-the-clock access to board certified neurologists via VTC.

Hospitals using SOC’s teleneurology service have been able to bring life-saving treatments to patients more quickly and efficiently than those not using the service. In fact, at hospitals using SOC’s service, the clot dissolving drug tPA has been delivered to 59% of patients presenting with Acute Ischemic Stroke within the 3-hour window. This is more than three times the national average delivery rate for hospitals treating similarly eligible stroke patients.

Specialists can help save lives, make chronic conditions more manageable and reduce the long-term effects of medical emergencies via video. By giving everyone access to quality care regardless of who they are or where they are, VTC is truly breaking down the walls between patients and doctors. Now that’s a new way of caring.