Audio and video communications product manufacturer LifeSize recently introduced a new VoIP-enabled phone to the audio-conferencing market that the company claims provides twice the quality and fidelity of standard conference-room phones. The LifeSize Phone "The phone can actually pick up and transmit an audible whisper from up to five feet away from the phone," a company spokesperson recently told TMCnet in an e-mail correspondence.

Seeking to expand its distribution strategy, video communications service provider LifeSize has reportedly signed a deal with Tech Data Corporation which will enable Tech Data to distribute LifeSize's complete HD product portfolio.

LifeSize, the high definition video communications company, today announced that LifeSize RoomTM is providing CAPTRUST Financial Advisors the ability to conduct more efficient interactions between the corporate headquarters and its branch offices across the southeastern U.S. LifeSize Room is a high definition video communications product that delivers exceptional video and audio quality so geographically distributed participants can maximize their collaborative efforts.

LifeSize is the first company to develop and deliver high definition video communications products. The company was founded in 2003 by industry veterans and was recently named "Videoconferencing Company of the Year" in 2007 by Videoconferencing Insight. LifeSize's award winning solutions combine exceptional quality, user simplicity and administrator manageability to make video communications a productive, true-to-life experience. LifeSize is headquartered in Austin, TX with subsidiaries in Europe and Asia Pacific, and a network of channel partners reaching more than 80 countries.

In a bid to improve their company's environmental efficiency, LifeSize (News - Alert), a provider of HD video conferencing solutions, has announced a new PlanetWise Program aimed at promoting green technologies and polices. The company has also announced that as a part of their improved environmental leadership that they will offer support to Environmental NGO, The Climate Group. The LifeSize PlanetWise initiative will help to reduce pollution as well as "provide pro-bono support to leading environmental non-governmental organizations."

You will need senior management commitment in order to implement real changes in your organisation. The executive team should deliver the message that video can increase productivity, enhance collaboration, reduce business travel, and decrease your company's carbon footprint. Very few video conferencing deployments have been successful without executive buy-in. According to Young, the risks associated with social networking and messaging applications often point to other internal problems. “Often it’s just an employee trying to solve a problem,” he said. “If the enterprise solves the problem, then the risk goes away.” Crosley added that organizations often calculate risks improperly, being overly conservative when it comes to communications tools. They focus on the wrong things and don’t accurately estimate the real costs associated with adopting versus ignoring a technology.

One of the mistakes organisations often make is using a system of ad hoc dialling; users simply pick up the remote and the video meeting begins. That works when the system belongs to the individual and it is a personal or a desktop solution. However, people usually do not wish to touch any remote controls! A single process means the video call is connected the same way each time - regardless of the type of meeting. Whether it is a point-to-point call or a multi-point call with more than two sites, the process should be the same. You don't have to purchase your own hardware or hire your own staff to run successful video meetings. Most organisations do not have this expertise as their core competency, which is why many companies choose to outsource this responsibility.

Companies tend to make the most mistakes by not appropriately managing their video conferencing environment. This means they are not managing the users, the rooms, the end points, the network, or the video infrastructure. If your video systems are in meeting rooms, those are often scheduled resources.