Video Guidance helps Dakota County, Minn. gain efficiency
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (February 2010) -- Eden Prairie-based Video Guidance (www.videoguidance.com), the leading visual communications company in the Upper Midwest providing video conferencing, telepresence and audio visual technologies and services, has completed a state-of-the-art video conferencing system for Dakota County, Minn. designed to improve efficiencies and to save money.
Driven by Dakota County Commissioner Brandt Richardson, Video Guidance was enlisted to implement a new way to enhance the way county employees communicate. The majority of county employees work primarily out of three administrative buildings located in West St. Paul, Hastings and Apple Valley. Ongoing communications with individuals and departments in the three offices is essential…and expensive.
“Energy consumption and the cost of travel spiked by high fuel prices have grown significantly,” said Don Turner, technical support manager for Dakota County. “By creating a new way of communicating effectively and by eliminating much of the travel expenses, we hope to bring huge cost savings to the county. Plus, it’s greener.”
The county had previously used an outdated video conferencing system that utilized older technology, including tube televisions on mobile carts, resulting in poor quality and constant IT support. Video Guidance installed high-definition video conferencing systems in two conference rooms at each of the three locations. New HD cameras, and projection and flat panel screens are integrated into a highly sophisticated yet user-friendly system that doesn’t require an IT manager to set up and monitor. Each room uses the new Tandberg Codec C-60 video collaboration engine, built with an integrated, stationary operating system -- the first to be used in the Midwest.
“Video Guidance helped us implement a new way of working more efficiently,” said Turner. “The HD quality is amazing, bringing new face-to-face communication to the workplace. Travel will never be eliminated but we are able to cut back significantly on the wasted time of driving from one location to the next, along with the exorbitant costs of fuel. While it’s too early to measure, we expect this to be great news for the county’s budget.”
Founded in 1999, privately held Video Guidance, Inc. (www.videoguidance.com) provides video conferencing, telepresence and audio visual technologies and services that facilitate natural, visual communication. Video Guidance’s 2008 year-end results grew an impressive 21 percent over 2007. Strategic alliances include Conference Plus, Tandberg (OSLO: TAA.OL), Polycom (NASDAQ: PLCM), LifeSize, On Stream Media Corporation, Radvision (NASDAQ: RVSN), VBrick, and Accordent.
Video Guidance was also twice named to Inc’s. 5,000 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the company has been among the Top 100 of the fastest growing regional companies in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and recognized by The Business Journal as one of the “50 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies” in the Twin Cities metro area. This year, Video Guidance received the “Grant Services Partner of the Year” honor from TANDBERG for helping organizations create teleconferencing solutions in telemedicine and distance learning in underserved rural areas.
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