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VG News

September Newsletter 2011

Best Places to Work- Video Guidance — Advanced Technology Partner of Cisco

VG helps U of M Amplatz Children's Hospital — VG's “Imagine the Possibilities,” seminar

Use VG Connect’s VMail to improve communication

UC and videoconferencing strategic planning guide
A RESEARCH NOTE  from Visual Communication Practice (VCP)
Analysts: Andrew W. Davis, Ira M. Weinstein
© Wainhouse Research 2011 Doc # WR110810-0324-RN

The world of business communications is changing.  Multiple communications channels coming from multiple directions - including videoconferencing, telepresence, unified communications, tablet, pad, and smartphone devices - have created a confusion level with enterprise conferencing and collaboration managers unlike any seen before.

While unified communications (UC) is ill-defined and may mean different things to different people, a common understanding is that UC brings together multiple communication modalities through a single user interface, and that the UC concept has grown to embrace voice, video, conferencing, and messaging via a wide variety of fixed and mobile devices. This ambiguity in UC mirrors the ambiguity in telepresence, a visual communications application that has captured the attention and imagination of senior managers and corporate executives. From our perspective, telepresence is really just another form of videoconferencing, and both are now being positioned under the global UC umbrella, rightfully or wrongfully.

Wainhouse Research has been engaged by a range of enterprises to help companies develop a roadmap for their visual communications and collaboration deployments, and to help them understand how a UC platform may or may not help them meet their future goals. Integrating audio, video, and web communications, particularly if embedded into business processes, can deliver multiple benefits ranging from reduced travel costs …  Read More See PDF for entire article

Best Places to Work – Video Guidance

Video Guidance has been named one of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s “2011 Best Places to Work,” which recognizes companies that turn workplaces into funplaces. The editors acknowledge companies for going above and beyond when it comes to taking care of their employees and for creating engaging workplaces.
Mike Werch, Video Guidance’s president, believes in sharing the wealth of the company’s accomplishments. “We’ve had an extraordinary year and it is our commitment to reward all of our employees who helped to meet – and surpass – our goals.”

When the company hits its quarterly financial goals, all employees are recognized with a five percent cash bonus. In addition, Video Guidance also honors exceptional performance, unique entrepreneurial ideas and employee milestones.

“Whether we attend formal and informal gatherings at entertainment and sporting events, or volunteer together for charitable causes, we make it a point to have a seriously good time while building strong employee relationships,” says Werch. “It’s good fun and it’s good business.”

Advanced Technology Partner of Cisco

 Video Guidance has been named a Cisco TelePresence Video Advanced Partner. The designation follows Cisco’s rigorous certification requirements, ensuring Video Guidance’s expertise of Cisco’s array of technology and products.

Video Guidance helps University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital visually connect young patients with families

Video Guidance installed a unique video communications system at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital to connect young patients with their families.
"Families of hospitalized children are not always able to be at their sides. Some children remain in the hospital for long periods of time and some parents live many miles away, including out of the country," said Jason Albrecht, child-family life specialist and pediatric palliative care coordinator at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital. "The desired result of the new video conference systems is to lessen emotional suffering caused by that separation."
Video Guidance's stationary and mobile video conference initiative includes 21 in-room systems dispersed between the children's hospital's fourth, fifth and sixth floors. Additionally, three mobile video conferencing carts will primarily float between the pediatric intensive care units (PICU) and neonatal intensive care units (NICU), but will also serve patients throughout the hospital.
Fairview Health Services has multiple video conferencing units installed to address various applications at its Minneapolis locations, which are separated by the Mississippi River. "This gives us the ability to visually connect a parent admitted to University of Minnesota Medical Center to a child admitted to University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital when both are patients," said Albrecht. "For example, a parent donating an organ may be a patient at the medical center and a child receiving the transplanted organ is at the children's hospital. Now they can communicate via video to see, share and support one another. This also enables a parent/family caregiver serving at one bedside to remain connected with what is happening at the other."

In addition, the new video conferencing systems allow the doctors and nursing staff caring for the patient to visually communicate with the parents who are at home, work, or traveling nationally or internationally. Families are often forced to divide care-giving roles between hospital and home. Video conference technology will help the parent at home actively engage in care planning and feel less separated.
University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital is implementing other creative applications for the video conferencing systems. "Long-term separation from school and peers adds another layer of stress to patients hospitalized for extended periods," said Albrecht. "We will soon have the ability to loan affordable video conferencing equipment to schools that do not yet have this capability in order to connect patients with their class rooms."

Albrecht added that interactive Q&As via video conferencing is also helping to teach and prepare patients for visits to the children's hospital, particularly if they are coming from long distances. In the coming months, this application will also be used to support young patients when they return to school by teaching classmates about the patient's illness.
The family simply needs to have a PC or Mac with an internal or external camera, as well as the ability to connect to the internet. Video Guidance's VG Connect Desktop Services features secure video conferencing software installed on a laptop or desktop computer. The program is downloaded via a link that Video Guidance sends out following a formal request process by a family member, friend or school to connect to a patient.
Additionally, Video Guidance has installed several video conferencing systems within Fairview Southdale Hospital and Fairview Ridges Hospital to address various telemedicine applications that enhance the delivery of Fairview Healthcare Services.

"We are honored to serve University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital and its staff, and its patients and their family members to help bring them closer together with video," said Michael Werch, president of Video Guidance. "This newly installed technology now affords these patients and families to remain visually connected, offering greater emotional support for everyone."

Video Guidance’s “Imagine the Possibilities,” Seminar

Video Guidance’s September 15 seminar brought together business leaders to discuss how they are improving their operations by deploying cost-effective, strategic visual communications applications through managed and hosted cloud services. If you missed our seminar, we have recorded the session. Learn about:

• Strategic applications of cloud-based visual communications
• How managed and hosted visual communications can help achieve strategic business objectives
• The future of visual communications from a national industry expert
• Valuable insights and best practices from business leaders

Simply click on the following Link:   Seminar Recording

Use VG Connect’s VMail to improve communication

The days of sending out boring emails and leaving impersonal voicemail messages are over. VG Connect's Vmail service is the new way to put a face with your message. With Vmail, you can easily send a personal video along with PowerPoint slides and rich media clips to create a dynamic presentation through your email.    Video is the most engaging way to get your message across.

It is proven that businesses can get greater response rates using visual communications as a strategic tactic in your sales campaigns.

VMail has unbeatable lead nurturing and tracking capabilities that allow users to simply create video messages and emails, upload a mass list into VMail accounts and send them out. You will know exactly who and when they watch your video.   Unlike an interruptive phone call, recorded video messages give your recipients the convenience of viewing your message anytime.

Using a webcam, you can easily record a video directly from your desk and email it along with a simultaneous PowerPoint presentation.   VG Connect's Vmail service is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  When you have an important message to send out or need immediate face-to-face contact, Vmail is at your fingertips.

To demo VMail, complete the form and you will automatically receive an email with your portal URL, user name and password. You'll soon discover the ease and efficiency of VG Connect’s VMail services.

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