However, that the homework is very do-able and should be a collaboration that includes end users.

“The most successful deployments involve people from multiple departments, such as executive management, corporate communications, marketing, facilities, and `super-users’ sharing expertise to make video part of an organization’s culture,” says Angie Mistretta, Cisco’s director of TelePresence marketing.

“It’s important for (a company) to identify the people they will need on the team at an early stage. Engaging the right people within an organization is key to the success of building a telepresence and video-centric culture. A successful video program is not solely the responsibility of the IT department,” she says.

Danto is even more vocal about that. He advises companies to prevent their IT departments from driving telepresence initiatives.

“The most important advice I give is that you need to lead with people, not technology,” Danto says. “It’s the technologists of the world that can cause problems. People who are embedded in technology are very opinionated, and often they’re right. But they don’t often communicate well with users.

“Reversing that and getting to talk with the people who are going to use videoconferencing and driving its adoption is really the tipping point for switching potential failure into success or success into super-success.

“You can’t choose a tool before you know what you’re trying to do with it,” he continues, “and the people who are going to use it are the best ones to tell you what kind of tool they need. A hammer is a really great tool, but if I’m trying to put in a screw and all I have is a hammer, I’m out of luck.”

An Evolving Standard

Videoconferencing should also feel natural — not forced — to the end users. That will enable the users to embrace it as something that enhances rather than hampers their productivity.

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Creating a Videoconferencing Culture

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