Item: Lifesize Video Conferencing
Rating: 7
Author: Dave King

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use LifeSize for Executive meeting between offices. We use LifeSize for external Video conferences with Customers and video depositions. We also use LifeSize for presentations and training.

Pros and Cons

Office to Office Meeting
Customer Meeting with the ease of connectivity, no software to load, simply open a browser to connect to the meeting
Training and presentations

Interconnecting to other systems

Return on Investment

Travel costs
Increased knowledge transfer with all departments with in-house training

Likelihood to Recommend

Well suited for interviewing staff or prospective employees. Inter-Office meeting. Customer meetings and Training. The ease of presenting through the video conference works well.

2 -
To
support Lifesize you would need at least one fairly
technical user to help troubleshoot
any issues that may arise with Lifesize support. You can then have an
office admin
type person
assist
in setting
up
conference calls as that end is not technical in nature. Day to day
support is strait
forward and we use office admin staff in remote office to assist in
setting up conference calls. The touch screen display is similar
to using an iPhone or Android

Business Processes Supported

Video conference calling
Joining an External WEBEx type meeting with clients
presentations using your laptop and demonstrating software

Future Planned Uses

Offer Webinars to client and customers
Training

Likelihood to Renew

We
find
the system is very
simple and easy to use. We have found Lifesize to be very
reliable, experiencing a handful of issues in the last 3 years. When
we have run into
the limited instances of requiring support, they were extremely
helpful and worked hard to resolve our issues.

Innovative Uses

connecting to outside WEB conferencing platforms
prioviding vidoe call depositions when a person could be be present in person

Users and Roles

70 -
We use Lifesize for staff meeting to discuss all areas of the
business. We provide training to all staff members in remote offices on a regular
basis. The executive Team uses the video conference for their weekly
meetings where they too can discuss topics and share presentations. We use it for support calls as well.

Other Software Used

Zoom Video Webinar, FreeConferenceCall.com, TeamViewer

Products Replaced

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I
don't think I would change much. I would include the same areas of
concern in the process. Evaluating the reliability of the product.
Getting references from companies that use the product on a daily
basis. Opting for a proof of concept to thoroughly testing
the product and put it through it paces. Verifying all the
capabilities of the product to ensure it meets our company needs and
verifying the security of the product.

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation
Vendor Reputation
Third-party Reviews

It
is hard to pick just one single important feature to base our
decision. But usability would have to be at the top. If we could not
use the product for the types of applications we need, it would be
hard to pick the product. We needed to completely verify all
the functionality of the product.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house
Third-party professional services

We
used both in-house staff and a professional partner to implement the
system, hang the TV's, mount the Codec and cameras, place the cameras
for optimal performance and lighting suggestions. Also we relied on
the partner for recommendations
of best performance
for each of our conference rooms. this proved to be a very valuable
and easy experience.

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal -
Change
management was not big part of this
process a we were simply replacing an older video conferencing
system. The changes
were minimal and the usability
of the system greatly
improved. The
new functionality was very simple for the users to lean so overall
there was not a big impact

Implementation Issues

scheduling all 3 conference rooms t the same time
avoiding down time

Support Rating

As
I mentioned we have used the Lifesize support team very infrequently,
but when we need them, they are very responsive to our questions and
concerns. They provide the right documentation, education and support
we would expect form this type of vendor. They
are always available to help up through a problem

Lifesize Video Conferencing Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

Yes -
We
pay for annual support to ensure or devices sty up to date on
the latest versions of Firmware. To provide a reliable source to call
for trouble, prats replacement if needed and overall general support
questions we may need addressed. Even though the syetm has
proven very reliable, have the security blanket of support is
extremely important, as things will eventually fail, the is a fact.

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of Lifesize Video Conferencing Support

We
had an issue where the unit was connecting to a meeting room, bu then
the phone would not work, no volume control, no camera control,
nothing. But when you hung up form the call the phone started working
again. Support walked up through a reset, firmware update, everything
they could think of. they sent us a replacement phone as well.
Finally they sent us a cable which was the cause of the issue, then
then sent us a spare cable if we ever experienced the issue in the
future.

Usability

As
I mentioned usability is important. If the system cannot do what you
need it would not be usable or needed. It is very user friendly
to make calls and add additional
people
to a call. Setup a meeting and very reliable for both voice and video
calls. It also alls non-video land line calls into a video conference
which
works well

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

phone display
On-screen menus

Difficult Tasks

connecting to a remote video conference system

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes -
I
have found the mobile interface to be very reliable and users
friendly. I use apple products so I have sued it on a iPad and an
iPhone and it was very reliable and easy to sue. There was no issue
loading the application, making the call and staying connected, as
long as I had a good WiFi connection.

LifeSize easy conferencing

Overall Satisfaction with Lifesize Video Conferencing