Visually Enabled Interactive Web Sites
BY RONI EVEN
Real-time interactive visual communications have been available for some
time, yet have struggled to become widespread applications. To date only
niche markets, such as distance learning, telemedicine, and corporate video
conferencing have seen their benefits and adopted use. The common opinion
has been that the required infrastructure, the complexities of placing
calls, the costs of communication, and the integration of video and data on
legacy systems were preventing the acceptance of visual communications in
wider markets. Thanks to the increasing use and accessibility of the
Internet, as well as the reduced costs of transferring information over this
medium, the dream of interactive visual communications is very close to
becoming a reality. It won't be long now before we see the emergence of a
new breed of Web sites -- visually enabled interactive Web sites -- that
will allow us to seamlessly interact and communicate in ways never before
possible.
The telecommunications industry has been undergoing a
"convergence" revolution. Convergence refers to the idea that all
media types -- audio, video, and data -- are streams of data that can be
transported on a single network. The switched network was the traditional
transport mechanism when audio was the dominant form of communication. As
data has overtaken audio as the dominant medium, we have seen a move to
packet-based networks which can efficiently carry voice, data, and video at
the same time.
While the convergence revolution has taken off in the network transport
domain, to realize its true potential it will also need to reach the
business and consumer sectors. For this to occur, the bandwidth reaching the
home and office must increase dramatically. While we're not there yet on
this front, the belief is that broadband Internet access with quality of
service (QoS) will be widely available in the very near future. Whether this
occurs over xDSL, cable modems, or some other technology is not important.
What is important is that it will occur... and soon.
WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE
The convergence revolution, the increasing availability of bandwidth,
and erosion of basic Internet connection charges, are making it both
possible and necessary for the emergence of a new breed of value-added,
revenue-generating services. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will look to
offer new types of visually enabled services as a way to make up for reduced
connection fee revenue. Other types of organizations will be looking for new
ways to blend video with their Web sites or portals to improve the way they
disseminate information and to provide enhanced customer interaction.
The types of services we're likely to see include visually enabled call
centers, visual help desks, visual chat rooms, and visually enabled
e-commerce. E-commerce companies, for example, will visually enable their
Web sites to give customers and prospects a new kind of interactive
environment. Have a question about a product on their site? Why not talk to
an expert right there and then? Visual call centers will allow corporations
to provide better support and offer a more personal touch. All of these
types of services will be available to us from our visually enabled TVs or
PCs.
In fact, we've already begun to see services that utilize convergence.
Multimedia applications such as NetMeeting are enhancing workgroup
interactions by allowing video conferencing and application sharing in one
environment. Video streaming over the Web has become a popular means of
broadcasting training sessions, product announcements, corporate meetings,
and even live rock concerts to viewers around the world. There are many new
services that we may soon see...
E-COMMERCE SERVICES
Applications for e-commerce would allow video enabled call centers and
virtual meeting room capabilities. Internet users accessing an e-commerce
Web site could view multimedia product demonstrations via video streaming.
Should they have a question, the user would be able to easily access a live
agent by simply clicking on an icon on the Web page. These agents would be
visually enabled, allowing them to receive the calling party's video and
interact with them to discuss the details of a product found on the Web
site. If needed, the agents would have the ability to transfer the user to a
product expert for more detailed information.
Today e-commerce Web sites can identify a user's profile and present them
with information tailored to their specific interests. If these sites become
visually enabled, they could also provide other value-added capabilities,
such as the ability to access video chat rooms on topics that would interest
the user.
Customer Support Services
An organization's support Web site could include interactive
capabilities. It could enable customers viewing a Web site to access a help
desk and communicate visually with a support representative. A simple click
on an icon and a video call would be placed to the customer support
department. Support representatives would be visually enabled so that they
could interact with the customer in a two-way video call and even view the
same page the customer is currently browsing on their Web site. The call
could be made directly or via a queue mechanism, where customers waiting to
connect with the next available support representative would receive
streamed product information.
Another interactive customer support service would be hosting user group
forums. This service would allow organizations to provide training classes,
round table discussions, product presentations, or even product
announcements from their Web sites.
Corporate Intranet Services
An intranet application would allow a CEO and senior managers of a
multinational organization, located in different parts of the world, to
address their employees and at the end of their presentations conduct an
interactive visual question-and-answer session. Employees would be able to
watch and ask questions from their visually enabled PCs. The session could
take place over a dedicated intranet or via a virtual private network (VPN).
A customized Web page could be loaded onto the company's Web site displaying
the meeting agenda, and a welcome message in the video window. Once the
conference begins, all of the speakers would be visible and the contents of
their presentations displayed on the Web site as they spoke. Viewers of the
session would have the opportunity to ask questions by clicking on an icon
located on the Web page, which would place them in a call queue. The
moderator of the session could select participants from the queue, allowing
them to interact with the management staff and ask questions. All of the
sites would be visible to one another to provide a real interactive session.
ARCHITECTURE OF A VISUALLY ENABLED INTERACTIVE WEB SITE
The general architecture for a visually enabled Web site includes an
application Web server and one or more multipoint control units (MCUs) -- or
video bridges. The application Web server would run the visually enabled
services and interact with other host systems, if necessary. The MCU would
provide the multipoint video capability, call center type queuing, and
transfer capabilities. The MCU would also have the ability to connect with
various types of communication protocols and networks, such as H.320 (ISDN
video), H.323 (IP video), POTS telephone users, and VoIP users.
The MCU used for visually enabled Web sites will require advanced
capabilities. It will need to support an interface allowing the application
Web server to manage and control it. The MCU will also need to be able to
set up dynamic conference sessions, transfer users from party to party,
display multiple sites on the screen simultaneously (continuous presence)
and automatically adapt to users connecting with different capabilities,
protocols, and from different networks (transcoding). The same basic
hardware environment would be suitable for all types of applications, such
as an e-commerce service.
We will soon see real-time interactive visual communications become a
common part of our daily lives. Thanks to the effects of the convergence
revolution, increasing availability of bandwidth, and ubiquitous access to
the Internet, visually enabled interactive Web sites will soon be a reality
and help transform the way we conduct business, communicate ideas, and
interact with others.
Roni Even is vice president of product planning and advanced
development for Accord Networks, Ltd. The MGC-100 Multipoint Conferencing
Unit from Accord offers multipoint, gateway, and control. It provides a
revolutionary architecture, unprecedented reliability, unparalleled ease of
maintenance, a rich feature set, and easy, comprehensive management
capabilities.
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