Sphere
#35
2014
14
technology Focus
o real you could reach out
and shake hands. Some
people even try.
Traditional video-
conferencing has not yet surmounted its
core challenge – making it feel real. Fans
of free online services will be familiar with
blurry, jerky videos with terrible sound
quality. Conversations seem unreal and
feel unsatisfactory. They don’t deliver the
essential and ineffable – the real human
connection, the main driver behind key
face-to-face meetings. The ‘Star Trek’
experience – the Holy Grail of video-
conferencing – seemed to be far off science
fiction. Until now.
Mr David Nicholls, Head of Group
Information Systems, explained the
genesis behind the project. “The idea
for step changing our existing video-
conferencing facilities into a true, lifelike
experience came straight from our Group
Managing Director [Mr Canning Fok] who
was extremely clear about the levels of
quality that were expected and the priority
locations in the first wave.”
Strategic global offices of the Hutchison
Whampoa Group now house a
cutting-edge video-conference suite
called ‘Telepresence’. Milan, Calgary,
Amsterdam, London and Hong Kong all
host the wildly popular new technology
and service. The reality of the experience
is allowing managers to replace time-
consuming international travel with a
Telepresence session. Executives save time
and working effort by keeping their feet on
S
the ground and have the experience that a
genuine face-to-face meeting delivers.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that a stroll to the
custom-designed Telepresence suites is easy
on the travel budget and our environmental
footprint compared to international jet travel.
It is estimated that 516 flights have been
saved since the new Telepresence system
was launched in 2012.
HWL, Hutchison Global Communications
(HGC) and Cisco Systems have teamed
up to make this service possible, and
HWL IT professionals enable the hosting
of Cisco System’s teleconference and
telesuite technology. An online booking
portal launched by HGC is dedicated
to providing the concierge services for
this new technology. In Hong Kong, “the
systems are always fully booked after
2pm (HK time),” says Mr Michael Ho,
Senior Manager of the Group Information
Services Department, reflecting
the demand for ultra-high-quality
communications between Hong Kong
and European colleagues.
Detail, detail, detail
This new technology shows all participants
life-size on the screen and eliminates
delay in audio and video that can lead to
an unreal experience. To provide lively,
high-quality video-conferences, the
Telepresence rooms have been renovated
to meet standards set by Cisco.
“The distances between the screens
and the conference desks are carefully
adjusted. The rooms have integrated
lighting which eliminates shadows to
produce high-quality, natural-looking
video,” said Michael.
All Telepresence conference rooms
have soundproofed, identical walls, and
some even use the same chairs. This
was a project of some complexity. David
explains, “We quickly realised that this
was not solely a technology project
as it involved major building works
incorporating important details like room
furnishing, acoustics, lighting and room
administration. The first thing we did
was bring together a cross-functional
team across the key regions comprising
experts from the Group HR, property
management and secretarial support to
work alongside our technical partners
and the internal IT team.”
This was not only a challenge for the IT
team, but also for HGC, which offers the
concierge service for the Group.
Telepresence:
Face to Face
HWL has rolled out its state–of-the-art Telepresence
system around the world. Facilities are booked solid by
executives across the globe. Your office may be next!
Executives save time and working
effort by keeping their feet on the
ground and have the experience
that a genuine face-to-face
meeting delivers.
Communications
