Video Conferencing news & articles

Businesses Turn to HD video as Catalyst for Growth (28th March 2008)

Business travel is often viewed as a necessary evil, but two fast-growing companies saw it as an obstacle to growth – and looked to LifeSize high definition video communication to change the way they did business and enable future growth. These companies are part of the growing number of "non-traditional" customers that are embracing video communication as a better way to get business done.

Vanguard Truck Centers and Implant Seminars could not be two more different companies, but both were faced with the same challenge: their businesses could not grow unless key executives could spend less time traveling.

Atlanta-based Vanguard Truck Center executives conduct day-long monthly meetings with each of their remote dealerships in Phoenix, Tucson, Houston and Austin. While the meetings were vital, they cost the company 16 executive work days per month, limiting future growth opportunities.

Now that Vanguard has implemented LifeSize high definition video communications, these meetings can be done without ever leaving the office.

"It’s like being in two places at once," said Tom Ewing, Vanguard President.

By allowing Vanguard executives to meet with their teams over HD video instead of traveling, LifeSize has helped the company improve the speed at which they do business while saving money.

"We did not have video conferencing in our IT budget for the year," says Greg Baxter, Director of IT & Targeted Marketing for Vanguard Truck Centers. "But the LifeSize system paid for itself almost immediately through travel savings."

Travel was also limiting the growth of Miami-based Implant Seminars, a leading-edge provider of continuing education for dentists and oral surgeons. Implant Seminars' founder, oral surgeon Dr. Arun K. Garg, wanted to find a way to incorporate his dental implant surgery live from his clinic in Miami Beach to his training workshops held across the U.S.

Dr. Garg teaches his highly regarded techniques in placing and restoring dental implants to fellow dentists in a hands-on training environment. But while the academic instruction took place in a large meeting room, the most vital part of the training is observing the surgery first-hand. A typical oral surgery suite would limit effective training to only a few students at a time.

Now with LifeSize installed at Dr. Garg's clinic, Implant Seminars is able to bring surgery to life for 60 students at a time, seated in a comfortable auditorium watching the surgery live over video. A standard LifeSize camera allows students to view Dr. Garg, and a high-quality medical camera mounted over the dentist’s chair gives students a close-up view of the surgical field.

"Giving a student literature and explaining the procedure by pictures and models is great," said Dr. Arun K. Garg. "But allowing an entire classroom to get a first-hand view of the surgery and ask questions as we go along is invaluable to their learning experience."

Both Vanguard Truck Centers and Implant Seminars have seen tremendous growth in their organizations since implementing LifeSize. Both companies made a small investment, made a major impact in the way they communicate and thus changed the way they do business.

Now that Dr. Garg and his team can conduct their seminars over video, they plan to take LifeSize on the road with them and hold even more workshops in locations such as San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. By eliminating the need to travel, they can train even more doctors.

Similarly, because the Vanguard executive team can now spend more time in the office instead of on the road, the company is looking to open up more dealerships in other markets around the country. And because the Vanguard management response to telepresence was so positive, the company began using the LifeSize systems in the administrative, human resources and accounting departments as well.

"The value of being face-to-face with our employees, even though they are states away, is priceless," said Greg Baxter. "We actually enjoy using LifeSize so much, the only time we use our cell or desk phones is when we’re away from the system!"

"Vanguard and Implant Seminars are excellent examples of companies that are now transforming the way they do business through video communications," said Craig Malloy, CEO of LifeSize. "More than one-third of our customers are new to video, and their success shows that when you spend less time traveling, you can spend more time growing your business."

To learn more about how Vanguard, Implant Seminars and other businesses are using LifeSize to move their businesses forward, visit http://www.lifesize.com/solutions/case_studies and download a case study.

About Vanguard Truck Centers Vanguard Truck Centers a leading provider of commercial transportation solutions. With headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and other locations in Texas and Arizona, Vanguard is a full-service truck dealership providing sales, leasing, parts and services of new and used Volvo, Mack, GMC and Isuzu trucks. Vanguard began as a single dealership in 1989 by veterans of the truck sales and service industry with continued profitable growth and expansion planned for the future. The company values integrity, ingenuity and excellence and strives to lead the transportation industry in consistently meeting or exceeding their customers’ expectations. Developing their employees and paying attention to details are key factors in the company’s continued success. http://www.vanguardtrucks.com

About Implant Seminars Founded by distinguished oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Arun K. Garg in 1989, Implant Seminars, based in Miami Beach, Florida, teaches this exciting technique to fellow dental surgeons through extensive, hands-on training workshops across the U.S. Dr. Garg and his team help dentists gain the knowledge and confidence needed to successfully place and restore dental implants. With his textbooks on dental implant, bone harvesting and grafting, growth factors for dental implants, being translated into eight different languages, Dr. Garg literally "wrote the book" on contemporary implant dentistry. http://www.implantseminars.com

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