Video conferencing is fast becoming an accepted way of life and not just for the business world. Areas such as healthcare are also benefiting from the vast uptake of video conferencing.

Particulalry, the area of psychiatry has received a boost from the video conferencing solution. Psychiatrists can sometimes be a little thin on the grounds, particularly child psychologists. So how can you treat patients when you have a few different areas to look after? You can’t place them all in a phychiatric unit and travelling from one place to another constantly simply isn’t feasible. So in comes video conferencing. Not only can it be used to shcedule regular sessions with patients, it also allows patients to get hold of help easier. And with more systems than ever available, it’s now easier than ever!

The furore seems to have died down now, but we all still remember the frustration we felt when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland and brought air travel across Europe to a grinding halt. I say frustration, but for the lucky few stuck on tropical islands, they probably remember the disaster with fondness rather than irritation. New figures have come in though, that show us maybe the volcanic eruption and the following ash cloud weren’t such a bad thing after all.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the grounding of all air traffic during the ash cloud disaster saved 2.8 million tonnes of CO² from being spewed into the atmosphere. Which must have done our planet some good. The WTTC has also said that should we cut down on business travel – which accounts for a massive 20% of all air travel emissions – we’d save 120 million tonnes of CO² being put into the atmosphere. When you look at it in those terms, it makes a more than convincing argument for video conferencing systems doesn’t it?

The recent eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has highlighted quite a few problems with the way that businesses work. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said that during the ash cloud disaster, 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved because of the amount of planes grounded and the amount of time they were grounded. In another report, the World Travel and Tourism Council also said that 20% of all air travel emissions were down to business travel. Which is a quite a large percentage.

Experts have estimated that is we all cut business travel by a third, we would save 120 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. We can also add to that the car emissions that taxis would release picking people up from, and taking people up to the airport. As well as cutting down on unnecessary air travel, businesses can invest in video conferencing systems which completely gets rid of the need for business travel. Not only that, it saves you money too!

Unified communications company Cisco has added its popular Telepresence Interoperability Protocol to its newly-acquired Tandberg product portfolio. By adding its Telepresence to Tandberg products, Cisco can now offer interoperability between the two video conferencing portfolio – which is going to drastically increase its business.

It has only been two months since Cisco completed the acquisition of Tandberg, after many, many months of waiting around for regulatory approval. Cisco is now determined to promote its Telepresence and to increase the general uptake of video conferencing by the business industry. I’ve no doubt at all that the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland did wonders for the sale of video conferencing units and for Cisco of course!

Tw Telecom, a nationwide broadband ethernet and MPLS IP VPN provider, is to join forces with BT and Cisco to deliver a U.S. based business conferencing solution. Video conferencing has become a mainstream solution since environmental awareness, the recession and the recent volcanic ash cloud have made business travel less feasible.

Tw Telecom will provide business customers with broadband ethernet and MPLS services as well as connecting BT’s Global Video Exchange platform with Cisco’s commended TelePresence solution. The result will be a high-end video conferencing solution that will enable businesses to communicate both internally and externally while saving money.

According to a new survey by the Clarus Research Group, commissioned by unified communications company Cisco, educational institutions are highly likely to invest in video conferencing technologies in the next year.

Educational institutions are looking to maximise student performance via a better learning environment and according to the Cisco survey, around 53% of institutions are thinking about video conferencing as the best way to increase performances. Video conferencing would enable in-demand tutors to teach many students at once and would allow better communication between tutors and pupils.

Video is huge business at the minute, from viewing video online to mobile video to video conferencing systems. Google, the internet search giant, has of course come in early on this market and according to comScore Inc. Google is the main source of video in the United States.

Google videos accounted for around 42% of the video market in the US which translates into around 13 billion views. The main source is of course YouTube and since buying the video site a few years ago, Google is now making its first major move into the paid video market.

The telecoms industry seems to have more rumour floating around than fact at the minute so let’s stick with the trend and send another one to the mill shall we! According to a few facts and a lot of gossip, the iPhone 4.0 may be able to perform video conferencing! I can see Polycom, Cisco and LifeSize shaking in their respective boots.

The evidence for this video conferencing claim? O2 has apparently listed video calls as a key feature of the upcoming iPhone. Apart from a couple of tidbits about code and photos, that’s pretty much it. So maybe, Polycom, Cisco and LifeSize aren’t waving the white flag just yet.

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland has caused a sharp increase in online conferencing according to recent reports. As air traffic came to a standstill across Europe, many people relied on VoIP services such as Skype to communicate. Reports surfaced of a couple having a wedding ceremony via webcam and a broadband connection while executives stuck around the world have run their businesses via VoIP and webcam.

Video conferencing company Cisco has also reported a massive increase in Telepresence interest as businesses come to realise the benefits of communicating globally without having to travel. With hindsight, one can certainly see the benefits.

It’s taken long enough but finally, I am happy to announce, Cisco, unified communications provider, has completed its acquisition of Tandberg. No more regulatory messing around, no more committee’s um-ing and ah-ing, Tandberg now belongs to Cisco.

Cisco acquired Tandberg for around £2.1 billion in order to increase its portfolio, especially in the video conferencing market. The video conferencing market is set to become gargantuan in the next few years – and already companies are seeing the benefit of a video conferencing system what with the travel chaos caused by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupting. Cisco is placing itself at the head of a market that it believes will become integral to the future of business.