Contact: Elena Pokot
(262) 472-7799
pokote@uww.edu
WHITEWATER Chancellor Richard Telfer saw his caller’s face on his video phone when he answered the world’s first official intercompany unified communications call over the Internet using Cisco’s Intercompany Media Engine on Wednesday, March 10.
Telfer’s participation in a demonstration by Cisco puts the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on the leading edge of technology that could change the way organizations conduct business.
UW-Whitewater is one of the first pilot sites worldwide for the Cisco Intercompany Media Engine which allows organizations to spontaneously conduct secure, high-quality, voice and video telephone calls across the internet – using their existing telephone numbers – without the need to re-provision or replace currently deployed infrastructure.
Telfer participated in the first official demonstration of the system by answering a telephone call from Cisco Senior Vice President and General Manager for Enterprise Tony Bates on Wednesday, March 10. Telfer and Bates could see each other as they spoke. (To view Telfer’s video telephone call: http://www.cisco.com/assets/prod/voice/ime/ime_video.html)
“This technology will allow for better communication and collaboration,” Telfer said. “UW-Whitewater values innovation, and this technology may help our faculty and staff members better communicate with partners in the community, region, state and beyond.”
The Cisco Intercompany Media Engine technology provides voice and video calling over a secure Internet connection. Based upon proposed Internet Engineering Task Force standards submitted by Cisco, IME allows the same rich collaboration experience that exists within enterprises that have invested in UC technology to be extended beyond enterprise boundaries. The technology is simple, easy to use and works based on existing telephone numbers.
UW-Whitewater was selected as a pilot site for the inaugural call because of its receptiveness to new technology and the depth of its technical expertise, said Elena Pokot, assistant vice chancellor for Instructional, Communication and Information Technology.
The university is currently using several other Cisco products, including 600 to 700 Unified IP Phones that route telephone calls over the Internet. The new Timothy J. Hyland Hall has a Cisco videoconferencing system that allows users to see one another on a high definition screen as if they were in the same room.
Nick Ciesinski, a network architect in the campus Network Operation Center, said this technology takes the complexity out of making video calls because no technician is needed. Callers will also appreciate being able to see the person with whom they are talking.
“One thing you always hear from users about phone conversations is you can’t see expressions to really know what they may be thinking,” Ciesinski said.
Telfer’s call marked the 134th anniversary of the historic March 10, 1876, first telephone call from Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Thomas Watson.
The other pilot sites for Cisco’s intercompany video telephone system is Queensland Rail in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Telfer, Pokot and others in the campus information technology department are using the Cisco video telephone system. UW-Whitewater plans to evaluate the demand on campus for this technology and a rate of adoption among its partners before deciding whether to expand across campus.
