issue brief cloud-based services accelerate public sector ... · cloud-based services accelerate...

Cloud-Based Services Accelerate Public Sector Adoption of Video Collaboration

Issue Brief


A mother can’t take time o! work to travel to her daughter’s school for a scheduled case conference with her daughter’s teach-ers and counselor. She can, however, take a 20-minute break to participate in a videoconference via her laptop.

A diabetic man living in a remote area grabs his tablet to join a video event connecting hundreds of diabetic patients in a live education and prevention session with a world-renowned expert in diabetes management.

A father sets an accidental "re in his garage, injuring his young son. He calls emergency services, but instead of trying to describe what is happening, he streams video on his phone to the dis-patcher. A nurse then connects with him over video to show him how to care for his son while help is on the way.

A police o#cer takes a call regarding an assault and is able to have instant access to an o!ender management system on his tab-let, which identi"es a possible suspect nearby, based on the o#cer’s GPS. He then uses his tablet to participate in a videoconference with a state’s attorney and a judge, who grants a search warrant.

$ese are just a few examples of ways in which mobile video collaboration can make a di!erence in the lives of people in the public sphere — government workers or those they serve. Today, thanks to new cloud technologies and high-quality networks, these services — which provide not only cost savings but which help governmental interactions become more e#cient — are more fea-sible than ever before.

Connecting to the Cloud: Major Drivers in Government

$e cloud is growing as a choice for government at all lev-els and globally. Why? Two big reasons: budget cuts and a need

to streamline operations to provide more innovative, e#cient services to a demanding, increasingly tech-savvy public.

About a quarter of government institutions in North Amer-ica, Europe and Asia are already using the cloud, with another 36 percent investigating its use, according to a March 2011 sur-vey commissioned by tech vendor AMD. Cost was cited as a chief driver: 27 percent viewed a move to the cloud as a finan-cial necessity.1

In the U.S., a “Cloud First” strategy has been mandated at the federal level, requiring federal agencies to move at least one service to the cloud in 2012. Meanwhile, state governments are also pursuing cloud computing to balance pressures to both save money and meet citizens’ expectations for greater innovation in services and delivery methods.3

In Europe, the European Union Cloud Partnership formed in early 2012 as an arm of the European Commission and is work-ing to develop common standards and security requirements to foster more e#cient cloud usage in the region.4

$roughout most of the Asia-Paci"c region, strong govern-ment adoption of cloud infrastructure and platform services is expected in 2012, per research by IDC Government. Mature

TODAY, THANKS TO NEW CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES AND HIGH!QUALITY NETWORKS, MOBILE VIDEO SERVICES " WHICH PROVIDE NOT ONLY COST SAVINGS BUT WHICH HELP GOVERNMENTAL INTERACTIONS BECOME MORE EFFICIENT " ARE MORE FEASIBLE THAN EVER BEFORE.

Asia-Paci"c countries are expected to “signi"cantly invest” in cloud-based infrastructure services.5

Paralleling the trends toward increased and higher-level cloud computing and real-time communication services is the boom in mobile device use. Among mobile devices, tablets are becoming the go-to tool. In 2015, tablet sales are expected to reach 320 million, up from 64 million sold in 2011.6

Within government, more workers are being allowed (or even expected) to bring their own mobile devices — tablets, smartphones and laptops — as a way to cut costs. $e U.S. government is trying to save money by limiting the number of computing devices issued to employees, as spelled out in a November 2011 executive order. As of early 2012, about 62 percent of U.S. government agencies had a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy in place, with nearly half — 44 percent — of federal employees using their own in the workplace, according to a February 2012 report from CDW Government.7

Mobile devices and cloud computing are two drivers for gov-ernment to save money, streamline service and provide innovation to citizens. A third driver is video. Video collaboration allows gov-ernments to cut costs while better serving an increasingly mobile workforce and socially connected citizenry.

Until recently, adopting sophisticated, high-de"nition vid-eoconferencing systems meant equipment and infrastructure costs that the public sector couldn’t always a!ord. Today, how-ever, video services can be had via the cloud and can be o!ered to o#ces, conference rooms and mobile device users, saving money and improving productivity.

Video-as-a-Service, or VaaS: A Game-Changer for Government

As governments learn what they can achieve by using the cloud, they are expecting their cloud providers to take on higher-level functions — in other words, they plan to move ever higher up the “cloud stack.” Cloud providers offer more than basic storage and raw computing. They also offer services that provide organizations with software, platform, infrastructure — and video.

Video-as-a-Service is similar to So%ware-as-a-Service, also referred to as SaaS. SaaS applications run in the cloud (provided by a service provider, so%ware vendor or other source). $e client — such as a government agency — doesn’t need to worry about hosting a server, provisioning so%ware or maintaining its data-base; these elements are part of the IT infrastructure hosted in the cloud. Clients need only run the so%ware, o%en through a Web browser, and pay a monthly fee or pay based on use to the pro-vider for the service.

With Video-as-a-Service, or VaaS, it’s the video equipment and services that are hosted in the cloud. Video calling, conferencing,


Who can use video services?

Educators• Bring richness and interactivity to the classroom• Extend reach for faculty and students • Provide access to content and subject matter experts globally

Military• Report situations from the "eld• Connect to command and control center• Visit with family when deployed overseas

Emergency Management• Citizens: Video-enabled Next-Generation emergency dispatch• Fire and rescue: Report conditions on ground• Medical services: Connect to hospital while on site

or in ambulance; triage for proper routing of patient

Public Safety and Security• Investigations and interrogations• Remote support for evidence collection• Video arraignments, expert testimonies, jail

and probation visits, correctional telemedicine

Public Works• Share maps and technical diagrams• Get expert help for tech support• Coordinate e!orts during/a%er disasters

Social Services• Case conferences• COMPSTAT reporting• Meetings with family members• Mental health visits

Healthcare • Primary care and specialist consultations• Continuing medical education and live surgeries• Home and aged care, employee/soldier/inmate health• Patient education for prevention and wellness• Support for patient-centered medical home

and community-based care

VIDEO!AS!A!SERVICE LOWERS THE UP!FRONT INVESTMENT NEEDED TO SET UP VIDEOCONFERENCING SERVICES. AGENCIES THAT CAN’T AFFORD A FULL SUITE OF EQUIPMENT CAN HAVE MUCH OF THE SERVICE PROVIDED VIA THE CLOUD.

recording, streaming, storage, surveillance and management infra-structure are all taken care of by the cloud host. For users, this means they can securely communicate and collaborate over voice and video, share documents and images, or simply play video recordings streamed from the cloud. $ey can do this from immersive theaters; conference rooms; mobile carts or via their own desktops, laptops, smartphones or tablets. As long as they have wired or wireless broad-band Internet, they can access video services via the cloud.

Using VaaS is also more economical, which is key in a time of tightened government budgets. VaaS lowers the up-front invest-ment needed to set up videoconferencing services. Agencies that can’t a!ord a full suite of equipment can have much of the service provided via the cloud.

What’s Di!erent in the Cloud?$e cloud can address one of the biggest challenges govern-

ments face: agency collaboration. “Open standards-based” platforms exist that run in the cloud

and allow users to connect via a variety of means — from mobile devices to Web-based tools to video endpoints. One participant can be on a smartphone, another on a tablet, a third on a desktop PC and a fourth in a fully equipped conference suite. Di!erences in equipment or so%ware used by agencies for their private net-works don’t matter. Open platforms allow for agencies that may be equipped di!erently to connect, providing a smooth pathway for agency collaboration.

Government departments can still build their own private clouds, maybe at the state level or within an agency. Service providers can o!er VaaS from their own cloud and secure it for agencies to use, allocating a speci"c bandwidth for Virtual Private Network, or VPN, conferencing services. Public cloud

services can also be made available to citizens who need to con-nect via video.

Internet2, for instance, is a quasi-public cloud used by research universities and other high-level educational institutions world-wide to connect in a more targeted fashion than with the commercial Internet. $e consortium of member organizations in this nonpro"t endeavor has provided high-speed connections that allow for high-de"nition videoconferencing. Participants have connected virtually for live concerts, symposia, academic conferences, and other meetings to discuss and collaborate on research projects.

Video in the Cloud Across GovernmentGovernment can use video in many ways to achieve a variety

of bene"ts. Employees set free from the con"nes of the tradi-tional o#ce can connect via mobile device from anywhere they may happen to be, allowing for telework and saving o#ce space. Removing location as a barrier makes it easier to get all players together more quickly, which improves productivity. Constitu-ents who may need to use government video services — perhaps through a social media app — are likely to be more satis"ed with their encounter, because it is faster and provides for more of a personal connection than a phone call or email.

Video also can save signi"cant amounts of money in travel costs, as well as reducing carbon emissions.

Examples span the public sector. Here are but a few:

GovernmentWhen the Vermont Association for Justice’s speaker from

Kentucky got stuck in New York City due to bad weather and couldn’t physically make it to the association meeting the next day, organizers turned to a virtual solution. The asso-ciation tapped the services of a partially government-funded nonprofit agency called Vermont Interactive Technologies, or VIT, which offers a network of video collaboration sites (mostly to educational institutions) across the state. VIT was able to hook up the stranded speaker with a site in NYC where he could present, which the association was able to view in real time in Vermont.

$at’s just one example of services o!ered by VIT. $e orga-nization recently began providing video connection to mobile devices as well, allowing users to collaborate using their tablets, smartphones or other tools. All told, says Executive Director Tara Lidstone, about 33,000 Vermont citizens make use of VIT services annually, with 20,000 hours booked that have “transported Ver-mont citizens around the state and to 27 states and eight countries.”


OFFENDERS ARRESTED IN OAKLAND COUNTY, MICH., DON’T NEED TO LEAVE JAIL TO TRAVEL TO A COURTHOUSE FOR ARRAIGNMENT. INSTEAD, PRISONERS USE VIDEO CONNECTIONS IN THE JAIL TO ATTEND THEIR ARRAIGNMENTS AND OTHER HEARINGS, SAVING THE COUNTY FROM HAVING TO PULL POLICE OFF THE STREET TO TRANSPORT THEM BACK AND FORTH.

Government agencies have held public hearings over VIT; connections have been made for the state’s Supreme and Bank-ruptcy Courts; physicians have conferred with medical profes-sionals; and a variety of professionals have used it for continuing education courses. Students can also download or stream lec-tures and podcasts.

Justice O!enders arrested in Oakland County, Mich., don’t need to

leave jail to travel to a courthouse for arraignment. Instead, pris-oners use video connections in the jail to attend their arraignments and other hearings, saving the county from having to pull police o! the street to transport them back and forth.

Other uses for Oakland County’s “OakVideo” program, which began in 2008, include attorney-client meetings, expert witness tes-timony, visits between far-&ung family members and jail inmates, medical services via telemedicine and sta! conferences.

Savings to date, says IT Director Edwin: $38.4 million.8 A similar program in Pennsylvania saved the state $21 mil-

lion annually in defendant transportation costs alone.9

Another use for video is training and professional development. For example, New York probation o#cers must complete at least 21 hours of annual training.10 $is can be done via videoconferenc-ing, saving o#cers from having to travel to education sites.

Education$e government-funded Malaysian Research and Education

Network, or MYREN, virtually connects 88 member organizations, ranging from universities to community colleges, research institu-tions and scienti"c labs. One element of the high-capacity broadband network is high-de"nition videoconferencing. Participants come together from multiple locations for e-learning and tele-education, featuring live lectures and content sharing, project discussions and consultations, special events and ad hoc meetings.

For example, MYREN hosts regular live lectures by the Univer-sity of Malaya and Japan’s Kyushu University as well as streaming courses by the Institute of $ailand and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scienti"c, and Cultural Organization).

In the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, rural students receive training via videoconference in agricultural, engineering and construction trades. Specialists can provide real-time instruc-tion using mobile video — a farmer wearing a video headset can show students right from his barn how to perform agricultural tasks, while students watch and listen via WiFi-connected laptops set in their own barns.

$is distance learning program, backed by a variety of govern-mental agencies and businesses, helps keep young people in the region and provides them with higher-level skills, contributing to the local economy.11

HealthcareIn addition to supporting prevention and wellness programs,

cloud-based collaborative video solutions enable community-based care, patient-centered medical homes and programs to reduce cost of care, while enabling access to experts.

Vivid Solutions in New Zealand provides secure, managed videoconferencing services to the country’s health sector, con-necting medical specialists, patients and others. It began in

August 2003 with eight endpoints and today has more than 200; 128 people can participate in a single conference. It also o!ers external connectivity via the Internet. Sessions can be recorded and/or live-streamed internally or via the Web.

About 500 to 600 medical personnel participate each week in videoconferences; about 50 patients per week are helped in some way (such as by having a doctor review their case). Services provided include “hospital to home” (between pediatric patients at home and the specialists in hospitals supervising their care, which especially helps ailing children in remote areas); nursing workshops; and teaching and professional development meetings (such as a cardiac organization that meets online each month to discuss inherited cardiac abnormalities).12

In the Loddon Mallee region of Victoria, Australia, patients being seen in regional hospitals are connected via video to spe-cialists at hospitals in metropolitan areas. The Virtual Trauma and Critical Care Unit gives real-time access to rural patients, allowing them to stay in their local hospitals for treatment. Doctors and other remote clinicians can view X-rays, moni-tors, bloodwork and other tests, while talking with the patient and family.

$is telemedicine project saves about $550,000 annually. Other bene"ts: improving healthcare in rural areas and helping rural hospitals recruit and retain sta! because they feel supported by specialists when needed.13

Service ProviderVietnam Posts & Telecommunications, or VNPT, is a government

telecom carrier that began o!ering cloud-based videoconferencing


THE VIRTUAL TRAUMA AND CRITICAL CARE UNIT IN THE LODDON MALLEE REGION OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, SAVES ABOUT $550,000 ANNUALLY. OTHER BENEFITS: IMPROVING HEALTHCARE IN RURAL AREAS AND HELPING RURAL HOSPITALS RECRUIT AND RETAIN STAFF BECAUSE THEY FEEL SUPPORTED BY SPECIALISTS WHEN NEEDED.

in early 2012 to users in "elds ranging from government to education, healthcare, hospitality and other businesses.

VNPT chose the cloud-based VaaS option to “make it fast and easy to deliver videoconferencing while dramatically reducing the cost to support multi-party video meetings,” says VNPT Vice Direc-tor Pham Duc Long.14

VNPT’s MegaConference service also uses an open standards platform, which ensures compatibility and interoperability.

Telstra, Australia’s largest telecom company, has been o!ering hosted video services to government and business customers since 2010. $e service allows customers to make video calls from their business application phones.

The company uses its media phones with its own employ-ees, connecting about 500 geographically dispersed people. This saves on transportation costs and time, and enhances productivity.

Conclusion: Moving ForwardVideoconferencing is burgeoning in private business and is

likely to expand within the public sector as well. Cloud services that take over much of the infrastructure and management of vid-eoconferencing, while providing open standards for connection, make it much easier for governments to deploy video. Addition-ally, as more people move their communication to Internet- and video-enabled tablets and phones, they will increasingly turn to video to make real-time connections — and this will only enhance government collaboration, and government services for both employees and constituents.

© 2012 e.Republic. All Rights Reserved.

UNDERWRITTEN BY: Polycom, Inc. is a global leader in unified communications solutions with industry-leading telepresence, video, voice and infrastructure solutions built on open standards. By enabling governments to extend the reach and quality of services delivered across multiple media, channels and locations, Polycom’s solutions for local, regional and national governments promote responsiveness and improve citizen satisfaction. Facilitating immediate, cost-e!ective intra- and inter-agency collaboration over distance, Polycom’s solutions foster coordinated and informed decisionmak-ing and responses, whilst promoting enhanced operational e"ciency and sustainability. Polycom powers the Collaborative Government vision, transforming services and operations through smarter conversations.

www.polycom.com

Endnotes1. http://www.slideshare.net/AMDUnprocessed/amd-cloud-

adoption-approaches-and-attitudes-research-report2. http://www.cio.gov/documents/Federal-Cloud-Computing-

Strategy.pdf3. http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO-

Capitals_in_the_Clouds-June2011.pdf4. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/eu-seeks-joint-

cloud-purchasing-by-governments-to-spur-growth.html5. http://www.asiacloudforum.com/content/

idc-strong-government-adoption-saas-paas-mix-20126. Gartner, “iPad and Beyond: $e Future of the Tablet

Market,” September 2, 2011, ID: G002171377. http://newsroom.cdwg.com/news-releases/news-

release-02-07-12.html8. ROI report provided by Ed Poisson to CDE via email,

March 20, 20129. http://www.pacourts.us/NR/rdonlyres/36906F45-C993-4844-

A3E1-CC3A68B4300B/0/VideoConfExpdsPACts_060711.pdf10. http://www.ehow.com/list_6651665_nyc-probation-o#cer-

requirements.html#ixzz1pmViGbkx11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM7Fd_1heLg&feature=

youtu.be12. http://www.polycom.com/global/documents/company/cus-

tomer_success_stories/healthcare/vivid_solutions.pdf13. http://youtu.be/kRANje2qoMc14. http://www.polycom.com/company/news_room/press_

releases/2012/20120308.html


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