UIT Implements New VideoConferencing System

UIT is pleased to announce the implementation of a new videoconferencing system to serve faculty, staff and students across all Tufts campuses. Starting April 5, 2010, the Tufts community will benefit from the following enhancements to the university’s current videoconferencing infrastructure:
•Ability to host videoconferences with more than 3 parties at existing videoconferencing facilities on each campus.
•Ability to conduct videoconferences with countries where Internet access is limited and requires the use of telephone lines.
•Availability of an easy to use web registration system for videoconferences that assigns support specialists based on campus and school to facilitate all aspects of videoconferencing setup.
•Management and monitoring of all videoconferencing resources from a single interface to help decision makers plan for growth based on usage and identified needs for higher capacity.
•New functionalities such as recording/streaming services and desktop videoconferencing services will be released at a later date.
After a lengthy demonstration, testing and RFP process conducted by a small team led by UIT and comprised of key members of ITS Medford, OIT Boston, and ITS Grafton, the vendor/reseller Tandberg/Carousel was chosen. This decision was based on a variety of criteria, including ease-of-use, management and monitoring capability, directory and scheduling services, ISDN support, firewall traversal, streaming and recording capabilities, and desktop videoconferencing. Other institutions that have chosen Tandberg to meet their videoconferencing needs include MIT, Harvard Business School, Maine Medical Center, and Partners HealthCare.
To learn more about the new system or to schedule a videoconference, visit Tufts videoconferencing website and online registration system at http://go.tufts.edu/videoconference. Upon submission of an online registration, a support specialist from your campus will be assigned to facilitate all aspects of your videoconference. For additional information, you may also contact the UIT Support Center at 617-627-3376 or uitsc@tufts.edu Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 pm.