Improved Video Communication Between Staff Members At Editorial Offices Of 'Times Of India'

About Times Of India

Times of India, is one of the leading English print media in India. Times of India newspaper is renowned to be as a largest circulated English daily newspaper. Formerly, the Times of India was known as Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. The head quarter of Times of India is located in Delhi. The Times of India group is an auxiliary of Bennett Coleman & Company, which is a leading media group in India. The paper has been ranked number 2 in the circulation in south India. The Times of India newspaper has got a strong presence in New Delhi.

Business Requirement / Challenges

Times of India is one of the leading daily circulator of English newspaper all around India. It has got ample number of editorial offices at various locations in each city of India. The communication or interaction between the editorial offices was initially done through telephone or through mails. They have planned to integrate a simple video conferencing solution for providing an effective communication interface between their editorial offices.

The Challenge

The Times of India group has got a huge network of editorial offices at multiple locations in India, including the urban areas and the rural areas. TOI has found difficulty in conducting video conferencing with their remote location offices, because of the low bandwidth. They have been making use of the Polycom video conferencing. The primary concern of TOI for the video conferencing solution is that: the conferencing solution must facilitate the TOI group to conduct the conference in low bandwidth in their choked network. The video conferencing solution must deliver optimal performance even in the low bandwidth. The challenge that TOI group had posed was to prove that the PeopleLink solution could deliver high optimal performance under low bandwidth in their congested networks. In fact the criterion of TOI is not a challenge for PeopleLink, as these criterions are already in-built in the PeopleLink solution.

Selection Process & Competitors involved in the Case

In reference to the requirement specified by TOI, PeopleLink executives initially sent some product brochures to the IT manager of TOI. As TOI group wanted to test the Product, they asked PeopleLink to arrange a demonstration. The executives of PeopleLink have moved to the client location and arranged the set-up. Under the surveillance of the chief manager of TOI, PeopleLink have successfully executed the conference session in their choked network and under low bandwidth consumption. Upon experiencing the optimal recital of the PeopleLink product, the chief manger has approved the product.

Solution Offered

As per the specifications included in the RFP (Request for Proposal), PeopleLink had offered a solution to connect their 3 locations, including the audio and video peripherals. TOI have acquired High definition product for their boardrooms and standard definition product for general employee meetings. They have also acquired the standard definition cameras, HD web cameras and audio devices.

Business Results Achieved by the Client

With the aid of the PeopleLink video conferencing solution (PVCS), TOI Group is now capable of conducting effective communication between their editorial offices. As PVCS is letting TOI to execute their meetings within a low bandwidth, TOI group is successful in cutting down the expenses for bandwidth. The effectiveness and user friendliness of PVCS has driven TOI to integrate more solutions for all their editorial offices around India.