The Hindu : Front Page : Video-conferencing catching on

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Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
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Video-conferencing catching on

M. Soundariya Preetha

COIMBATORE: With the growing need to stay connected, be ahead of the latest developments and get a competitive edge for success, video-conferencing has gained ground across different sectors in this part of the State.

Be it engineering industries, garment units or hospitals, not only large enterprises but also medium and small-scale units are now accessing this facility. U.K. Ananthapadmanaban, president of the Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, says: “As a technology it benefits different sectors and has various applications.”

In India, with a bulging population and long distances to travel, this technology is immensely beneficial.

It is an interactive and affordable tool. It reduces the need to travel, and people can see each other and interact.

Making a difference

“That makes a huge difference. It connects people in different centres,” Mr. Ananthapadmanaban says.

This is a facility that can be used to treat patients, run classes, even conduct board meetings.

However, communication infrastructure needs to improve in order to derive more benefit from such tools, he says. “We have the technology.”

In this region, video-conferencing became popular in recent years and there are a number of equipment suppliers.

Some cities have mobile video-conferencing facilities too and this helps especially to reach out to the rural areas.

In-house facilities

G. Rajendran, president of the Coimbatore Industrial Infrastructure Association, says many medium and large industries now have the facility in-house. Small and tiny units too should benefit from it. It can be audio or video conferencing that connects the user to one or multiple centres.

The facility can be used for technical clarifications, exhibiting products, training, design approval from buyers and commercial transactions. A facility has been created at the CIIA here for the benefit of small and tiny units which get a concessional rate, he says.

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