ProtoSphere Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is ProtonMedia’s ProtoSphere?
2. What do I get out of the box?
3. How much does it cost?
4. Do I need to have a major IT project initiated in order to get up and running with ProtoSphere?
5. In what ways can I deploy ProtoSphere client software within my organization?
6. Can I customize the environment to suit my needs?
7. How secure is it?
8. Can I hold a meeting in ProtoSphere with more than 100 people?
9. What is a 3D virtual Meeting?
10. Can I record a virtual meeting for later playback?
11. What is an avatar?
12. Why have an avatar and do I have to use it all the time?
13. Can my avatar look like me?
14. What is VoIP?
15. What is application sharing (app-share)?
16. What file types are supported, can be imported a content into ProtoSphere?
17. Can I run ProtoSphere on my home computer (from a quality standpoint)?
18. Can ProtoSphere run on my Mac?
19. How many people can meet in the virtual environment at one time…in the same room?
20. Does ProtoSphere enable setting of access rights and privileges?
21. Can ProtoSphere be integrated within my enterprise infrastructure?
22. Is management reporting available within ProtoSphere?
23. Do I have to be connected to my company’s VPN?
24. What is Single Port Firewall Traversal?
25. What is the difference between ProtoSphere and Second Life?
26. Why should we use a ProtoSphere 3D Virtual Environment vs. a physical meeting?
27. How does ProtoSphere compare to WebEx, GoToMeeting and other 2D web-conferencing?
28. How are companies using ProtoSphere to make a difference today?
29. What is the relationship between unified communications (UC) or unified communications and collaboration (UCC) and ProtoSphere?
30. What is the difference between telepresence and a ProtoSphere 3D virtual collaborative environment?
31. What is a typical ProtoSphere return on investment (ROI)?
32. How do I know my user community will really use this?

1. What is ProtonMedia’s ProtoSphere?
   ProtoSphere is business collaboration software that allows your organization to quickly create a 3D immersive environment optimized for business applications such as training, e-learning, virtual meetings and virtual conference events, scientific research/development data exchange, sales and marketing collaborations involving rich data visualization. ProtoSphere allows global organizations to effectively bring together their best people and relevant information to make optimal business decisions, from anywhere, at anytime.
   
2. What do I get out of the box?
   You get everything you need to create your own 3D virtual immersive environment for your business including server and client software, management/administration tools and end-user tools for putting content and application data feeds into the environment. ProtoSphere is based on the ubiquitous Microsoft Windows server and desktop client operating system platforms.
   
3. How much does it cost?
   ProtoSphere is available in evaluation, SaaS subscription and perpetual licensing models. A basic deployment of ProtoSphere starts at $75 per concurrent user-seat per month. 
   
4. Do I need to have a major IT project initiated in order to get up and running with ProtoSphere?
   No.  ProtoSphere can be trialed quickly and easily in a no hassle online SaaS scenario or on a virtualized environment running on your network behind your firewall.  In real world deployments, many customers have taken advantage of ProtoSphere’s dedicated hosting, software as a service licensing model to expedite both pilots and broad deployments.  There is also a perpetual licensing model for larger scale deployments behind your own firewall.
   
5. In what ways can I deploy ProtoSphere client software within my organization?
   ProtoSphere client can be installed using the downloadable InstallShield executable or distributed silently in the background using a .msi file via Microsoft Systems Management Server or, in ProtoSphere R1.5 and later, there is a ProtoSphere portable application executable that may be run from a flash drive – with no installation required.
   
6. Can I customize the environment to suit my needs?
   Yes.  The most useful personalization is typically the ability to display and modify content in ProtoSphere from enterprise document stores like Microsoft SharePoint and Windows File System. Organizations can use ProtoSphere’s presentation billboards to add content to 3D surfaces, provide PowerPoint presentations and add jpeg photos or logos to the virtual environment.  Users can also write brainstorming notes and perform application sharing between multiple user-locations. ProtonMedia can also customize the 3D art to suit specific customer look and feel requirements.
   
7. How secure is it?
   Highly secure. ProtoSphere utilizes government-grade Advanced Encryption Standard (AES 256-bit) for security of communications (voice over IP, instant messaging/chat, etc.) between client and server. All communications occur on one (1), typically open TCP firewall port (443) so no additional open port threats are introduced. User authentication, single sign on and access control privileges are accommodated via integration with Microsoft Active Directory/LDAP, or, via a secure local authentication store.
   
8. Can I hold a meeting in ProtoSphere with more than 100 people?
   Yes. ProtoSphere’s mass meeting auditorium can comfortably accommodate hundreds of simultaneous user connections participating in a single meeting.
   
9. What is a 3D virtual Meeting?
   A 3D virtual meeting is an ad hoc or scheduled activity held via a communications network (like the Internet) and hosted within a ProtoSphere 3D virtual environment where people, represented by their avatars, congregate in a virtual room/space for purposes of sharing/visualizing information, collaboration and learning.
   
10. Can I record a virtual meeting for later playback?
    Yes.  Standard PC/Windows recording software tools like Camtasia, Captivate, or Screen Capturer can be used to record a ProtoSphere activity.
    
11. What is an avatar?
    An avatar is a computer user’s representation of himself/herself; it is a 3D object representing the user. A ProtoSphere avatar is chosen/designed with characteristics (facial, gender, clothing, skin and hair color, etc.) to the users liking, but in all circumstances acceptable for use within a business context.
    
12. Why have an avatar and do I have to use it all the time?
    The avatar achieves a sense of presence and immersion with other people and content in a common environment (e.g. a classroom, a conference room, an auditorium, etc.).  The avatar enables a high degree of interaction and sharing rivaling a face to face interaction. The avatar is also a convenient tool for quickly accessing the identity, skills, interests, business contact, and other social-related functions (like breakout text-chatting sessions) with a colleague during a virtual interaction. Some users prefer to work in ProtoSphere’s first person view allowing you to see the 3D content without the need to see your own avatar.
    
13. Can my avatar look like me?
    Yes, in ProtoSphere it is possible to select from a myriad of pre-defined styles and options which taken together can resemble your appearance, very closely, if desired.
    
14. What is VoIP?
    VoIP stands for Voice over IP protocol. It is a mechanism by which a computer user’s voice information can be transported over an Internet Protocol (IP) based packet network such as the Internet. ProtoSphere makes use of VoIP for transporting voice information from connected users so that they may fully participate (e.g. conference live with their colleagues) when conducting 3D virtual meetings.
    
15. What is application sharing (app-share)?
    Application-sharing is the ability for other users at remote locations to see and possibly manipulate an application running on your desktop computer. Application-sharing is one feature of ProtoSphere that may be used in a virtual room to collaborate with your colleagues.
    
16. What file types are supported, can be imported a content into ProtoSphere?
    Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx, .rtf); Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx); Microsoft Powerpoint (.ppt, .pptx); Adobe Acrobat (.pdf); Video (.mov, .mpg, .wmv); Image (.jpeg, .jpg, .gif); Audio (.mp3, .wav, .wma).
    
17. Can I run ProtoSphere on my home computer (from a quality standpoint)?
    Yes. Any Windows compatible computer running Vista or Windows 7 with a minimum Windows Experience Index (WEI) of 3.0 or better should run ProtoSphere with quality and fidelity. A WEI graphics and gaming graphics sub-score of 3.3 or better is highly recommended for a superior ProtoSphere 3D user interface experience. The WEI score of your Vista or Windows 7 machine may be obtained by running the “Check Your Windows Experience Index” application under the Control Panel.  There is no WEI score available for Windows XP installations although ProtoSphere client software will run on XP machines with a suitable 3D graphics processor unit (GPU) and DirectX support.
    
18. Can ProtoSphere run on my Mac?
    ProtoSphere is a native Windows application. If the Mac is running software like BootCamp, Parallels, or VMWare Fusion, ProtoSphere can be used on Mac computers.
    
19. How many people can meet in the virtual environment at one time…in the same room?
    The number of simultaneous connected users depends greatly on the hardware server(s) on which ProtoSphere services are deployed as well as on the Windows Experience Index (WEI) of the specific client machine. ProtoSphere server-side software “services” determine the number of total users possible within a virtual environment. When running all services on one dual-core server platform with 4GB RAM, five-hundred (500) total concurrent users can be supported within a single virtual environment. For enterprise scaling, services may be separated to run on more hardware servers.  ProtoSphere client-side software determines how many users may be in a single room/space within the virtual environment. The greater the number of users (avatars) in a single room, the lower the frame rate will drop. For a client machine with a WEI score of 3.3, in a standard virtual room, 100 avatars is the acceptable limit to maintain a usable frame rate.  ProtoSphere has a special Mass Presentation Auditorium which is specially designed to accommodate hundreds of simultaneous users participating in a very large forum style virtual meeting (e.g. a plenary conference).
    
20. Does ProtoSphere enable setting of access rights and privileges?
    Yes. Access can be granted/denied to virtual zones based on identity and membership within a specified group.
    
21. Can ProtoSphere be integrated within my enterprise infrastructure?
    Yes. ProtoSphere has been integrated with myriad enterprise software infrastructure systems including Learning Management Systems (LMS), Single-Sign-On (SSO), Identity/Active Directory, Microsoft SharePoint document management, Flash e-learning content and various blogs, wikis, social network tools.
    
22. Is management reporting available within ProtoSphere?
    Yes. Standard usage and activity reports can be defined and emailed to administrators or line of business owners.
    
23. Do I have to be connected to my company’s VPN?
    No. The embedded encryption offered with ProtoSphere means that it isn’t essential for users to connect solely via the company virtual private network (VPN).  ProtoSphere does also operate over VPN facilities, so, this will be determined by corporate policy on a case by case basis.
    
24. What is Single Port Firewall Traversal?
    Single Firewall Port traversal is a ProtoSphere feature which allows all communications to travel securely over one designated firewall port which is usually acceptable to corporate security policy.  In ProtoSphere release 1.5 and later, this capability also allows ProtoSphere sessions to traverse common web/http proxies securely.
    
25. What is the difference between ProtoSphere and Second Life?
    ProtoSphere is a 3D immersive environment built on the Microsoft stack to address business collaboration needs. Second Life is a business to consumer 3D online service built on open-source technologies and focused on e-commerce, entertainment and third party development.
    
26. Why should we use a ProtoSphere 3D Virtual Environment vs. a physical meeting?
    Many organizations have recently implemented travel restrictions (due to budget) yet still need to bring together employees for meetings, conferences, events, projects and product collaborations. ProtoSphere provides a virtual meeting environment that’s just like being there. ProtoSphere use means less unproductive time wasted in airports, sitting in traffic, waiting for connections. ProtoSphere also has the benefit of easily persisting data in electronic form after the meeting/event is over so that it can be reviewed, updated and massaged; this persistence isn’t possible with physical meetings or events.  Finally, customer case studies of ProtoSphere indicate some tendency to more fluid engagement among meeting participants in brainstorming and conflict resolution because of the anonymity afforded by the avatar versus live interactions.
    
27. How does ProtoSphere compare to WebEx, GoToMeeting and other 2D web-conferencing?
    ProtoSphere provides a virtual environment where people come and interact socially – they mingle, brainstorm and share – around their content in a highly immersive and engaging fashion.  ProtoSphere-based content persists after the fact allowing for repetition and review which enhances learning and collaborative work activities. 2D web conferencing by contrast provides only one-way transient broadcast of content in a linear fashion where the social interaction is fragmented and disconnected (non-immersive).
    
28. How are companies using ProtoSphere to make a difference today?
    Businesses within the life-sciences industry are using ProtoSphere to facilitate e-learning, virtual meetings and events that eliminate unnecessary business travel.  The same organizations have started to realize additional benefits of holding ongoing collaborative sessions in ProtoSphere such as 25% less time spent meeting with up to 50% better retention of what happened versus 2D meeting tools like Cisco WebEx. Specific applications include 3D virtual scientific research poster sessions, sales and product training, continuing professional education.
    
29. What is the relationship between unified communications (UC) or unified communications and collaboration (UCC) and ProtoSphere?
    ProtoSphere is a collaboration application with a rich user experience that rides on top of, and often justifies the investment in, enterprise UC and UCC infrastructure projects. ProtoSphere takes unique advantage of the enterprise VoIP, instant messaging, presence and document management platforms provided by UCC.
    
30. What is the difference between telepresence and a ProtoSphere 3D virtual collaborative environment?
    Telepresence uses high quality video conferencing equipment and facilities to enable collaboration. Due to the relatively high price, specialized equipment and increased network bandwidth involved, telepresence is best suited for room to room meetings, and is most often used by executives and senior management.  ProtoSphere’s ability to bring together people and their information – documents, presentations and application content-  including video – enables the kind of brainstorming and conflict resolution that drives to the core of enterprise workflow. The value equation for ProtoSphere (e.g. software running on commodity PC clients and servers in the enterprise or on a dedicated cloud) also means that many, many more users within an organization can justifiably access ProtoSphere collaboration tools versus a telepresence implementation, with significantly less bandwidth being required on average.  ProtonMedia expects to provide deeper integration/interworking between 3D virtual environments and enterprise video telepresence as its roadmap unfolds.
    
31. What is a typical ProtoSphere return on investment (ROI)?
    One ProtoSphere implementation costing $0.5M at a major energy company saved $3.7M in travel, logistics and venue costs for a single learning event – a 640% return on initial investment.
    
32. How do I know my user community will really use this?
    In case studies/surveys of internal-use ProtoSphere implementations, >95% of enterprise users attending virtually said they valued the immersive experience. And more than 50% of those same users said, remarkably, that they actually preferred the virtual activity to an in-person alternative. For external facing activities such as training, surveys and data interchange, key opinion leader seminars and subject matter expert access involving customers, partners or suppliers, ProtoSphere often represents the only effective way to execute a program in the face of declining or eliminated T&E budgets.