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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
 Topic: Meeting Management
Resource: Lohr, Steve. “As Travel Costs Rise, More Meetings Go Virtual.” The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/technology/22meet.html. July 22, 2008.
Air travel is absolutely miserable. The flights are booked to overflowing, the schedules seem to be in a perpetual state of flux, and airports have not become any more customer friendly with respect to security checks and Wi-Fi access. Every time I travel for a customer or training meeting, I find myself asking if there is a better way to do it. Apparently, there is, as videoconferencing, web meetings and the like have improved to the point where there really is an alternative to meeting face to face with customers. The commentator mentions that new state of the art video conferencing (telepresence) now costs about $350,000 (down from $500,000) and features HD technology that provides users with the look and feel of being there. Breakeven on the cost of the equipment can be achieved in about a year from just a 20% reduction in travel. That may not sound like much, but a 20% saving for someone on the road 10 days a month equates to almost a month’s worth of travel time saved by the technology. That could help you avoid a lot of rain delays and missed basketball games with your kids. “A report last month by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, a group of technology companies, and the Climate Control Group…estimated that up to 20 percent of business travel worldwide could be replaced by Web-based and conventional videoconferencing technology.” That means big things for providers such as WebEx, Citrix, Microsoft, I.B.M, Polycom, Cisco, H.P. and others. The ecology impact could also be substantial as organizations broaden their green initiatives to incorporate alternatives to business travel. I am hopeful that this trend continues as it offers relief on a variety of fronts. Let me know your thoughts on this interesting topic.
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