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to a projector for use with a larger screen.” Although it is generally used for interviews, one client did have a live feed from a hospital operating theatre, and a lawyer used it to allow a witness to be interviewed remotely during a court case.
FACE VALUE However, VC is not a panacea – human contact is still seen as vitally important, as is evidenced in a report produced by management magazine the Harvard Business Review and sponsored by British Airways, Managing Across Distance in T Economic Climate: The V
alue of
Face-to-Face Communication. In a global survey of 2,300 Harvard Business Review subscribers, participants said face-to-face is the most effective way to meet new clients to sell business (79 per cent), essential for “sealing the deal” (89 per cent) and a key factor in successfully building and maintaining long-term relationships (95 per cent). As a US executive of a retail company put it: “Face-to-face contact is the broadest bandwidth communication you can have in professional life.”
Given that the survey results were
published mid-2009, in the midst of global recession, this underlines that human contact is not just an option, but a necessity. When dealing with people with notably different cultures, face-to-face helps break down barriers. In addition, it is information rich, allowing people to read body language and synchronisation with what they do and say.
And while 60 per cent of
respondents reported very frequent use of teleconference calls, more than half (55 per cent) said they rarely or never used VC, even though the average travel budget of participating companies had declined by 17 per cent in the previous year.
VIRTUAL FUTURE Nonetheless, Zibrant sales boss Fay Sharpe believes use of technology to facilitate virtual meetings will rocket in 2012, replacing up to 20 per cent of ritual face-to-face get-togethers over the next two years. But she says the need for training participants in virtual meetings techniques is as important, as is investment in the kit because it is
CASE STUDY oday’s
GLOBAL LAW FIRM Linklaters has installed Polycom Real Presence immersive video equipment in 27 offices, including London, in 19 countries, resulting in savings of tens of thousands of dollars on the firm’s travel budgets and reductions of 1,900 tons of CO2 emissions in 12 months – the equivalent of taking 365 family cars off the road in a year. For its 5,000 employees
worldwide, sharing and discussing information immediately and making decisions quickly is vital to its business success and client satisfaction, and use of videoconferencing enables this.
so different from that required for face-to-face meetings. And despite the outcome of the
Harvard Business Review research, there are plenty of appropriate uses of VC. It can increase the amount of times a group meet because they can catch up regularly on video and
“Use of technology to facilitate virtual meetings will rocket in 2012, replacing up to 20 per cent of face-to-face get-togethers over the next two years”
then meet once a quarter or twice a year. “In this situation the relatively low cost and high performance of videoconferencing can make a business more efficient, and it is only if the technology replaced face- to-face meetings altogether that a negative impact might be seen,” says
Etc.venues head of marketing David Owen. “Videoconferencing is also great for ratifying a decision when to wait for a meeting would simply hold the project up.”
APP-TITUDE Not surprisingly, tablets and smartphones are also beginning to
“We support clients in
achieving their objectives wherever they do business. Communicating and collaborating effectively with each other, regardless of location, is crucial to our ability to deliver,” says chief operating officer in London for Linklaters, Alastair Mitchell. “Polycom videoconferencing makes it possible to collaborate in real time, face-to-face, without needing to get on a flight, where valuable time and productivity is lost.” In addition, the firm’s
travel desk now encourages employees to use the video suites instead of travelling to meetings. They are used for a range of activities, from senior
executive board meetings to training sessions, global case reviews and client meetings. “The increase in
employee demand for video collaboration is proof of the facility’s success,” says Mitchell. “Through the Polycom video suites we are able to hold virtual meetings that promote faster communications across key locations, with the added benefits of reducing travel costs and our impact on the environment.” The equipment is such
a success that Linklaters plans to install Polycom Real Presence in offices in emerging markets.
feature in VC, and both Cisco and Polycom have free apps for both types of device. “We have a significant European air industry manufacturer who has a large network infrastructure in the company and is looking at rolling out a mobile strategy for the manufacturing force and for remote employees,” says Polycom’s vice- president of marketing for EMEA, Daniel Weisbeck. “The majority of our customers are looking at or testing a mobile strategy for a unified communication solution.” Polycom is now working with service providers to offer video software on a hosted or cloud platform, reducing companies’ capital expenditure. In fact, massive investment is not necessary. You can download Powwownow free and pay only the cost of an 0844 phone call; GoToMeeting costs £29 per month or £276 a year; and Skype Premium will set you back US$9.99 (approximately £6.25) a month. “It is all about the size and
capacity of the data feed in and out of the venue,” says David Owen. “If you have 100mb fibre, as is the standard at our venues, then internet-based solutions can
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