Conferencing in cyberspace
Using similar technology to videoconferencing, LinkedIn co-founder Eric Ly is interviewed at AIME in Melbourne.
TECHNOLOGY Online meetings make sense in today’s business environment with
its demands to boost efficiency while cutting costs, but if you are accustomed to organising more traditional conferences, where do you start? Andy Hollis reports on taking the boardroom into cyberspace...
SCI-FI HAS BECOME a reality as many companies opt to hold more of their meetings over the internet to save time, money and logistical headaches. It took the eruption of a volcano in
Iceland two years ago to highlight the convenience of being able to hold meetings without involving the need to travel long distances. When about 100,000 flights had to be cancelled because of the ash cloud, many companies in Europe were unable to send representatives to vital meetings. So they turned to videoconferencing to keep business running smoothly. While workspace provider Regus saw a
56 APR/MAY 2013 I
WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.COM.AU
180 per cent month-on-month increase in video communication inquiries for a couple of months, and interest was still high a year later with inquiries 75 per cent higher than before the ash cloud. “The worldwide disruption caused by
the volcanic ash cloud had a beneficial consequence: it taught businesses that video communication can replace time- consuming and costly air travel,” says Regus regional director Celia Donne. As a result, many companies in Asia and Europe were persuaded that they no longer need to cross continents to hold effective meetings. “At a time when companies of all sizes want
to cut travel costs and shrink their carbon footprint, why spend money on flights abroad when they can achieve the same results at a nearby video communication studio?” Being an active online meeting
participant has therefore become a more important workplace skill, and apparently women are emerging as more savvy than their male colleagues. In general, women are more likely to see the benefits of online meetings than men, according to a survey of more than 2500 business people in the US. “These findings show that women are on the cutting edge of technology and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68