Meetings without travelling

A discussion on current trends in Video, Audio and Web conferencing

How is thecurrent external environment changing?

Flexible workingRemote working Home workingOutsourcingDistributed officesVirtual/on-line operationsLegislationGlobalised production

New regulations and external threats as well

The pace of change is quickening !

Flexible workingClimate change bill…Congestion charging is coming

down…Travel chaosFlight tax on the horizonTerrorist threatsContagion threats

Do not even mention the: strikes, viruses, airport queues, airport security, weather, terrorists etc !

Most of us already buy into the business case for video and other conferencing but infrequently use it. The key issue is ease of use !

There is a green solution…..

How does this affect wealth creation ?

What is the Opportunity cost ?

Is the South East grinding to a halt ?

Who will invest here ?

Who needs the hassle of being stuck in this ?

What is the cost base for my business ?

What is the damage to the environment ?

It will become necessary to be so fluent in video, audio and web conferencing that it becomes a preferred option to travel

The technology must allow this or failure will result in inefficient enterprises that may not survive

Some solutions are available

.

What are the modern transport mechanisms for video, audio and web conferencing?

IP VPN ISDN PSTN

Audio

Internet

A,V,W

Large Organisations

Yes Yes Yes

Medium organisations

Maybe Yes Yes Possibly

Small organisations

Yes Yes

Set up/outsourced options

Utilisation

HighLow

Low

High

ROI

ASP

CPEDedicated MSP

Remote MSP

Wainhouse Research, 2004 CPE - Customer premises equipmentASP – Application Services ProviderMSP – Managed Service Provider

ISDN Carrier

Network

Boardroom Systems

Multi-site display

PC Desktop IP Solution (can be home-

based)

A modern outsourced solutionwith typical hardware requirements

Multi media broadcast and conference server

Internet

How easy is it to make avideo call with outsourced?Answer is very !

• It’s reservation-less video

• Just like audio conferencing you send a mail to your colleagues saying meet at 12.00 and here is your password

• You dial the ISDN or IP number and you are in – it’s as simple as that !

• The quality may be affected by Internet and Internet access

What are the hard benefits of video conferencing ?

Hard cost savings include:

• Removal of “wasted” travel time – direct increase in productivity from employees

• Business travel costs

• Fuel and parking

• Accommodation

• Subsistence

What are the soft benefits of video conferencing ?

Soft cost savings include:

• Increased competitive advantage - faster decision making, quicker speed to market, improved productivity and efficiency

• Improved management of home workers/dispersed/remote teams

• Ability to tap/maximize shared output from global/remote resources quickly and easily

• Expanded potential pool of employees (people with disabilities, returners to work etc)

• Reduced stress and more flexibility for employees

What you need to ask yourself or your clients in business case preparation

• How many hours do we spend travelling?

• What is the cost of travelling?

• What is the cost of travel subsistence?

• What is the opportunity cost of travel and travel waiting

• What is the CO2 cost?

• What fixed office savings can be made if employees work from home/remotely?

• What is the cost in wear and tear on employees?

• What is the cost in slow decision making?

BT’s own winsWhat conferencing can do for

a Corporate

2007 2006 2004 2002

Number of conference calls within BT 2,047,105 915,155 673,824 na

Financial Savings for BT by using Conferencing Services (T&S and Productivity)

£238 M £145.94 M £127.87 M na

Total avoided CO2 emissions from using Conferencing within BT

54,177 tonnes

54,177 tonnes

47,400 tonnes

20,060 tonnes

[1] The higher figure for 2007 is calculated on the same basis as previous surveys, i.e. all call participants. The lower figure is the mean for participants in calls involving less than 20 people, which excludes the impact of ‘one to many’ calls which may reach hundreds or thousands of people.

A typical business case for a multi site SME:

The cost of a single 6 user group geographically spread around the SE ‘driving’ to the meeting is c. £620

  Hours Month 1 Month 2 Month 3

Central cost PVX software 420 0 0

Central cost Training 200 0 0

Central cost Incentive 0 20 20

Central cost Server and management costs 300 300 300

  Total 920 320 320

Central cost £ 9 per hour of ISDN calls 18 18 18

•A metric tonne of CO2 is saved per meeting•Payback in just over 2 months assuming one meeting per month•Unlimited conferencing time – can use for multiple meetings•The more meetings carried out, the more money is saved

What questions to ask suppliers

• The organisation must understand its communication requirement and formulate a future proof strategy. Who, What, When, Why and Where to.

• Suppliers fit the hardware and software and advise on communications strategy

• training, incentives, support, cultural issues affecting adoption – not just selling boxes

• One way to avoid lock in and dip your toe in the water is to request an outsourced solution

Conferencing in action…