The future for videoconferencing looks bright

From global businesses to SMEs, the latest corporate reputation and brand loyalty surveys are all showing the same thing. What a company does to manage its environmental footprint and ensure a sustainable future for the planet is a key factor in consumer and investor decisions. Add to this the impact of increasing government incentives and regulations, and the attractiveness of ethical business to high-calibre employees, and it is easy to see why companies of every size and from every sector are trying to build their green credentials.

Videoconferencing (VC) is just one of many technologies and tools that businesses can harness to reduce their impact on the environment. However unlike some of these other costly and time-intensive solutions, VC can very quickly deliver tangible differences to any organisation.

Business travel is one of the largest contributors to a company’s carbon footprint, however reducing dependence on business travel is also one of the easiest ways in which a company can reduce its energy needs. According to a recent report by ETNO and WWF, replacing 20 per cent of business travel in the EU with VC would save 22.3 million tonnes of CO².

VC technology allows users to communicate in exceptional clarity and in real time without ever having to leave their offices or even their desks. Although traditionally seen as the domain of large boardroom meetings, the extensive range of executive and desktop products now available means that VC can be used for a wider range of applications, replacing travel for such things as remote interviewing, training, education, sales and supplier meetings.

Management of a company’s environmental impact is not the only benefit of substituting offsite meetings with VC. There are also considerable cost savings to be realised. The price/performance ratio of VC products is continuously improving making the technology widely affordable. In addition, as companies begin to incorporate VC into their communications infrastructure, it also becomes possible to harness valuable economies of scale from their existing IP networks.

On top of these direct cost savings, VC also saves on valuable executives’ time absorbed travelling to offsite meetings and the administrative hours needed to organise them. VC can also help companies be more flexible and responsive, as meetings can be organised more frequently and at short notice allowing for faster decision making. VC also allows for more focused meetings, as participants are able to remain in the comfort of their own offices, rather than stepping into meetings, tired after long plane journeys and stringent airport security measures.

For a company to fully realise the potential that VC has for building its green credentials, cutting costs and boosting efficiency, the first step is making the technology widely available throughout the organisation. A quick solution is to purchase a number of desktop models. Employees are then not restricted to when a boardroom or technical facilities are available and can access the service on demand to suit their schedule, very much in the same way as making a telephone call.

As with any kind of new technology, adoption can be slowed down if there is a lack of knowledge about how to operate it. This can be avoided with organisation-wide training sessions around the products and by simple initiatives like ensuring equipment is readily setup in meeting rooms and accompanied by simple usage instructions.

Replacing business travel with VC also involves a change in company working practices and culture. It was once the case that business travel was seen as a perk for the executive, offering the chance to visit places they hadn’t been at the expense of their firms. However today we travel more than ever in our leisure time and with a growing desire for a work/life balance, employees can be encouraged to see VC as a welcome relief from the burden of business travel.

As companies increasingly realise the benefits of VC for enhancing their green reputations, overcoming government environmental regulation and other business challenges, adoption of the technology is expected to grow. In turn, as the technology becomes more mainstream and network externalities come into effect, organisations of all sizes and in all sectors will see videoconferencing as an essential medium for communicating with partners and customers at home and abroad.