As corporations increasingly rely on videoconferencing, webconferencing or telepresence to replace face-to-face travel for internal meetings or extend the reach of events, corporate meeting and travel procurement teams increasingly may need to determine their role in the selection, marketing, adoption management, booking and savings measurements for such technology.
The telepresence market hit an inflection point last year with worldwide 2009 revenues of $581 million, more than double those of a year earlier, according to research firm IDC. By 2014, IDC expects the global telepresence market to surge to nearly $5 billion and the broader videoconferencing market to grow to nearly $8.8 billion (from $1.9 billion in 2009).
"Beyond bandwidth, cultural adoption has proven to be one of the most difficult obstacles," for videoconferencing, IDC enterprise communications infrastructure research analyst Jonathan Edwards stated in a 2010-2014 market analysis published in March. Supported by audiovisual staffs, videoconferencing scheduling "has not integrated with calendaring and scheduling systems."
Yet, that is exactly how Bank of America intends to deploy by year-end the second-largest network of Cisco TelePresence systems--second only to Cisco itself--with 200 units installed across the bank's global operations, according to BofA chief technology officer Marc Gordon. (Before its acquisition of Norwegian videoconferencing firm Tandberg, Cisco claimed more than 740 units.) "The technology will help associates better manage work-life balance by providing flexible meeting options and, in some cases, reducing the need to travel. TelePresence also supports our commitment to address climate change," Gordon said.
BofA did not detail what, if any, role its travel and meetings teams would play in the marketing or travel-diversion computations of its systems, but said the booking of its new high-def videoconferencing suites would be accomplished through its existing calendaring systems. The bank's contract, estimated by some analysts at $43 million, includes managed services from Cisco.
The bank previously deployed 28 Cisco TelePresence suites for "meetings and training," and earlier in the decade installed a voice over Internet protocol software throughout the company. BofA plans to deploy various configurations, including one room to accommodate up to six people, another for up to 18 participants and the ability to connect "up to 50 locations at a time in one room," according to Gordon. "This will be a game changer for us by enhancing the way we work together around the world."
A cultural barrier has been "getting employees to consider leveraging videoconferencing resources instead of traveling, if and when possible," according to IDC's Edwards.
"Traditionally, IT guys are not good at promoting this kind of thing," PricewaterhouseCoopers head of business services Mark Avery said at the first National Business Travel Association Europe virtual conference. "They're great at providing tools, but they hand it over to us to get people to use them." An early adopter of videoconferencing equipment, PwC in 2001 tasked Avery's group with promoting usage "because video is a component of delivering meeting room services and therefore meeting services and ultimately reducing our travel." PwC has increased deployments of such technology and now has 48 video systems in the United Kingdom alone. It is currently reviewing the technologies it uses and high-definition options now available.
Advocating the benefits and rationale of videoconferencing instead of traveling, Edwards said, "should be handled at the C-level, and providing incentives is highly recommended."
Siemens Corp.'s board recently directed travel management "to market the desktop videoconferencing equipment, measure usage on a monthly basis" and devise a formula to estimate travel cost avoidance from use of such technology in lieu of travel for internal meetings, said mobility services director Steven Schoen. Siemens' information systems department continues to be responsible for the technology, but the travel team has devised some "very conservative measurements" to track travel cost avoidance with use of the technology, he said. Initially, Siemens diverted about half of its internal meetings travel to videoconferencing. "Now it's down to about 20 percent," Schoen said. At no point, he added, did the company consider stopping all travel. "That would have certainly inhibited our ability to gain share," he said. "We are encouraging use of this for internal meetings, but even [then], sometimes face-to-face meetings still have value."
"The videoconferencing market is in the midst of a transition--from meeting over video as an option of last resort to an alternative that's preferred over traveling," Edwards said. "The cultural shift will accelerate swiftly through the next decade as more companies utilize the technology to accelerate decision making and time to market as well as improve team collaboration, customer service and employee work-life balance."