Early Adopters Increase Frequency Of Videoconferencing

While use of videoconferencing is old hat to some corporations, it's a pipe dream for most. But an influx of low-cost technology at hotels like Hilton and Sheraton, along with the advent of cheaper rollabout systems using the H.320 standard, like PictureTel, mean that those who have adopted videoconferencing are becoming more avid users.

According to Meetings Today's Meetings Monitor Survey, more than 24 percent of the 219 corporate planners surveyed plan from one to 10 sessions a year. While more-frequent users are in the minority (See chart, Page 15), overall usage is growing (See chart, this page).

Of those who videoconference, about 66 percent do so in-house, and the East Coast and Midwestern regions of the country are more active than the West Coast.

The survey also shows that 58.1 percent of those planners are taking charge of organizing the videoconference.

Participation tends to vary by industry, with manufacturing concerns, health organizations and technology firms among the early adopters.

Companies that have delved into videoconferencing are becoming increasingly comfortable and beginning to rely on it to cut T&E and streamline "housekeeping" meetings.

One printing firm based in the Midwest with offices throughout the country and in Ireland has taken advantage of the recent rollout of Sheraton's videoconferencing capabilities to expand its own five-location conferencing network. The company, Banta Corp., started conferencing in August 1996 and has since logged 122 videoconferencing hours with 96 participants, said Lynne Weise, an executive secretary in human resources who helps plan the conferences.

"Our goal is to slash the air budget and save the managers at remote locations-particularly the fellow in the office in Ireland-some of the wear and tear of travel," Weise said.

For internal sessions, the company relies on videoconferencing locations in Ireland, Minnesota, Connecticut and the headquarters in Manasha, Wisc.

"These locations are sufficient for our training needs, but with the sales and client meetings, we had to make use of some public rooms," Weise said. "When Sheraton began offering capabilities, it made the process easier and more pleasant than using Kinkos. Connections are also superior at the Sheraton sites. We haven't had a problem yet."

Videoconferencing usage at Banta is increasing, Weise said. The firm has held five in the past two weeks.

"It is becoming accepted here and more the norm," she said. "As more of our managers become comfortable with it, we expect our usage figures to increase."

Ken Craven, the videoconferencing coordinator for Wellpoint Health Network (the parent firm of Unicare Life and Health and Blue Cross/Blue Shield California), said his Woodland Hills, Calif., company is enthusiastic about the medium.

"Our chairman of the board likes face-to-face communication; he prefers using video to teleconferencing, which he feels is too impersonal," Craven said.

The rest of the corporation has logged an average of 30 hours weekly since last December, when a series of acquisitions of insurance firms located in Boston and Springfield, Mass., grew the company by 40 percent.

"We didn't want to watch our travel budget balloon, so we opted for installing our own equipment," Craven said. A much smaller percentage of the time, less than one percent of total videoconference hours, Craven will contract for outside locations. "We use them to evaluate candidates in screening interviews and they've worked out quite well," he said.

Not only is usage of videoconferencing increasing at Wellpoint, but Craven expects it to increase further.

Judith Brannan, manager of international education at Advanced Technology Lab in Bothell, Wash., started using videoconferencing about 18 months ago to replace travel connected with training international clients and distributors on its ultrasound diagnostic equipment. Because one of its chief markets also is one of its most expensive to reach and service, videoconferencing trims travel costs.

"If I'm sending a luminary physician to do one of these demonstration lectures internationally, the average cost of a week's worth of travel to three Asian destinations is about $10,000," Brannan said. "Although videoconferencing imposes some limitations-say, the length of time a session can last-it costs about a fifth as much to conduct training that way."

The company is budgeted for 24 video training conferences this year. Many will be held with locations in Korea, Singapore and Taiwan at Sheraton hotels. ATL also has a conference planned with Argentina, where outmoded telecommunications have made communication in previous sessions challenging.

The company-which uses its own headquarters facility for managerial meetings and other internal business-also has a location dedicated to video training there.

"We are starting to rely on the equipment more," Brannan said. "The image quality and real-time delivery of image means that communication isn't stilted or strange. Everyone feels a little self-conscious at first, but after their first time with the equipment it becomes a lot easier."

Prior to Sheraton's initiative, Brannan searched diligently for public rooms and made use of sites at utilities, cable companies and phone companies. Still, the plush and professional look of hotels make it the better option for her clients. As a regular Sheraton customer "with a track record," she is willing to add the cost of food and beverage into the negotiations and cost mix.

For upcoming events, Brannan is getting more adventurous since the technology has proved its reliability.

"This summer we have a training conference between Toronto and Vancouver planned, and each site has a live audience and speakers," she said. "We feel very good about our involvement with conferencing. Not many of our competitors are doing it, and we think it's giving us an edge.