Videoconferencing Cos. Hope To Lure More Mtgs.
<B>Videoconferencing Cos. Hope To Lure More Mtgs.</B>
Despite a largely indifferent corporate buyer marketplace, the videoconferencing industry is banking on the projection that equipment price reductions and gains in quality will convince meeting buyers to consider, yet again, the technology as a component to their meeting and group travel programs.
The technology has won a slightly higher level of acceptance in the marketplace, according to a Meetings Monitor survey of more than 150 corporate planners. About 23 percent of those surveyed said videoconferencing has cut employee travel at their companies. About 11 percent said videoconferencing actually has increased travel, while the remainder said it has had no effect.
"Corporations that are looking at videoconferencing are the ones that are taking a hard look at all forms of travel, because the only way to save money is to cut travel," said Don LePard, an East Hartford, Conn.-based travel management consultant who thinks corporate videoconferencing use will increase in 2000.
"Companies are currently seeking alternatives to travel, especially international travel," said LePard, a former corporate travel technology manager. "It may sound elementary, but that's what it is."
<B>Slow To Adopt</B>
Corporate buyers, though, have spent much of the last decade discouraged by videoconferencing's high prices and lack of ease of use. While some corporations, particularly in the technology sector, have embraced the concept, other industries only have dipped their toes in the water.
One of the most celebrated and extensive corporate users of videoconferencing technology is Milpitas, Calif.-based Quantum Corp., which has saved $120,000 monthly through its use (Meetings Today, Sept. 7, 1998). Manager of worldwide support services Susan Dupart said the company continues to cut costs--if not reduce travel--through videoconferencing.
"We've continued to roll out dedicated rooms through all the cities where we have offices, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Geneva," Dupart said. "We still use videoconferencing to a great extent. We don't sell it to our employees as a tool to replace travel, but as a way to allow a broader base of people to attend a meeting."
The evolution of Quantum's videoconferencing capabilities was very deliberate, said Dupart, which allowed for smoother acceptance and adoption by employees.
"We started out very slowly and relied on word of mouth," Dupart said. "We made sure the system was of very high quality, with good sound and lighting in the videoconferencing rooms and equipment that was all compatible with each other. We wanted to ensure that the first videoconferencing users were successful. Plus, we've had our chief executive officer give quarterly earnings reports over the videoconferencing system, which promoted it a little bit."
Quantum has spent the past year refining the videoconferencing scheduling system, said Dupart. "It's actually done by one person now, because we don't want to let people go into the system and block a room without us verifying it," she said.
More typical of buyer reaction is that of Helen Binkowski, corporate meetings coordinator for Corning Inc. of Corning, N.Y. "We use it a lot for international meetings to cut down on that travel for some of our conference groups," she said. "We'll probably use it at about the same level next year."
For others, though, any plans for a videoconferencing-equipped meetings program lie in the future, if at all.
"It's not something we use at this time," said Julie Bennett, meeting planner with Paychex Inc. of Rochester, N.Y. "I think eventually we will use videoconferencing, but it's just not on the front burner for us right now."
Videoconferencing manufacturers, though, are confident that attitude can be changed with a cadre of new products that emphasize high quality, ease of use and comparatively low prices.
"There are two areas where we see immediate opportunity," said Steve Keilen, vice president and chief marketing officer of Austin, Texas-based VTEL Corp. "The first is management of Fortune 500 companies. In nine out of 10 cases, their team is geographically diverse. These people aren't going to cut their travel; they have to travel no matter what. But videoconferencing allows them to get to more people in the same amount of time. They want a simpler solution. It's not an area that's well penetrated, but there is demand."
The second area of opportunity Keilen sees is in the services industry, particularly banking, where recruiters can see many job candidates without traveling or communicate with their branches from headquarters more easily. While traditional videoconferencing bastions like project management and development already have been well penetrated, Keilen said, "There are still good pockets of opportunity."
As many companies become more technologically sophisticated, Keilen said, they will look to videoconferencing as a solution that doesn't require intricate system upgrades.
"ISDN is pervasive and there's more access to broadband," he said. "Companies don't want to have to build a separate network."
To that end, VTEL is pushing its new Galaxy 2000 system, which can connect to any network and requires only a push-button remote control to operate.
But the key is always price, and Keilen said videoconferencing companies are better able to offer quality at low cost. "A few years ago, a $5,000 system would be poor. Now it's of good quality."
Other manufacturers said the time has come to approach videoconferencing as a mainstream, commonplace solution in the marketplace.
"We're past the traditional technology early adopters and into the mainstream," said Kim Kasee, vice president of marketing for the video division of San Jose, Calif.-based Polycom Inc. "We're past the corner of Fortune 500 companies and into some smaller firms as well. Some small companies are buying it as a differentiation from their competitors. It makes them look big."
Kasee agreed that videoconferencing's future has brightened as systems are offered at a higher quality for less cost. "For a long time, everyone wanted a high level of capability but the price points were high. But you have to meet the quality of expectations or you won't get the mainstream market. Now, we're at near-television quality with no blurry edges."
Polycom has introduced the ViewStation FX and the VS4000 systems, both of which sell for under $12,000.