Webconferencing Co. To Integrate With GetThere Portal - 2001-01-29
<B>Webconferencing Co. To Integrate With GetThere Portal</B>
By Chris Davis
As come corporate travel and meeting managers begin to consider whether to integrate Webconferencing into their programs, one of the leading suppliers of the service has signed a deal to integrate its functionalities into the GetThere Marketplace this spring.
WebEx, a San Jose, Calif.-based Webconferencer, will offer GetThere users the ability to conduct meetings and presentations and review documents and demonstrations. WebEx will pay a fee to GetThere for any fee booked through the site.
For the two online companies, the advantages are clear: WebEx introduces its services to more corporations, and GetThere can attract users interested in WebEx, who then may book travel online.
But Webconferencing is still a relatively new concept in the meeting industry, and despite suppliers' vows that it will not only be far more effective than videoconferencing but also can cut travel costs, few buyers have integrated a wide-reaching Webconferencing system into their meeting programs.
It appears, however, that interest is out there.
Bill Lepley, director of travel at Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, said his company plans to increase the technological capability of its in-house meetings when Cox moves into its new headquarters, and Webconferencing could play a role.
"We're interested in it, as we're always looking to cut costs and Webconferencing is something we should be prepared for," Lepley said. "But right now, it's still too new. We've never seen it demonstrated. It's something that would have to be sold, I think, to Cox's traveling public."
Other travel managers also have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. "We haven't seen much interest yet, but that doesn't mean it won't come up in the future," said Nancy Godfrey, manager of travel administration for Chevron Corp. in San Francisco. "We have an internal conference capability already, and maybe that's why we haven't seen the interest. It's another tool to have around if you need it."
Though cost savings can be a byproduct of Webconferencing, the primary advantage is convenience, said Jordan Zweigoron, at WebEx. "Cutting costs is a possibility, as Web meetings can reduce travel," Zweigoron said. "Some corporations are looking at every avenue to cut expenses and if GetThere brings them an alternative convenience to travel, then it's good for everybody. But we see convenience as the real value proposition."
The most frequent corporate users of WebEx services, so far, are attendees in sales, training and support meetings, Zweigoron said. "In some cases, this represents a significant travel bill, and so they're meeting online instead," he said. "Those were the early adopters. They already have seen what this can do. Only now are large corporations looking at technology across the whole enterprise. Corporate travel managers have noticed this is not just a trend, but a new way of doing business."
GetThere vice president of product marketing Mark Orttung said some clients have expressed an interest in Webconferencing, making the partnership with WebEx valuable. "A lot of clients have asked that we add this to our portal, and we feel it's a complementary service," Orttung said. "It will draw people to the travel portal, which makes them more likely to book travel."
A key factor in any corporate implementation of new technology is the capability of its internal network. Orttung said the bandwidth requirements to run WebEx meetings are no greater than what is necessary to implement GetThere on an intranet. "That makes it accessible to more people and adoption rates will go up," he said.
The partnership, which has been in the works for a few months and began when WebEx approached GetThere, does not involve financial considerations other than the fees WebEx will pay GetThere when its uses services through the Marketplace.
"We've been watching GetThere for a long time," Zweigoron said. "They have a good market in business travel. There will be a lot deeper levels of integration in the future. Integrating these two diverse products is a value, not a threat.