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19 Jan 2011
It was a shame to see a press release from Deloitte predicting that video calls will fail to take off this year.
It's been a long held belief of mine that video conferencing can offer huge environmental and cost benefits. Large companies with directors all over the world could speak face to face more than the usual twice a year at a fraction of the price of flying. Video conferencing has the potential to push business travel costs down, after installation, and increase face-to-face communication.
However the cost of installation is holding mainstream adoption back.
"With room-based video conferencing suites often costing more than $100,000 (£62,500), it is likely that there may be more airports in the world than companies with the ability to hold a sophisticated video call," said Jolyon Barker, global head of technology and telecommunications at Deloitte.
I find this incredible.
I thought with the increasing adoption of Wifi, which can offer cheap, fast and enhanced quality; video conferencing had a chance to progress this year, especially with the growing popularity of the iPhone, Skype, android phones, the iPad etc, and the increasing tax on fossil fuels.
During the Christmas break I watched Demolition Man. In one scene there is a board meeting with just one person in the room. The chairs are individual dial in video conferencing screens. The chairs even swivel round so everyone can keep their eyes on each other.
In the future I would love to see this type of boardroom to realise both the cost and environmental benefits.
I hope on this occasion that Deloitte is proved wrong.
Picture courtesy of Warner Bros.
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Visitor comments Add your comment
It doesn't have to be expensive
With offices all over the UK, Access has trialled video conferencing facilities, using easily obtainable software and some reasonably priced cameras, and had some great results. I suppose it depends on where you are coming from - a cost effective (cheap) video conference solution may not be a patch on a face to face meeting, but for us it makes for a fantastic alternative to a voice only teleconference. It has also made us consider the need to travel for some of our more regular internal meetings, so has had some small impact on our carbon footprint.
Posted by: Alex Reeves, Marketing Director, Access UK, 21 Jan 2011 | 17:49