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Thursday 12 March 2009, 2:12 PM
European Businesses Aren’t Adopting Video Conferencing
New analysis from Easynet Global Services has shown a surprising two thirds of European businesses have not considered or trialled video conferencing, even though 87% can see the potential for the technology to save them money.
Some of the barriers sited by those who are not adopting video conferencing technology include the lack of personal touch and the cost of the technology. Nearly a quarter of businesses surveyed expressed concerns that video conferences are too impersonal to make a productive and comfortable meeting. Also over a quarter of businesses are worried about either the initial outlay for the technology or the time and cost of transferring from their current system to video conferencing.
Saving money and improving efficiency are naturally common goals for business everywhere, but the potential of video conferencing to help has often been overlooked. Historically concerns about the cost, complexity and quality of these solutions has held people back but the virtual meeting technology available today might just be able to overcome these challenges and could transform the way you work.
The survey also highlights that many of the businesses which have already adopted the technology are not using it to its full potential, with 21% finding that video conferencing is too complicated. A lot of companies are not using the full capacity of the technology as some people find it too difficult to set up and manage. This results in many companies leaving the operation of their video conferencing to managed services providers so employees can focus on running a productive meeting instead of the technology.
In addition to decreasing travel costs, the potential saving in travel time is an attractive prospect for 59% of the businesses surveyed and the ability to schedule meetings at short notice further appealed to respondents looking to increase the productivity of their time. The environmental impact of business travel is also a key factor for 31% of businesses when it comes to attitudes towards virtual technology. It highlighted that the reduction of CO2 emissions was a very important advantage of the service. Recently the UK environment minister used video conferencing to give a ‘virtual’ keynote at the Climate Change Conference in Sydney without leaving London. An estimated 60 hours of travel time and 6.2 tons of CO2 emissions were saved on his air flight alone.
Christian Harris
Managing Director, BidUpBiz.com
Some of the barriers sited by those who are not adopting video conferencing technology include the lack of personal touch and the cost of the technology. Nearly a quarter of businesses surveyed expressed concerns that video conferences are too impersonal to make a productive and comfortable meeting. Also over a quarter of businesses are worried about either the initial outlay for the technology or the time and cost of transferring from their current system to video conferencing.
Saving money and improving efficiency are naturally common goals for business everywhere, but the potential of video conferencing to help has often been overlooked. Historically concerns about the cost, complexity and quality of these solutions has held people back but the virtual meeting technology available today might just be able to overcome these challenges and could transform the way you work.
The survey also highlights that many of the businesses which have already adopted the technology are not using it to its full potential, with 21% finding that video conferencing is too complicated. A lot of companies are not using the full capacity of the technology as some people find it too difficult to set up and manage. This results in many companies leaving the operation of their video conferencing to managed services providers so employees can focus on running a productive meeting instead of the technology.
In addition to decreasing travel costs, the potential saving in travel time is an attractive prospect for 59% of the businesses surveyed and the ability to schedule meetings at short notice further appealed to respondents looking to increase the productivity of their time. The environmental impact of business travel is also a key factor for 31% of businesses when it comes to attitudes towards virtual technology. It highlighted that the reduction of CO2 emissions was a very important advantage of the service. Recently the UK environment minister used video conferencing to give a ‘virtual’ keynote at the Climate Change Conference in Sydney without leaving London. An estimated 60 hours of travel time and 6.2 tons of CO2 emissions were saved on his air flight alone.
Christian Harris
Managing Director, BidUpBiz.com
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