IT going green: Your telepresence may not be required

By Stephen Pritchard
Published: February 15 2009 22:53

The past two years have seen big increases in sales of high-end conferencing systems – also known as telepresence – to enterprises looking to cut travel costs and improve collaboration.
But systems such as Cisco’s TelePresence suite, or HP’s rival Halo, can cost more than $300,000, depending on the configuration, for a boardroom-style set up.
Even Cisco’s TelePresence 1000, which the company describes as a “small room” option, sells for about $80,000 per room. A business will, of course, need at least two units for it to be of any use.
But for every company that can spend large sums on videoconferencing, there are thousands that cannot.
This prompted researchers at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), at Lund University in Sweden, to examine the alternatives.
“Telepresence is nice,” says researcher Peter Arnfalk. “But virtual meetings are also about using text messaging or Skype.”
According to Mr Arnfalk, virtual meetings cover a range of technologies. The key to success is to master this “toolbox” and to know when to use a technology for a particular situation.
In most situations the simplest technology, such as an audio conference, is the best choice. “In combination with web meetings, good quality audio can usually satisfy the lion’s share – 70 to 90 per cent – of remote collaboration needs in organisations,” he says. However, particularly in larger organisations, there is a need for the full range of technologies, including high-end telepresence.
The IIIEE and the Swedish Road Administration (Vägverket) led a project that implemented virtual meetings in 10 large Swedish organisations. “Before buying equipment, we look for the needs,” Mr Arnfalk says. Along with the technology, it is equally important to establish policies, routines and support ... It is not until people use the technologies, that you find which ones help save money and carbon emissions.”
Initial results suggest teleconferencing reduced business travel, on average, by 15 to 20 per cent. Organisations that used the technology for telecommuting – enabling staff to work from home – saw commuter travel fall by 5 per cent.
Mr Arnfalk suggests, however, there are key differences between the teleconferencing options open to large organisations and the needs of smaller companies and public sector bodies.
For this reason, the IIIEE has been working with the Vägverket on resources that will help different types of organisations to deploy a technology mix.
Budgets are an issue for smaller organisations, as is the lack of in-house IT expertise, and they are unlikely to have the travel volumes to justify the investment. The closed nature of most telepresence systems also limits their use in communicating between organisations.
“The best use cases for telepresence seem to me to be upper executive meetings, high level negotiations and human resources matters: hiring, coaching and promoting,” says Steve Steinke, senior analyst, networks at research firm, The 451 Group. “Once a telepresence system is installed, it may be necessary to do second-tier meetings on it, if the first tier doesn’t fill the seats.”
Lower-end technologies, such as webcam-based conferencing, can suffer from lower resolution and, says Mr Steinke, because there is often a higher “tinker factor” than on installed systems. He prefers specialist meeting systems, such as WebEx or GoToMeeting.
According to Ian Robin, a director at Skype for Business, smaller organisations are using internet-based services such as Skype for conferencing. But even in larger organisations, it is used to complement more expensive systems.
“Most businesses start out with video conferencing by building a room, but the requirement is often for video conferences on the fly,” he says.
There are moves to provide public video conferencing suites. Cisco recently announced a deal with the Taj chain of hotels to install systems in the US, India and in London, and the company has worked with the cities of Amsterdam and Almere in the Netherlands to equip local “smart work” centres. However, such systems need to be booked in advance, require travel to the suite and are still expensive.
“We see two different working environments. Skype and other desktop collaboration environments are becoming more and more popular,” says Steve Blood, a vice president at Gartner Research.
But, as the IIIEE’s Dr Arnfalk points out: “The technology won’t save anything in terms of the environment, unless it’s used and is well integrated into the company’s meeting culture.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009