Reduced Travel Costs
In a globalised business world and with the cost of travel getting more and more expensive and less and less glamorous there is now no longer the need to spend hours on a flight at a huge cost. Meetings can be made from the comfort of your own office and at high definition standard – it really is as if other participants are sat just across the table from you.

Corporate Social Responsibility
The carbon emissions saved by not travelling makes videoconferencing a near perfect “green technology.” With an emphasis on businesses to be responsible for their environmental actions an investment in VC can go a long way.

Gain A Competitive Advantage
With competition between companies at an all time high why not steal an advantage over your rivals by increasing productivity by creating a collaborative working environment. Also cost savings made through VC can be spent in other areas of the company.

More Efficient Hiring, Firing & Training!
The hiring process can be very lengthy and costly, especially when candidates are located in different cities. With video interviews time and money can be saved and also recorded and reviewed. Training sessions can also benefit through video as more people can join the session from the comfort of their own desk.

Increased Productivity
Use video technology to bring employees together wherever they are located. Research shows the participant involvement is 80% higher over video compared to audio.

When it comes to Return on Investment (RoI) it of course is dependent on the nature of the business and the adoption of videoconferencing and Telepresence equipment. If have have a look at vpod solutions model for RoI we can see that the argument is extremely compelling.

Figures

In order to calculate an accurate RoI (Return on Investment) for the purchase of a v3 unipod, usage data from the 8 pods was gathered over a typical month period, June 2008.
When reviewing the data, an assumption has been made that only 1 in 4 meetings has saved one person from travelling.

Data

Total calls for 8 v3 unipods
= 1204
Average calls per pod per month
= 150
Assuming 1 in 4 meetings saves 1 person from travel, total no. of travel savings
= 37
Example of an average cost for same day or overnight travel in Europe
= £800
Total travel cost saving
= £29,600

Results

Return on investment (ROI) per v3 unipod in months
= 1.7 months
CO2 reduction per v3 unipod
= 9 Tonnes
Travel time saved (calculated @ 8 hours per trip)
= 296 hours (37 working days)

On this very achievable model we can see that the pay back is under two months! Making the argument for installing a Telepresence or videoconferencing system even more attractive.

Key points from the document -

Key Factors

Travel is expensive – in this rightsized economy, reducing costs is always a key factor for acquiring any new system or product. Travel costs far outweigh videoconferencing costs

Videoconferencing pricing has plummeted – we have seen videoconferencing systems costs go down by 15% to even 30% in the last 30 months, making videoconferencing a very cost effective face-to-face meetings

Web conferencing and conference calling are standard practice for meetings today. Videoconferencing is now the next logical step in the evolution of the virtual meeting environment now a part of our mainstream culture

Broadband and converged networks are here – IP is now everywhere and is flat rate. Bandwidth is now less expensive compared with the same 36-48 months ago Videoconferencing is now much easier to use and ease of use equals greater use and acceptance of videoconferencing in the market at large

Other Factors

Meetings are now recordable and have the ability to be played back for later viewing. Training via videoconferencing is “hot” for organizations requiring certifications and regular training

Everyone is now mobile – and videoconferencing is a way to connect individuals across large geographies without disruption

HD video is here – HD as we have come to embrace in the consumer market, is now available in the commercial videoconferencing space. Videoconferencing quality is now what you have come to expect from satellite and cable providers at 720p/30 frames per second and 720p/60 f/sec

Focusing on the key factors the document highlights the benefits of videoconferencing as being dramatic, bringing individuals together across the organization and speeding up business sales and processes,

To read the complete document, which is sponsored by Lifesize click here – http://resources.idgenterprise.com/original/AST-0016969_Why_2011_is_the_Year_of_Videoconferencing.pdf