1. Geographically
A McKinsey report of June 2010, ‘The productivity imperative’, states:
“… the 21st century will see the evolution of myriad better techniques for managing people who think for a living. The potential stakes are enormous.”
Once you accept that premise, you’re directly in the line of sight of video conferencing.
Key staff who drive the organisation forward should not be flung around the country or hurtled round the globe to solve problems or create opportunities. Best use of their time is made by delivering questions to them, thus opening one smart brain to the whole world of the organisation. Video conferencing enables this.
2. Financially
The same McKinsey report identifies how a leading UK supermarket chain saved up to 45% of its travel costs by substituting video conferencing for long-haul travel. It also highlights the Hong Kong apparel supplier, Li & Fung, using video conferencing to put its designers in touch with fabric suppliers around the world; dramatically accelerating the design process and time to market.
And it’s not just about global corporations; wherever there’s a meeting-intense operational style, there’s an opportunity to reduce the time, resource and money it consumes.
3. Evolutionary
Over the last 4-6 years people have become very familiar with webcams, Skype, and seeing each other when they talk over the phone. Many of the same people then go to work in valuable jobs for techno-savvy organisations and find that their communication facilities drop down a notch.
Video conferencing should be the next logical step in business communications- it’s where techno-evolution is taking us.
Imagine being able to store and search conversations, recalling their content as and when required. Imagine infield service engineers being able to video the problem in situ and share it with an expert in real time. ‘Owzat for a competitive edge?
Imagine looking back on today, from some point in the not-too-distant future and wondering why we were all taking so long to enrich our communications with the technology that was already there to do it.
4. Logically
The reason why so many companies carry on spending so much money long-hauling staff around a shrinking world is all tied up with the ‘human factor’. We aren’t simply disembodied voices – sometimes human contact is necessary. But if those making the contact don’t actually hug and embrace, does that not mean that being able to see each other could take care of our basic instincts? Isn’t it logical to talk to each other via a video conference?
5. Inquisitively
Most IP telephony systems are desk-top video capable. An organisation could already be sitting on the basic infrastructure it needs in order to start making travel budget savings, cutting back on time-hungry meetings schedules, and seeing real productivity gains from skilled and expensive people. All it takes is a three-stage exploratory process:
i) Assess the current state of the network and available bandwidth;
ii) Look at whether the video conference enabling systems can be integrated or if you need to start afresh;
iii) Decide on the quality of experience needed- does it have to be a full-on ‘Avatar’ Oscar- winning production, or is it sufficient that it works as a business-driving communication medium?
All you have to do is get some consultants round to take a look and offer advice; at this stage – irony of ironies – they’ll have to come round in person.
Loading ...