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Travel fears boost video-conferencing
By Nick Easen for CNN
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- With economic, safety, and security concerns on the minds of business travelers, video-conferencing is proving a popular alternative. With the cost of broadband Internet connections and ISDN phone lines on the decline, it is cheaper to set up a video link to global executives or clients, than to fly 10 people to London. "I can see a trend, executives want to save costs on business travel and connecting people virtually is becoming more affordable," Wendy Wong of Polycom told CNN. There may still be a need for face-to-face contact to build relationships, judge body language and bond socially, but keeping in touch with a changing market can now be done via telecoms rather than tickets. The SARS health epidemic and a tightening of business travel budgets have also fuelled the market for videoconferencing. "SARS made people think about alternatives to business travel," adds Wong. A recent survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers of 125,000 people in 142 countries showed that business travel is still likely to be curtailed, even with an upturn in the world economy. These days, executives are predominantly concerned with safety, security and inconvenience, rather than whether there is a big enough travel budget. According to the survey, some corporations have already put in place travel reducing measures, including video and teleconferencing for internal meetings and conferences. "Although the format hasn't changed much over the last few years, videoconferencing has been on the incline," Mette Gjesing, Regus Business Centers told CNN "It has also been marketed more recently and if SARS comes back there will be a surge in demand again," she adds. Over the years the technology has improved, now TV quality images and audio is available and is proving popular with corporate-client communications. "Inter-office use is very common, as are job interviews. Corporations are also encouraged to buy videoconferencing units, especially if their clients have them," says Wong. Nowadays, says Wong, data collaboration and sharing has become more important, with executives sharing images -- even viewing whole computer screens. In the future it is likely that videoconferencing will become more interactive, with real time responses. An expensive alternative?There is also a debate in the travel industry as to whether video conferencing is still an expensive alternative to business travel. Recently Shin Kong Life Insurance Co. launched one of Taiwan's largest videoconferencing systems that links all of its branch offices island-wide. Shin Kong invested $300,000 in setting it up in its 12 branches and 50 offices, according to the China Pos. The company expects to save at least $150,000 in travel expenses a year. Those in the industry say that if it is used extensively to connect a critical number of people, videoconferencing can be profitable. The large distances and numerous large cities in China is also proving to be a growth market for video conferencing. Recently the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) invested in 300 new videoconferencing units.
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