Business travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has partnered with telepresence provider Tata Communications in order to create CWT Telepresence, a service that grants CWT clients access to Tata Communications' global network of public Cisco TelePresence Suites, where they can conduct virtual meetings with clients, peers and prospects."CWT recognizes the intense pressure corporations are under to contain rising T&E costs and maximize return on investment," said Pauline Quéré, CWT's vice president of customer product marketing. "By incorporating telepresence into the full range of products and services in our demand management offering, CWT provides a compelling alternative and solidifies its role as a key partner in helping clients demonstrate measurable return on investment."Available on a pay-per-use basis in the United States, England, India, South Africa and the Philippines—with more facilities to come by the end of the year, thanks to an agreement with Starwood Hotels, which has agreed to host them—Tata Communications' public telepresence rooms offer life-sized high-definition video and real-time audio, allowing small groups to conduct "immersive" meetings that cut costs and reduce their environmental impact, according to the company."We offer state-of-the-art private and public rooms that enable companies to boost their productivity, cut costs and conduct meetings as often as needed while reducing their carbon footprint," said John Landau, Tata Communications' senior vice president of global managed services. "Using Tata Communications' telepresence services increases the accessibility of businesses beyond their major company offices to their wider ecosystem of users, including customers, suppliers, remote workers and business partners."In addition to physical space in which to conduct virtual meetings, CWT Telepresence includes services designed to help clients determine if and when virtual meetings meet their business needs, through management of the reservation process in any of Tata Communications' public telepresence rooms, to regular reporting on adoption and related cost savings.