For years, one school of thought has positioned videoconferencing as a threat to meeting planners. Because if we can see and talk to each other via video, why pay for a meeting -- or a planner?
But even with spikes in popularity from disasters like September 11 and SARS, videoconferencing isn't putting planners out on the street. And advocates of videoconferencing have recanted their Krushchev-like "We will bury you" challenge to meeting planners in favor of cooperation. "The value of videoconferencing does not lie in reducing the number of meetings; rather, it lies in reducing down time and inefficient travel, and running meetings more efficiently," says Andrew Davis, an analyst for Wainhouse Research. "Appropriate use of videoconferencing can enhance a meeting by bringing in attendees or speakers who normally couldn't attend."
In fact, videoconferencing gave 1,000 ClubCorp meeting attendees a chance to interact with heavyweights like Herb Kelleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, and Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager, at 55 regional meetings. Other meeting planners are "beaming in" speakers using high-end videoconferencing equipment from Teleportec (www.teleportec.com), which provides a life-size, three-dimensional, fully interactive image. Teleportec units rent at $7,500 apiece, including a technician.
Meeting planner Maria Valentine of Yellowfish Event Management worked with Teleportec during the SARS epidemic to put on a meeting for Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia. Originally scheduled for Hong Kong, the conference was also held in New York City, London, and Singapore, with participants "teleporting" to each site. "There was a fear that it wasn't going to work, as it was a multi-site setup and we didn't have the time to rehearse," says Valentine. But with teamwork between Teleportec and Valentine's audiovisual team, delegates were impressed. "The attendees were very positive and soon lost the feeling that the speaker wasn't there in person, because the presenter can see the audience and react," she says.
Videoconferencing units have dropped in price to as little as $4,000, while the technology has become easier to use. And as higher bandwidth lines have become available, jerkiness and lag time are uncommon. Laptops, electronic whiteboards, and document cameras can also be integrated so users can share documents and presentations, and use WebEx and other collaborative products.
This industry has recently consolidated, with Polycom (www.polycom.com), Tandberg (www.tandbergusa.com), and Sony (www.sony.com/videoconferencing) controlling a combined 70 percent of the market. One benefit: Adherence to industry standards means that units from different manufacturers can interact with one another.
Still, videoconferencing has downsides. Marcio Macedo, senior product manager for Polycom, says that "people are still uncomfortable in front of a camera, sometimes more so than in person." And some tech support is still required, though not like in the past.