Issue #0640/2 - As video conferencing gains favour, we wonder what effect use of the latest high-end video conferencing systems might have on printing habits and volumes.
Although teleconferencing is becoming widespread in a number of business areas, electronic meetings, teleconferencing and video conferencing are still very much in their infancy in terms of penetration into the business meeting culture.
On the whole, face-to-face meetings are still preferred, executives and specialists travel huge distances in pursuit of business. I recently learned of one individual who has travelled more than half a million business miles (nearly 21 times round the earth) during the course of this last year – and no doubt that is small-fry to some!
Teleconferencing technology is improving; at the low end Skype and MSN are used by many individuals for both collaboration and business discussions; webinars are finding a niche for briefing style information conferences; and video conferencing technology is moving ahead rapidly.
But, despite its technological advancement, video conferencing will still have to convince the business community that there are benefits to be enjoyed that outweigh the personal face-to-face element of the business meeting.
That said, there are occasions when face-to-face meetings and the opportunity for one-on-one discussions in person just cannot be adequately substituted by a teleconference of any kind because, at the end of the day, relationship-building is as much a part of the goal as the discussion itself.
However, in-house collaboration in particular should be a scenario where teleconferencing and video conferencing can save time, money, energy and environmental damage. Every bit as important as these cost and environmental considerations, though, is the potential for improving the quality of life of executives and key technologists, avoiding unnecessary executive pressure and burnout.
Take, for instance, the video conferencing facility known as Halo – designed and built by collaborative effort between Dreamworks and Hewlett-Packard.
Halo was a very clear answer to a problem. It was a problem at Dreamworks where key creative and production personnel, working on the same films together, were based in different geographic locations. They had to work together but travelling to be together physically was proving not to be a viable solution.
Instead, these key personnel are now brought together by Halo and are able to work together as if they are in the same physical room together.
This is largely achieved through the quality of the video conferencing solution. All Halo rooms are identical; conference participants view their colleagues wherever they are located in real-time, high-quality video displayed on large 50” screens (to present life-size images); and hear one another in high quality sound – so it really feels as if they are in the same room together.
Participants are able not only to see and hear one another as large as life as they hold their discussions, but they are able to share materials, presentations, objects – any kind of visual aid – using the separate large display linked to either a video camera or a computer.
Halo is being installed both as in-house solutions and as bureau solutions that can be hired by any organisation. Currently there are 12 Halo studio locations with 14 more under construction – all around the world.
In-house customer studio installations number 7 at this point (mainly in North America with one in Switzerland) and with 10 more under construction around the world.
Cisco’s Telepresence system is based on very much the same concept of high quality video and audio communications as Halo, with 65” screens displaying life-size images and promoting the real-life, round-table experience.
With a variety of configurations available, Telepresence can be installed as a single screen dedicated person-to-person solution right up to multiple screen round-table conference and collaboration room solution.
Both of these companies are major IT players with the technology and infrastructure to implement these solutions for customers and as bureau solutions.
Ultimately, the question is, “How will these installations modify business behaviour?”
Clearly one of the major implications is that it reduces air travel. But, to have a significant impact on the volume of air travel, there will have to be multiple video conferencing studios in virtually every city on the globe, if not in-house studios in every location of every large organisation around the globe.
Here, we are particularly interested in the potential for modifying printing behaviour.
As preparation for business meetings under current popular practices, documents of all sorts are printed, sometimes with multiple copies and either used for reference by the document’s creator or distributed amongst participants.
For mass conferences, materials are printed for attendees to make notes. This is the most acceptable solution in that environment because the use of laptops can be inconvenient, inappropriate and distracting.
Current electronic conferencing facilities can go some way towards reducing print volumes. Teleconferences are usually supported by PowerPoint or PDF documents that are emailed to participants prior to the conference, while Webinars use electronic PowerPoint or PDF documents to share material online over the internet in real time.
These conferencing methods have the potential to reduce print volumes. Certainly print volumes are reduced for the host organisation because materials are distributed electronically. Therefore, if the materials are printed it is using the distributed print model rather than the print and distribute model, putting the onus for printing, and the cost, onto the conference participant rather than the host.
Speaking personally, in a teleconferencing scenario, I prefer to have the documents electronically and they do not get printed. Taking notes can either be accomplished using pen and paper, where relevant, or using the computer. In these circumstances, taking notes on a computer does not cause disturbance to other participants and can be very convenient. It also means that materials can be located again relatively easily as a digital original, saving paper archiving space.
On the other hand, many of us are still conditioned to taking notes on paper and we may print the materials for precisely the same reason that many people print emails just for reading – some people find the physical paper to be a more user-friendly medium.
Moving on to the sophistication of video conferencing brought by Halo, surely one of the key advantages is that body language can be read by all participants. Also, where the conference is being used for a business meeting or collaboration, the discussion can be recorded, thus freeing up the attendees to actually participate in the live discussion without being distracted by or absorbed in the note-taking process or by any shortcomings of the technology being used.
Where the theory of reducing paper content falls apart is when personal reference materials are required that are not for global sharing. Although, even here, there is no reason why a laptop or palmtop computer shouldn’t provide that facility without the need for paper to be on the table. After all, the laptop provides huge flexibility for the individual to be able to access vast quantities of information at will either locally, on the organisation’s intranet or on the internet.
In conclusion, the primary advantage of high fidelity video conferencing must be a combination of the environmental benefits and improvements in quality of life, leading to greater working efficiency and individual loyalty to the organisation.
Dreamworks’ CEO, Jeff Katzenberg, summed up this aspect. “Halo changes your reason for flying,” says Katzenberg. “You travel to maintain relationships, not to work.”
On top of this, clearly there is more scope for business meetings to be conducted without supporting paper documents, most of which will, almost certainly, be transient.
Can video conferencing reduce not only your travel costs but also increase employee productivity and reduce print costs? Yes, if approached with the right goals in mind.
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