By Neil Winton, Science and Technology Correspondent GENEVA, Sept 8 (Reuter) - Video-conferencing is fast becoming an indispensable tool for European business, helping to slash travel costs, improving communications, and speeding up decision making, according to a survey commissioned by leading Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Sony Corp <6758.T> Corporation.
There are disadvantages too. Company executives often find business class air travel a cosseting experience, giving them calm moments when they can't be contacted. They also can collect prodigous amounts of "air miles" which can pay for free family vacation travel.
Also, the technology of video-conferencing is notoriously unreliable, often ending with lost connections and loss of valuable time as highly paid executives wait in vain for links to be restored.
Sony says that the technology, which allows people at remote locations around the world to hear and see each other by carrying voice and video across telephone lines, is now much more reliable.
The survey, conducted by Frost and Sullivan, found that 85 per cent of Europe's top 500 multinational companies now use video-conferencing.
"All the respondents confirmed that the overriding benefit from implementing videoconferencing was a reduction in travel costs, but increasingly they also saw it as a means of ensuring that they communicated better (71 per cent), improved their speed of decision-making (57 per cent) and were more efficient in their day-to-day business (43 per cent)," Sony said.
Sony, which said it is Europe's second largest supplier of video-conferencing systems, released the report at the Telecom Interactive 97 exhibition and forum, which opened in Geneva on Monday.
"Traditionally, reduction of travel cost has been the main justification for the adoption of videoconferencing. While this is still the most commonly cited motive, users and potential users are now looking for much more. In today's fast-changing business world, qualities such as improved speed of decision making, greater efficiency and good communication are not luxuries; they are fundemental to competitiveness," said Wouter Deelman, senior manager, Sony Videoconferencing.
Responding to an electronic mail question Deelman conceded that videoconferencing could never replace personal contact. But said it made more efficient use of people's time.
"Yes there maybe less time to think and relax, but all the business hours wasted with travelling will be spent on other work. This generates also an advantage, more time to spend with the family to relax."
"Videoconferencing allows people to meet, view each other who would not be able to meet without the technology as travel would be too expensive," Deelman said.
The survey also quoted statistics from information technology consultants Dataquest, which predicted that annual worldwide sales of videoconferencing systems will rise to just over one million by 2000, up from 98,000 sold in 1996.
Neil Winton 44 171 542 7975 neil@jinks.demon.co.uk |
