On Web conferencing and travel
How much could an organization save if it used a Web conference to replace a four-hour meeting in a city that is a two-hour flight away? Consider the following:
Airfare: $250
Taxi: $40
Meal: $10
Time spent driving to and from the airport: 1h 30m
Time spent waiting for flights: 2h 30m
Time spent in flight: 4h
Fully burdened annual salary: $100,000
Hours worked per day: 10
Even if we conservatively assume that only one hour of the waiting and flight time is unproductive, that means that the total cost of a four-hour meeting in another city based on the assumptions above is $340. Would Web conferencing be a useful replacement for at least some off-site meetings? In many cases, absolutely yes.
posted by Michael D. Osterman at
11/16/2007 02:15:00 AM
2 Comments:
Where web conferences still are lacking is in bringing together the deligates with similar interests.
I attended the virtual Lotusphere using SecondLife this year and found that this system returns a lot of the interaction between deligates.
Systems like Second Life are still seen as games to many people but certainly improve the virtual conference experience.
November 29, 2007 4:19 AM
Reducing travel costs via Web conferencing has been proven for over 8 years and especially after 9-11, but the reduction of travel is only one part of the costs saving from Web conferencing. More and more its the collaboration from dispersed teams that is saving big money and time. The industry is moving fast and now you can even host your own if you want to have more secure meetings. Appliances like the RHUB box (http://www.rhubcom.com) restrict meeting attendees to IP address as well. Now you can do code reviews knowing no one else is in the meeting.
December 18, 2007 3:13 PM
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