Virtual reality

With businesses looking to slash costs in these tough economic conditions, we hear from Brett Caine on how web conferencing solutions help people worker smarter and more efficiently.

“Many business are finding that using online meetings to communicate with customers, prospects and employees is actually more productive”
-Brett Caine

Why is web conferencing becoming more popular?
Brett Caine. Web conferencing offers businesses an ideal way to keep in touch with employees, customers and prospects, quickly, easily, frequently and affordably. It's especially attractive to businesses that want to avoid spiralling travel costs, while enhancing their productivity and competitiveness. This is especially significant today as the economy is forcing many companies, especially smaller organisations, to rethink the economics of their business and how they can solve different problems and issues. Travel costs and environmental impacts are forcing companies to take a new look at how to collaborate and provide a competitive position in a way that makes them stand out. And this will continue to be important as we emerge from the recession.

Can web conferencing replace face-to-face meetings?
BC. Arguably face-to-face contact can be vital in certain scenarios, but online meetings are increasingly being used for many business interactions. With online meetings, businesses can easily deliver sales presentations, conduct customer training sessions, collaborate on documents and streamline projects with remote teams. In fact, many businesses are finding that using online meetings to communicate with customers, prospects and employees is actually more productive. For example, Devon County Council is making significant cost savings by using webinars to provide staff with training and professional development following budget cuts and an internal restructuring. The council has saved an estimated UK£100 per person for their 50-person staff in a six-week period by reducing travel, venue and refreshment costs.

How can I make web conferencing work for my business?
BC. I believe that businesses of any size, from individual professionals to large organisations, can benefit from web conferencing. Business should first identify their business objectives and the challenges they're trying to solve so they can find the technology that's right for them. For the majority of SMEs, simple, affordable online tools in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model will enable them to innovate and increase their competitiveness. I encourage

Businesses – especially small businesses – to look for the 'simpler is better' approach. Ones that are the easiest to set up and use, that don't require training and that offer a free trial, because this will make adoption much easier and they will realise the immediate economic and productivity advantages.

Can web conferencing really save me money?
BC. There are several ways that web conferencing can deliver cost benefits back to your business. First, by cutting travel expenses by reducing the number of visits made to clients, suppliers or new business prospects. If you consider what the average cost of airline travel for business is and compare that to the cost of online collaboration services such as GoToMeeting (from €27 per month) for as many meetings as you like, and then factor the huge productivity benefits achieved by not having to travel, the savings are substantial. The more advanced web conferencing tools also enable VoIP, which doesn't cost anything for participants, and it lets them join the meeting the instant they start the session, reducing time spent dialling telephone numbers and passcodes.

And there are infrastructure savings. With SaaS-based web conferencing services, there are no upfront investments for servers, software or in IT management. Most services are offered on a subscription basis, with discounts for annual plans enabling businesses to pay as they go, which is a huge advantage. Be sure to look for flat-fee pricing that lets users hold as many meetings as they want, of any length, without any extra charges. This will help keep budgets in check.

Brett Caine joined Citrix Online in 2003. As President, he has inspired the company to adopt a strong customer-centric focus that penetrates all aspects of the business. His vision is to consistently deliver simpler, better ways to help people connect and collaborate online using the company's expanding line of software-as-a-service solutions.