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Virtual Meetings: Smart Management

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Group meetings can be done through face to face conference or the web conference. Face-to-face meetings require individuals to be in the same place at the same time whereas virtual meetings reach across geographical boundaries to even the most remote locations. Each kind of conference has its own pros and cons.
Face-to-face meetings and conferences can cost a great deal due to travel expenses, accommodations, venue rental, and the packing and shipping of displays. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, a virtual meeting or teleconference can save 50 to 80 percent of the costs of a face-to-face meeting. Virtual meetings may lower the costs and eliminate the geographical distances between attendees, but they sometimes fail to achieve the active participation of attendees. In these tough economic times, advancing technologies are making virtual events not only a less expensive replacement for physical meetings but also a superior one. The objectives of the meetings and events are to exchange information and to network. Virtual meeting and event technology can facilitate these two objectives easily.
Considering the need and worthiness of virtual meeting, I will select the proper web conferencing software. Planning and preparation is everything when it comes to running a successful web conference so I will take care of the following steps while preparing for a web conference.
1. Pre-planning: I would prepare and send the conference invitation one or two weeks before the conference that will include the topic and agenda of the session. Invitation will help the participants to know the exact time and it is very important for all the participants to know what would be discussed in the conference so that everyone comes prepared with their points. Also link to the access the conference would be send in advance.
2. Testing the equipment: After the planning is done, I will start organizing. Web conferencing is completely based on the machines which include computers, internet, web cameras, audio-visual aids. So I will make sure to use computers that are hard-wired to the Internet. Wireless connections may result in drops during the session. I will test the web cameras to see that they are working properly to avoid any surprises on the day of conference. Similarly I will check sound equipment like microphones, headsets and speakers.
3. Trial-run: A day before the conference date, presenters involved would practice in advance. I will make sure that slides are loaded properly and web pages work as I expect when I use the application sharing tool. Good amount of training in web conference system that I will be using will help me to have a flawless meeting.
4. Important Concerns on the day of Conference: To login and setting up the session in advance. Making sure to put the instructions like keep the cell phones off, doors closed and participants should avoid the external interruptions.
5. Sum-up time: After the conference, sum-up session will bring up the key notes discussed in the conference. Also, the conference would be recorded for the further reference.
Enterprises are seizing the huge opportunity that video conferencing offers them to cut costs and improve productivity by reducing business travel.
Organizations the world over are experiencing the transformational impact of faster decision making, stronger working relationships, cost control and improved productivity delivered by Cisco TelePresence. For example, HSBC saved US$604K in one month by reduce travel costs; Statoil resolved issues in weeks not months by making decisions faster; Telekom Austria became greener by saving 2,000 days in business trips.
According to industry analysts, Polycom designs and delivers the world's best-selling voice, video, multi-network gateways, and multipoint conferencing solutions for conducting high-quality business communications. The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust deliver integrated health and social care to over 340,000 citizens in Belfast, part of the Borough of Castlereagh and also the wider region of Northern Ireland. Operating over a network of six organizations and over 100 physical locations with an annual budget of approximately £1bn (spending about £3m each day) and a staff of over 20,000 makes it one of the largest Trusts in the United Kingdom. Communication is very important to the Trust and they recently developed a strategic partnership involving BT, Microsoft® and Polycom to deliver truly unified innovative communications technology to ensure a consistent quality of service across all locations.

After the research it is easy to conclude that Virtual meetings are growing but not completely eliminating face to face meetings.

http://www.cisco.com/web/telepresence/telepresence-benefits.html http://www.polycom.com/company/about-us/awards.html http://www.polycom.com/solutions/customer-stories.html

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