Look them in the eye

As travel budgets continue to tighten, government agencies are discovering videoconferencing and telepresence — two virtual and environmentally beneficial alternatives to travel that allow you to participate in a meeting halfway around the world, or just down the block, without leaving your office.

Once used only by big-budgeted offices in the U.S. Department of Defense and other large federal agencies, videoconferencing services are becoming more affordable, more reliable and more available for government employees throughout North America.

Types of video conference systems

Videoconferencing systems range from simple Web-based systems to more elaborate telepresence systems that approximate sitting across a conference table from people who are thousands of miles away. The main system types include:

• Web-based systems — The least-expensive videoconferencing systems allow simple video communication between two individuals who each have access to a computer, an inexpensive Web camera, a fast Internet connection and the same software. While incredibly inexpensive (even free), image quality currently is poor and more appropriate for a conversation with distant relatives than a business meeting. Popular free software for Web-based videoconferencing is available from Skype, Yahoo Messenger and others.

• Desktop videoconferencing systems — Upgraded cameras, and audio and video quality enhancements such as support for the more sophisticated H.323 videoconferencing protocols, help desktop systems provide an improved experience — for a cost of $250 to $400.

• Set-top videoconferencing systems — Portable systems designed for use in small conference rooms typically include one or two large video monitors and a single high-end video camera, along with necessary hardware and controllers. The systems are designed to be moved into a conference room on a small cart and set up quickly. Costs range from $2,500 to $20,000, depending on capabilities.

• Integrated videoconferencing rooms — Installed in a conference room or classroom, systems include permanently mounted high-quality 32- to 52-inch monitors, cameras and a dedicated space for the necessary equipment. The room can also continue to be used for other purposes. Prices range from $10,000 to $100,000.

• Telepresence videoconferencing systems — Housed in identical, dedicated teleconferencing rooms, telepresence systems provide the illusion of sitting across a conference table from the individuals with whom you are meeting. There is a perceived ability to look them in the eye. A telepresence videoconferencing facility typically includes half a conference room table with chairs behind it and nondescript artwork on the walls. In place of the missing half of the conference room table is a bank of multiple, 65-inch monitors that contain video feed images of other identically decorated conference rooms, right down to identical chairs and similar artwork on the walls. The system creates the illusion of being in the same room even if participants are thousands of miles apart. Such systems range from $60,000 to $350,000, in addition to monthly service fees. The full "immersion" experience only works if every participant is in an identical, dedicated teleconference room.

Financial savings

While the initial capital outlay to purchase teleconferencing equipment can be steep, the resulting cost savings can be significant. Eliminating travel costs including airfare, parking, meals, hotels and lost employee productivity can offset the cost of videoconferencing equipment in a matter of months. Hewlett Packard (HP), a videoconference equipment and services provider, estimates its own internal travel has been reduced 40 percent by increased reliance on videoconferencing. Cisco, another provider, estimates it saves $80 million annually in avoided travel costs.

Seattle, Wash., is saving money by relying on a number of mid-priced videoconferencing systems purchased from Polycomm and Tandberg, two well-known manufacturers. Given traffic and distance, employees of the Seattle Public Utility offices located on the outskirts of the city could waste half a day or more plus all of the necessary fuel to get to and from a downtown meeting. Videoconferencing avoids the fuel costs and allows employees to spend more time focused on their primary mission, says Steve Monsey, an IT professional from Seattle. It might even allow Seattle to reduce the size of its vehicle fleet if fewer employees need vehicles to travel to meetings.