I just read this article in the Conferencing News today – it’s posted here. I took the liberty to title the post a little differently than the title of the article (call me biased). As we move into 2010, it’s good to remind ourselves why Clear Skies got into this business. We, as a company, believe in partnering with you as a company, a group, an author, a product spokesperson, a trainer, a teacher, even a political activist, to facilitate the use of web-conferencing technology as a tool which is a more efficient and, maybe sometimes, even more effective voice in communicating your message than in-person or on paper. It is certainly more cost-effective than an in-person conference.I also want to highlight that although “software-as-a-service” or “SAS” seems to be one of the buzz words around new technology platforms –> software will never replace service. And, in our opinion, should never be an “add-on” to software. We are the only company (that we know of) that offers Online Event Management as a core service. We think it’s about communication, rather than what platform you use to do communicate. Therefore, it’s communication that can yield big business results. The content is your focus, let us handle the “through webinars” part, that’s our focus. A partnership for success in 2010. Happy New Year.
I have tested the links and they link back to previous articles on the subject matter.
Communication on web can yield big biz results
Web collaborative technologies drive efficiency and add value to productivity of businesses
The service based companies’ have definitely jumped hard and heavy into these tools. Though larger organizations may view online collaboration tools primarily to improve internal communications, this segment is leveraging its investments to pump up a normally small sales force and provide training so product pitches can be perfected.
Such operational streamlining helps a company run more efficiently and at web-based speed. Sales teams now can take clients through a hands-on demonstration without either leaving the office. Not only does knowledge transfer vastly cut travel costs, but it also accelerates business and provides more promise in reaching busy executives who can view demos from their office desk, rather than a meeting room or off-site location.
Service based companies usually measure themselves closely through productivity or efficiency units. So if they can conduct 10 sales demos in a day instead of one or two, they’ve made their money.
The current trend across various business segments seems to be of adopting web-based conferencing in order to expand the reach of their messaging. The financial industry, often an early adopter of emerging technologies, also is a big believer in the power of these communications services. For example, a small mutual fund firm that needs to get the word out to their clients, and they need to get people with as much impact as possible. These tools can help firms like this to a great extent.
Consider daily tasks that can be aided or enhanced using the online collaboration services. For example, companies have discovered that their IT staff can troubleshoot and remotely fix computer problems in the field by opening an online meeting session. Such remote access could prove the deal-sealer if done just prior to an important presentation.
Collaboration: The Next Phase in Business Productivity
There is no question that web collaborative technologies drive efficiency. While the value proposition is widely recognized, measuring the real impact of the technology on information worker productivity and ultimately the impact on profitability remains a key challenge.
The challenge lies not in the benefits, but in the way they have been measured. Using a structured methodology to evaluate “hard” as well as “soft” returns from the investment in web collaboration enables organizations to quantify the impact that the solution will have on productivity. This ensures that any cost-benefit technology analysis accurately reflects not just travel cost savings but also the impact on employee productivity.