Meet Me in Cyberspace
E-meeting systems have evolved into more than ways to save time and money on travel. We see how three companies are finding that they can track and shape projects as they produce more-focused meetings.
Computerworld - Virtual meetings conducted over the Internet were once viewed as little more than a clumsy stopgap when time or the company travel budget made in-person meetings impossible. But improved technology that streamlines workflow, facilitates knowledge management and allows corporations to do more in less time and at a lower cost has transformed e-meetings into one of the best choices for many kinds of group communication, according to users.
Features of e-meeting software can include integrated audio- and video-conferencing, application sharing with markup capabilities, real-time feedback, whiteboards, instant surveys and text chat. In addition, some technologies automatically record meetings for editing and playback and store recordings and materials such as agendas, minutes and presentations for easy retrieval.
"We're just now seeing the point where e-meetings are getting on the mainstream radar - where it has become the norm for facilitating conversations or conferencing, instead of the exception," says Peter O'Kelly, an analyst at Burton Group in Midvale, Utah.
And as the software and interfaces have become more sophisticated, it has become easier for people to start using tools effectively, O'Kelly says.
But there are some things a company should look out for when moving to virtual meetings, says Eli Mina, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based management consultant. Virtual meetings work better in small groups, and it's more difficult to build trust and team cohesion when people can't see or hear one another, he says. E-meetings also reduce flexibility, making some interactive discussion techniques, like breaking into smaller groups, almost impossible.
To evaluate how the benefits and disadvantages of virtual meetings stack up in real business situations, Computerworld took a look at how three companies are using virtual meeting software.
Wyndham International: Beyond Training
Dallas-based Wyndham International Inc. initially turned to Centra Software Inc.'s real-time online collaboration tool to facilitate employee training in its new property management system. The hotel chain soon decided it could save time and money using Centra's e-meeting application as well.
Since Wyndham started using Lexington, Mass.-based Centra's software four years ago, it has saved more than $1 million in travel-related and telecommunications expenses, says Mark Eggers, manager of online learning at the company.
"We use it for weekly and monthly conference calls, and because it's voice over IP, we save about $10,000 to $15,000 a month on our telephone bill," Eggers says.
Centra's software enables application sharing, and it displays graphics, PowerPoint slides and spreadsheets. "We can show the information to people rather than just talking about it on the phone," says Eggers.
Centra's e-meeting tool also brings


- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Practice Management: Double Billing Rate and Improve Patient Services
- Would you like to double your billing rate and achieve faster payment for services?
Download this customer success story to see how One Health... - Mission Critical Data Explosion and Customer Case Study
- Would you like to double your tier 1 storage capacity while simultaneously reducing your storage footprint?
Download this customer success story to see how... - Protecting Against Database Attacks and Insider Threats: Top 5 Scenarios
- Read this new eBook to learn the top five scenarios and essential best practices for preventing database attacks and insider threats.
- Database Activity Monitoring Is Evolving
- Read the analyst report and learn how you can leverage the core capabilities of a DAP solution for better database security.
- Establishing a Strategy for Database Security is No Longer Optional
- The options for securing increasingly valuable databases are very broad and deep, and can be confusing. This research provides an overview of three... All Desktop Apps White Papers
- Distributed Database Security with Real-time Monitoring
- View this demo and learn how IBM InfoSphere Guardium database activity monitoring can help protect your sensitive data in distributed DBMS environments with...
- InfoSphere Warehouse Packs Demo
- These flash modules make warehousing more tangible and relevant to business users through detailed explanations of the InfoSphere Warehouse Packs.
- Delivery Management -- Extending Lifecycle Management
- Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
Siloed organizations continue doing the wrong things and doing things wrong, leading to increased costs,... - Leverage automation today to reduce IT complexity
- Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 2:00 PM EDT
Whether your B2B complexity is caused by multiple technologies due to M&A, business or application specific... - Redefine Expectations in the Data Center
- Need to do more with less? Watch this video to learn how HP ProLiant Gen8 servers can help your business deploy servers three... All Desktop Apps Webcasts