Business use of communication technology CRIBSHEETA survival guide to the updated Model Assignment 2008/9

This document covers the additional requirements ONLY of the new Model Assignment – use of Internet and Intranet, tele-conferencing and video-conferencing.

sea11/10/2008

The new task is quite significantly altered from its predecessor – and I think that my irritation is added to by the knowledge that if we make a fuss we’ll be told that the one from which we have worked was a DRAFT and therefore liable to change. The fact that the changes took place way too late for us will just be regarded as our bad luck.

So

To achieve PASS level you need to complete parts A and C. To achieve the Higher Levels you also need to complete Parts B and D. To achieve Distinction level you also need to complete part E.

PART A

Research three types of business communication system:

Email Networks: Internet (including www) and

intranets Conferencing: video-, tele-, web-, instant

messaging

(Additional resources provided in this booklet)

PART B

Research e-commerce, e business, and e marketing with particular reference to easy in which business communication systems have contributed to their growth

(This has not changed: no additional resources on this section)

PART C

Produce a business report for the client based upon your research. This report should include:

A description of the three business communication systems

An explanation of the benefits and drawbacks of these systems giving relevant examples.

How communication technology has contributed to the growth of ecommerce (higher levels only)

How communication technology has contributes to the growth of ebusiness and emarketing (Distinction level only

This has slightly changed – see Hints and Tips following.

PART D

Using the business letter template you created in Task 1, produce a covering letter that can be sent to the client with the completed report.

(this we already did, so no grief here)

PART E

Justify the suitability of your report and letter for their purposes. We’ll do an en masse review, since we’re already through most of the work anyway.

You should make sure you use software features such as tables, bullets, auto-numbering, columns and text boxes as appropriate. We had begun to consider this last time, so no surprise here

Thoroughly check your work to eliminate errors and ensure the document is fit for purpose. You were required to do this anyway, so no problem

The grade you are awarded for Assessment Objective 1 will be largely determined by the quality, level of detail and range of appropriate examples that you include in this report. This is how your work was marked anyway, so no biggie.

Research three types of business communication system:

Email Networks: Internet (including www) and

intranets Conferencing: video-, tele-, web-, instant

messaging

Email – well just about everyone DID email, so I’m not going to review that.

The following are resources to use to complete your section on networks:

Networks: Internet (including www) and intranets

Internet

Summary findings

Headline figures

63% of all SMEs have Internet access

55% SMEs with Internet access use unmetered packages (60% medium and 55% small)

90% satisfied with overall quality of service

36% of SMEs with Internet now using ISDN up from 29% in February ’02

13% of SMEs pay for (at least some) home Internet usage for employees working from home

12% of SMEs with Internet currently use a broadband connection (DSL/cable modem)

Internet penetration remains broadly unchanged

2.1 Just over 6 in 10 (63%) UK SMEs have Internet access, this figure remains broadly similar to recent months. The number of medium sized businesses with Internet access appears to be reaching saturation (95%).

2.2 Internet penetration increases with business size from 55% in single employee businesses to 96% amongst those with 100-250 employees.

Continuing drop in usage of PSTN access via ordinary phone line dial up

2.3 Just over a half (55%) of UK businesses use PSTN/ordinary dial up access for their Internet connection, a drop from 67% last quarter and 76% the quarter before. The fall appears to be mainly driven by small businesses, currently 56% are using this method compared to 69% in February 2002.

2.4 As a result in the drop in use of ordinary dial up, other methods such as ISDN and broadband access such as DSL/cable modem are increasing. Currently 36% of SMEs have an ISDN connection compared to 29% last quarter and subscriber figures suggest that 12% are currently using a broadband connection.

2.5 With the rise in SMEs changing to faster connection methods, the proportion of businesses now using unmetered packages has also risen to 55%, from 38% last quarter. Use of unmetered packages does increase with business size, 60% of medium sized businesses currently use this type of package compared to 55% of small businesses connected to the Internet. This gap is however closing.

Overall satisfaction remains generally high

2.6 9 in 10 businesses are satisfied with the overall service provided by their ISP. This has remained quite consistent over the last three-quarters. There has been a marked increase in satisfaction with speed of access, from 71% being satisfied with this aspect in February ’02 to 78% in May ’02. This is likely to be the result of businesses migrating from an ordinary dial up connection to ISDN and other faster connection methods. There has however been a significant decrease in the level of satisfaction with subscription charges, from 92% to 83%.

Cont/...

Reimbursement of employees working online from home

2.7 Just over 1 in 10 (13%) SMEs make a contribution to employees who use the Internet when working from home. This rises to nearly 3 in 10 (27%) amongst medium sized businesses.

FROM: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/publications/research/2002/q9intb0702.htm

The benefits

1.1 Email enables you to send messages to any other user connected to the Internet. Email is essential for almost every business, as your customers will expect to use email to communicate with you. It offers several benefits.

Sending documents such as letters, spreadsheets and pictures by email is usually fast and straightforward.

You can send email to multiple recipients.

Email is less intrusive than the telephone, as the person receiving an email does not have to read the message immediately.

Email messages can easily be kept for future reference.

Email is cheap. Your main expense is the cost of connection to the Internet. You will probably have to pay an Internet service provider to provide this connection.

1.2 You can find useful information on the Internet.

You can discreetly research your customers and competitors by looking at their websites.

Many detailed market reports are available online although you may have to pay for these.

You can find new suppliers and compare them with existing ones by checking their websites.

Online credit-checking services can provide instant results when assessing credit limits for new customers.

You can find details of grants and loans.

You can keep up with the latest developments in your sector through specialist websites and news services.

1.3 You can improve your internal communication, particularly if you have people working in more than one location.

Simple issues can be communicated to employees via email or an internal website.

Employees who work at home or out of the office can access your systems.

1.4 External communication can be streamlined.

Carefully consider security if you are going to open up your systems across the Internet.

You can create and manage a website for your company that can be used as a shop window for your business.

Marketing by email is fast and inexpensive.

You can allow customers access to certain areas of your system.

You can use online banking facilities.

If your suppliers offer online services, you may find it quicker (and sometimes cheaper) to order through their websites or via email

FROM: http://www.knowledge.hsbc.co.uk/run/computers+and+it/use+the+internet/going+online

Secrets of Successful Online Businesses

brought to you by OverflowCafe.com

It’s a well-known fact that most businesses fail within their first 10 years of operation. With that in mind, will you be part of the group that succeeds? Having an effective website and well rounded website promotion strategy will take your business to the next level.

If you’d like to drastically improve your website traffic and sales here are some tips that may turn your small business into a future success story.

Turn more of your visitors into actual customers:

1.) The average user spends 10 seconds on a home page, you have that amount of time to gain their attention. Keep this in mind.

2.) Always show your company name on each page.

3.) If you have a logo, place it on each page as well. Your logo doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy but it helps build your brand recognition over time.

4.) Include a tag line on your home page that explicitly summarizes what your company does. Be brief and specific, for example “We write great resumes.” Or “Your personal travel guide for New York City.” Don’t be vague, this is one of the best ways to gain a users attention and they will remember your company down the road if you use an accurate and detailed tag line.

5.) Always have an easy way to find your ‘About Us’ page. People like to know who they are doing business with and will be more likely to buy from you.

6.) Always have an easy way to find your ‘Contact Us’ page. If possible include multiple methods of contact such as your address, phone number, fax and email. In the online world these things have become even more important.

7.) Make your business hours known. It will help your potential client to know when you will get back to their inquiries and they won’t be frustrated when they don’t hear back from you

when you are closed or on holiday. Of course, make sure you get back to your clients in a timely manner. If it will take you 3 business days to respond to an email, write that on your website’s contact-us page as well so that your clients know this.

8.) Keep your website uncluttered. Chances are your visitors are not looking to be entertained, they want the facts about you and your products and services and they usually want it fast. Make them happy and they will buy from you and recommend you to others.

9.) Ask your visitors to review your website for you. They will tell you what they like and don’t like, and you can improve your website on an ongoing basis. Remember, business is an ongoing process.

FROM: http://www.businessknowhow.com/internet/overflow.htm

Intranet

“What is an intranet?

In essence, an intranet is a business' own private

website. It is a private business network that uses

the same underlying structure and network

protocols as the Internet and is protected from

unauthorised users by a firewall.

Intranets enhance existing communication between

employees, and provide a common knowledge base

and storage area for everyone in your business.

They also provide users with easy access to

company data, systems and email from their

desktops.

Because intranets are secure and easily accessible

via the Internet, they enable staff to do work from

any location simply by using a web browser. This

can help small businesses to be flexible and control

office overheads by allowing employees to work

Cont/...

from almost any location, including their home and

customer sites...

“Types of content found on intranets:

Administrative - calendars, emergency

procedures, meeting room bookings,

procedure manuals and membership of

internal committees and groups

Corporate - business plans, client/customer

lists, document templates, branding

guidelines, mission statements, press

coverage and staff newsletters

Financial - annual reports and organisational

performance

IT - virus alerts, tips on dealing with problems

with hardware, software and networks,

policies on corporate use of email and

Internet access and a list of online training

courses and support

Marketing - competitive intelligence, with

links to competitor websites, corporate

brochures, latest marketing initiatives, press

releases, presentations

Human resources - appraisal procedures

and schedules, employee policies, expenses

forms and annual leave requests, staff

discount schemes, new vacancies

Individual projects - current project details,

team contact information, project

management information, project documents,

time and expense reporting

External information resources - route

planning and mapping sites, industry

organisations, research sites and search

engines”

FROM

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?

type=RESOURCES&site=131&itemId=1075386399

“To help you understand the power of this new

office technology, here are a few specific examples

of how an Intranet can be used in just one business

activity—retail clothing sales.

Imagine you are the worldwide sales manager for a

multinational retail clothing business with stores and

outlets around the world. Your corporate Intranet

allows each of your stores, its sales representatives,

store managers, and sales assistants to have up-to-

the-second information on any corporate topic

related to their jobs. Buyers in New York can check

the stock in stores in Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit, or

Toronto. Pricing for an upcoming advertised sales

event can be posted just in time to start marking

down prices. Employees can see video clips of the

upcoming commercials before they hit prime-time

TV. Specific product markdowns can be posted

instantaneously and simultaneously for every store

manager and every sales assistant by name. With

the click of a mouse on an Intranet Web page, your

entire worldwide sales team can be trained for a

new inventory-reporting procedure or be given the

specifics concerning an exciting new product

acquisition. Sales personnel in any of your retail

outlets can have their questions answered about the

new acquisition and can even view a pictorial

preview of any new products they will soon be

selling...

“Corporations love Intranets because they:

Are easy and inexpensive to set up.

Require very little employee training.

Allow rapid and effective sharing of corporate

information.

The truth is, using a corporate Intranet isn't much

different from using the Web and sending email.

Because Intranets are for employees only, firewalls

are set up to protect corporate information from

uninvited guests, like you and me. To prevent

unauthorized intrusions, a login name and password

is required to enter most corporate Intranets.

Once employees have logged into the Intranet, most

feel instantly at home because "it's just like the

Web." After a few minutes, employees are

comfortable collaborating, receiving corporate

updates, sending email, updating orders or

accounts, setting up conference chats or video

meetings, or participating in a host of other business

activities.

Cont/...

Although most Intranet software in use today is

freeware, thousands of companies (including

software giants like Netscape, Lotus, and Microsoft)

are eager to show any corporation how to set up an

enterprisewide, secure Intranet. “

FROM http://www.corpview.com/aboutintranets.html

Benefits of intranets

1. Workforce productivity: Intranets can help

users to locate and view information faster

and use applications relevant to their roles

and responsibilities. With the help of a web

browser interface, users can access data

held in any database the organization wants

to make available, anytime and - subject to

security provisions - from anywhere within

the company workstations, increasing

employees' ability to perform their jobs

faster, more accurately, and with

confidence that they have the right

information. It also helps to improve the

services provided to the users.

2. Time: With intranets, organizations can

make more information available to

employees on a "pull" basis (i.e., employees

can link to relevant information at a time

which suits them) rather than being deluged

indiscriminately by emails.

3. Communication: Intranets can serve as

powerful tools for communication within an

organization, vertically and horizontally.

From a communications standpoint,

intranets are useful to communicate

strategic initiatives that have a global reach

throughout the organization. The type of

information that can easily be conveyed is

the purpose of the initiative and what the

initiative is aiming to achieve, who is driving

the initiative, results achieved to date, and

who to speak to for more information. By

providing this information on the intranet,

staff have the opportunity to keep up-to-

date with the strategic focus of the

organization.

4. Web publishing allows 'cumbersome'

corporate knowledge to be maintained and

easily accessed throughout the company

using hypermedia and Web technologies.

Examples include: employee manuals,

benefits documents, company policies,

business standards, newsfeeds, and even

training, can be accessed using common

Internet standards (Acrobat files, Flash files,

CGI applications). Because each business

unit can update the online copy of a

document, the most recent version is

always available to employees using the

intranet.

5. Business operations and management:

Intranets are also being used as a platform

for developing and deploying applications to

support business operations and decisions

across the internetworked enterprise.

6. Cost-effective: Users can view information

and data via web-browser rather than

maintaining physical documents such as

procedure manuals, internal phone list and

requisition forms.

7. Promote common corporate culture: Every

user is viewing the same information within

the Intranet.

8. Enhance Collaboration: With information

easily accessible by all authorised users,

teamwork is enabled.

9. Cross-platform Capability: Standards-

compliant web browsers are available for

Windows, Mac, and UNIX.

FROM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intranet

Chapter 31c. Doing Business with Customers

Using an Intranet

Intranets may revolutionize the way that businesses

sell goods and services. Using an intranet, a

company can inexpensively market its goods and

services, take orders for them, and then fulfil the

order. This illustration shows how a record company

called CyberMusic could do business using an

intranet.

CyberMusic creates a public Web site on a

bastion host in the firewall of the intranet

that it uses as a way to draw customers. To

get people to visit, it features interviews

with musicians, music news, concert

calendars, music clips, and contests.

To further draw people to the site,

CyberMusic advertises its site on the

Internet. When anyone clicks on an ad for

CyberMusic, they are immediately sent to

the CyberMusic Web site.

When the person is done browsing, they go

to the electronic checkout counter to pay

for the items they've selected. The CGI

shopping cart program sends a list of the

cart's contents to the checkout counter. The

buyer fills out a form that includes

information such as their name and address

and method of payment. This information is

encrypted and sent from the Internet to the

intranet through the firewall. The

transaction is a secure one because it uses

the SET protocol. The orderer, merchant,

and credit card company then complete the

payment following the illustration on the

previous page.

Information about the order is automatically

transferred over the intranet to

CyberMusic's fulfilment department, which

ships out the records ordered.

The site features an electronic catalogue

that promotes the records that CyberMusic

sells. The catalogue features music clips so

that people can sample records, and has

information about the album and its artist.

To select an item from the catalogue,

someone merely needs to click on a link or

a button. When this is done, the item is

placed in their electronic shopping cart. As

they browse through the catalogue they can

place more items in their electronic

shopping cart. A CGI program on the

CyberMusic Web site keeps track of the

contents of each individual's shopping cart.

Instead of browsing through a catalogue,

people can do a focused search on the kind

of music they're interested in. They can

search by type of music, particular artist,

date of release and other terms. The search

can be done via a variety of database

searching techniques, including CGI

scripting and SQL technology, both covered

in earlier chapters. When they find the

album they want to buy, they need to click

on a link or a button to drop the item in

their electronic shopping cart.

FROM:

http://doktertomi.com/2008/05/05/chapter-31c-

doing-business-with-customers-using-an-

intranet/

Conferencing: video-, tele-, web-, instant messaging

Video conferencing:

Impact on business

Videoconferencing can enable individuals in faraway

places to have meetings on short notice. Time and

money that used to be spent in traveling can be

used to have short meetings. Technology such as

VOIP can be used in conjunction with desktop

videoconferencing to enable low-cost face-to-face

business meetings without leaving the desk,

especially for businesses with wide-spread offices.

The technology is also used for telecommuting, in

which employees work from home.

Videoconferencing is now being introduced to online

networking websites, in order to help businesses

form profitable relationships quickly and efficiently

without leaving their place of work.

Although it already has proven its potential value,

research[5] has shown that many employees do not

use the videoconference equipment because they

are afraid that they will appear to be wasting time or

looking for the easiest way if they use

videoconferencing to enhance customer and

supplier relationships. This anxiety can be avoided if

managers use the technology in front of their

employees.

Researchers[6] find that attendees of business and

medical videoconferences must work harder to

interpret information delivered during a conference

than they would if they attended face-to-face. They

recommend that those coordinating

videoconferences make adjustments to procedures

and equipment.

FROM:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videoconferencing

What are the Business and Bottom Line Cash

Benefits?

The benefits to the bottom line are immense. Not

only does web and video conferencing allow for

better and more interactive communication, it can

literally decrease business travel costs by as much

as one-half by completely eliminating or reducing

the need for lengthy trips that are made for

recurring business meetings, sales presentations

and training.

The integration of audio, or Voice over IP (VoIP)

further decreases operational costs by eliminating

long distance calling charges for weekly internal

meetings.

In addition to direct expense reductions such as

travel and teleconferencing bills, there are also

revenue gains to be had. The application of web and

video conferencing in sales allows account

executives to meet with more customers, faster, and

at less expense. In addition, the increase in reach

and frequency may translate to increased reseller

sales and markedly improved customer retention.

Beyond hard cash benefits, there are soft benefits

too. The use of state-of-the-art software can boost

employee morale, improve safety where travel

requires exposure to risk, bring telecommuters and

remote offices closer together, improve business

continuity for key staff who can work from home

during weather-related office closures, and where

available, subsidies for greenhouse gas reductions.

FROM: http://www.wiredred.com/business-benefits-

video-conferencing.html

What is Video conferencing?

Meet face to face, wherever you are

Sometimes nothing can beat meeting someone in

person. Today's hectic working schedules often

don't allow time to travel to meetings. Add to this

the difficulties associated with getting all the right

people together in the right place, and the task of

arranging a face to face meeting can become near

impossible.

BT Video Conferencing can change the way you

conduct business, saving you time and costs

associated with travelling.

Its visual element can transform how you interact

with colleagues, customers and suppliers. It enables

you to meet face-to-face, however far apart you are

physically. And because it adds the power of eye

contact and body language to discussion you can

develop deeper, trusting working relationships.

Key features

Flexible reservation options to book video

calls - on-line or phone

Seamless video call connection between all

meeting sites

Reliability guaranteed - with our

certification and monitoring programmes

Powerful online reporting - in real time

All Services have both ISDN and IP

capability

Help is available for all our services at all

times from our expert conference

coordinators, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

You have the option to add audio

participants to your video conference with

seamless connection to your BT MeetMe

service

How does it work?

The BT Video conferencing service enables the

chairperson of the meeting to pre-book or self

launch a video call on-line or by phone, and invite

participants at multiple sites almost anywhere in the

world to participate in a single meeting.

We provide 'multi-point' video conferencing and

'point-to-point' video conferencing over public ISDN

and IP networks. Multi-point conferencing is where

more several sites, or locations, are linked together.

Point-to- point conferencing links just two sites

together.

BT Video conferencing links all the video

conferencing sites by receiving and managing video,

audio and data signals from the equipment at each

location. We mix the audio, select the appropriate

video and data sources and transmit the results. We

take care of all the technical requirements, so you

can see and hear the meeting participants as if you

were in the same room.

Our video conferencing services are reliable and

easy to use, leaving you free to concentrate on the

business of your meeting.

FROM:

http://www.conferencing.bt.com/product_services/vi

deoservices/whatisvideoconferencing.jsp

Business travel: The rise of video conferencing

Does better technology mean companies can

no longer justify flying across the globe for a

meeting? Nick Easen reports

(16 October 2008)

'Video killed the passenger numbers’ declared

a headline in The Scotsman newspaper

recently. It’s enough to send a shudder down

the spine of any business travel agent.

Cont/...

The check-in queues at Scotland’s three biggest

airports – Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen –

shortened earlier this year as business travellers cut

back on flights. And for the first time, technology

was cited as one of the reasons for the decline.

“Airlines have been reducing capacity…and the

increasing use of video conferencing technology to

replace taking flights to meetings has definitely

occurred as a result of the credit crunch,” BAA

spokesman Donald Morrison told the newspaper.

Rising fuel prices, economic pressures, airport

delays and green issues are all conspiring against

that corporate trip. “UK businesses need to wake up

to the fact that unnecessary meetings and business

travel reduce employee productivity, increase stress

levels and damage the environment,” said Bert van

der Zwan, vice-president EMEA for Cisco WebEx, an

online web conferencing firm.

Over the past few years the technology for video

and web conferencing has got its act together – no

longer does it freeze or crash as soon as you

overload the data line, as it did in the early 1990s.

Now travel management companies are predicting

an increase in its usage over the next two years.

“I was impressed with the technology. You don’t

have to take time out of the office to travel. [It also

means] you can have a bigger team present at the

meeting,” said James Allen, director of travel at

public relations firm McCluskey International. The

company recently used video conferencing facilities

in London to win a pitch to the Illinois Bureau of

Tourism in Chicago. “The key is to use professional

facilities. However, it is still expensive to hire the

room and equipment,” he said.

Some companies are already using video

conferencing extensively in a bid to cut travel and

go green. Vodafone, for instance, has been saving

more than 13,500 flights

per year since committing to the technology and has

reduced carbon emissions by more than 5,000

tonnes annually, according to video conferencing

firm Eyenetwork.

“It really comes down to how much business flying is

discretional – how much do we fly because we want

to, as opposed to really needing to, in order to get

the job done?” said Future Foundation director of

research Karen Elton.

The latest round of innovation comes from Hewlett-

Packard, with its Halo   product , and Cisco’s

telepresence technology. Both innovations

enable people around the globe to meet in an

environment that looks, sounds and feels as if

they’re sitting across the same table.

Participants see each other as life-sized images

projected on to high-definition LCD screens. Their

conference table starts where yours finishes. The

lighting, sound and camera coverage have been

enhanced so you see and hear each other clearly. If

you move around, so does your voice – and you can

share documents as well as digital presentations.

The technology has also helped reduce HP’s global

travel by 43%. Other customers include

AstraZeneca, Toshiba and Novartis. Consultancy

Frost and Sullivan says the market for telepresence

in Europe alone could reach more than £200 million

by 2013. Microsoft is also in on the act with its

Roundtable   product and then there’s Teliris’s

GlobalTable.

In the travel business the big move has come from

Marriott International, which is

installing   telepresence suites for public use in

a number of its hotels across the globe.

Collaborative software has also come of age. Many

firms with multiple locations and fast connections

are collaborating using software such as Cisco

WebEx, Microsoft’s NetMeeting or Adobe’s Acrobat

Connect. The question is whether the new

technology is threatening travel programmes.

Cont/...

“Travel management companies are not in

competition with virtual meetings. Carlson Wagonlit

Travel makes use of a combined programme of

travel when it is necessary, and webinars when they

provide a logical way of connecting lots of people

quickly,” said UK marketing director Helen Cahill.

Advances in technology are infiltrating other areas

of the industry – global distribution systems are also

keeping up with the pace of change. They are

becoming more efficient and the amount of

information available through the GDS is growing,

along with faster download speeds. More content is

now allowing agents and consultants to receive

more travel information through one source and

connect to more travel providers.

As FCm Travel Solutions director of sales David

Thomas said: “There is now greater connectivity to

the low-cost market, so it is easier to use with more

sophisticated approval and reporting platforms.”

Can video conferencing replace business

travel?

The briefest glance around any airport gives proof

enough that business travel is here to stay.

“The benefits of face-to-face interaction are

indispensable. However we are seeing our clients

apply a more rigorous approach to travel in

general,” said Air France-KLM head of business sales

in the UK Tom Reeves.

Most people in the industry agree that, when it

comes to rolling out new deals, nothing can replace

old fashioned, face-to-face meetings. It is human

instinct to want to shake the hand of someone you

are doing business with and look them in the eye.

“Recent independent research shows travel agents

feel strongly that they are in a ‘people business’ and

client relationships are very important,” said

Amadeus UK director of marketing Elaine Seeto.

“The social element is important to success. Remote

meetings hinder the opportunities to network.”

If TMCs want a reason to sell a business trip, they

need only mention how important it is to establish a

personal rapport, take the client for dinner, enjoy

banter and small talk – these things can not be

developed through video conferencing or

collaborative software.

“A colleague summed it up perfectly when she said

video conferencing is to face-to-face meetings what

Facebook friends are to real friends,” explained

Business Travel Show event director of David

Chapple.

Nick Easen

FROM:

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2008/10/16/2

9148/business-travel-the-rise-of-video-

conferencing.html

Videoconferencing and Business

This type of communicating allows people to work

from their home via satellite, which increases family

and/or personal time while reducing time spent

commuting. It is estimated that in 1999, between 8

million and 15 million of the 120 million U.S.

employees worked at home and communicated with

their offices and customers using a computer and

telephone lines. The number of telecommuters in

America is expected to double by 2005.

Today's business environment requires most

corporate employees to collaborate on a routine

basis. Videoconferencing allows for face-to-face

planned as well as impromptu meetings of workers

who are separated by several thousand miles.

Sales presentations are an example of a profitable

and easily justified business use of video-

conferencing. When conducting the sales

presentation at the customer's location, a sales

representative with videoconferencing equipment

on a laptop computer can connect the customer

with specialists back at the company's offices to

answer specific questions about the product being

demonstrated. This allows for greater specialization,

with the salesperson focusing on closing the sale

and the specialists focusing on the technical aspects

of the product. The salesperson is able to view the

customer's body language and ask the specialist for

clarification on customer objections or questions.

The customer feels a sense of security by being able

to see the individual instead of merely hearing a

voice.

Another business application of videoconferencing is

the ability to train people without actually traveling

to another location. Companies can provide more

frequent training to their employees in distant

locations for less cost.

The Northrop Grumman Corporation implemented

extensive teleconferencing for its 45,000 employees

by setting up a hundred Team Communications

Centers (TCCs) (teleconferencing rooms) at their

offices across the United States. The TCCs are

equipped with large digital whiteboards and

projector screens. Groups of employees or

managers from two or more locations collaborate

on, discuss, and edit documents as though they

were all in the same room, saving both time and

money. The corporation identified airfare savings in

1998 of $150,000. These savings did not include

hotels, meals, overtime, or incidentals.

FROM: http://www.answers.com/topic/videoconferencing

Tele-conferencing

What Is Teleconferencing?

The earliest form of teleconferencing was the

telephone conference call, in which several par ties

in various parts of the world could simultaneously

hold a conversation. Businesspeople could talk with

each other while sending and receiving faxes to

provide a hard copy of the information being

discussed. Today computer technology allows for

synchronous, or simultaneous, sharing of data

through four means: voice, video, digital

whiteboard, and data files.

Several parties are able to share not only voice but

also a live camera image of themselves while they

talk. The size of the image can be shrunk to occupy

only a small portion of the computer monitor or

large display screen so that a data file can be

accessed, displayed, and edited on the monitor at

the same time.

Individuals participating in the conference call have

the option of sharing and working with data files

from either party's computer. While verbally

discussing changes within the document and

observing each other's body language, either party

can edit the document and give immediate

feedback. The digital whiteboard provides an

electronic version of the dry erase board mounted

on the wall. While viewing each other's actions via

the computer monitor, individuals can also write on

each other's whiteboard with special markers in the

color of their choice. This allows professionals to

make decisions and solve problems on the spot.

FROM: http://www.answers.com/topic/videoconferencing

Business Teleconferencing - Benefits And

Examples

Business teleconferencing is essential especially

with all the demands of local and international

business.

The best way to make sure everyone within your

business is on the same page and knows what to

expect is to hold business teleconference calls on a

regular basis.

Teleconferencing also referred to as conference

calling, can be set up within just a few minutes.

Typically, if you use a credit card to activate your

account you can be using the service almost

immediately. Sixty to ninety minutes is the time

frame for other situations.

Business teleconferencing isn’t just for big business.

There are many smaller businesses that use this

service for keeping their management well

informed.

If your business makes use of teleconferencing on a

weekly or bi-weekly basis, upper management can

make sure that all of their offices or stores know

what is going on. No one will be in the dark about

new aspects of sales or procedures being changed

or added.

There are many retail stores that use

teleconferencing on a weekly basis to keep their

district manager in touch with store managers. This

way the district managers can relay to their store

managers what is expected of them in the upcoming

weeks.

The district managers are relaying what has been

communicated to them regarding the expectations

of the individual stores. More than likely their

information came from a teleconferencing call with

their bosses.

Another plus for business conference calls is that

everyone can talk and if something is not quite

understood the opportunity to clarify the issue and

maybe head off a major problem is addressed right

then.

The ability to share ideas with fellow workers is

another benefit.

If the old adage ‘two heads are better than one’ is

true, then several heads should be even better. The

advantages of being able to discuss the week’s

sales, price increases, tips for improving productivity

or sales are immeasurable.

A prime example of business conference calls is for

example when the CEO of the company wants to

convey his instructions for upcoming events. The

CEO would schedule a teleconferencing call with his

district managers.

This is one way of assuring that everyone is on the

same page when it comes to sales, special events,

and whether the stores are pulling their own weight.

In turn the district manager holds teleconferencing

calls with the store managers in their section.

During this call they can convey the wants and

wishes of the president or vice-president. Whether it

be resets and when to expect yours or a special

project the company is participating in you can be

well informed by having conference calls.

FROM:

http://www.allconferenceservices.com/business-

teleconferencing.html

NHS should use teleconferencing to cut emissions

More IT recommended in new report

Written by Andrew Charlesworth

vnunet.com, 30 May 2008

The NHS could cut its carbon emissions by greater

use of IT, according to a report by the Sustainable

Development Commission.

The report has been given a somewhat ironic twist

after yesterday's news that Fujitsu has been fired

from the NHS contract to computerise patient

records.

The report analyses the NHS's current emissions

total and recommends ways in which emissions

could be cut by 60 per cent by 2050.

One of these is the increased use of

teleconferencing to cut emissions caused by

patients, visitors and staff travelling, which amount

to an estimated 0.93m tonnes of carbon annually, or

18 per cent of total NHS missions.

To manage travel emissions the report recommends

that individual trusts develop travel plans.

"A well-founded travel plan reduces the carbon

footprint, pollution and congestion whilst

encouraging active travel and a healthier

population," the report said.

The NHS accounts for 2.7 per cent of total carbon

emissions in the UK

FROM: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2217918/nhs-

should-teleconferencing-cut

Web conferencing

Web Conferencing is used to conduct live

meetings or presentations over the Internet. The

web conference is typically integrated with an audio

conference. Each participant sits at their own

computer and is connected to other participants via

the Internet through an application which a 'host'

company, like BroadData, provides and charges for

its' use.

Using web conferencing minimizes communication

barriers and enables all meeting participants to

jointly view a specific presentation, collaborate on a

document or visit a web page together in real time.

With the addition of audio conferencing, web

conferencing enables co-workers or work groups to

sit together as though they were in the same room.

Web conferencing minimizes travel, enables joint

decision making and information sharing, thus

empowering workers to achieve a higher level of

productivity.

Web conferencing has applications for almost any

type of enterprise:

Professional services companies for client

meetings, customer briefings, task development,

project consultations, and project creation.

Financial corporations for group training, internal

meetings, customer briefings, and investment

workshops.

Education institutions for distance education,

project teams, class content and delivery, and

internal meetings.

High technology companies for sales

presentations, product demonstrations, customer

service, product training, and research and

development.

Healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations for

sales presentations, research and development,

product training, marketing and promotions.

FROM: http://www.broaddata.com/teleconferencing-

services.cfm

Web conferencing solution introduction

Imagine being able to hold meetings with people

around the world at a moment's notice without

having to leave your office. A web conferencing

solution provides a central online meeting place for

people to get together for meetings regardless of

location. With a simple click of the mouse, you can

present PowerPoint slides, run a software

demonstration, or even hold brainstorming sessions

using a whiteboard.

Businesses can use a web conferencing solution for

a variety of purposes:

Marketing meetings - product

announcements, brainstorming sessions

Sales presentations - demonstrations, new

product releases

Training and human resources - employee

orientation, customer training

Financial and investor relations -

shareholder meetings, briefs

Creative presentations - weddings, fashion

shows, live surgery

Probably the greatest downside to a web

conferencing solution is the lack of face-to-face

interaction and the relationship building it brings.

Collaborative applications like interactive polls and

Q&A sessions help bridge the gap, but the fact

remains that the interaction is all virtual.

On the other hand, a web conferencing solution

helps slash the hefty travel and time costs

associated with face-to-face meetings. Microsoft

icon Bill Gates recently remarked that web

conferencing stands to save his company over $40

million in travel costs alone in 2005. Although they

may not be as large, other budget-conscious

companies could certainly cut travel expenses using

web conferencing.

This BuyerZone.com Buyer's Guide will take a look

at the functionality of a web conferencing solution,

the services provided, costs, and how to purchase

and install web conferencing, so you can get your

company up and running in a flash.

Web meetings basics

To hold web meetings, you need three key items: a

computer with an Internet connection, a web

conferencing solution, and a phone line to hear the

presenter. That's it. While participants of web

meetings can get away with a dial-up Internet

connection, it's recommended that the presenter

have high-speed Internet access like DSL, T1, or

cable modem.

To set up web meetings, you simply use the web

conferencing software to reserve a "room" for a

specific date and time. The software then lets you

send invitations to attendees to join the conference

at the appointed hour. Web meetings can range in

size from 2 to 500 or more people. Generally,

meetings up to 125 people can be scheduled on

demand; advance notice is usually required if you

want more concurrent seats.

In the invitation, attendees receive a link to

download the requisite software, which takes only a

few minutes with a high-speed connection. The

invitation also includes a phone number to call into

the meeting for the audio portion and a unique

conference ID for the attendee claim their "seat" -

the access port open for the conference.

Other types of online web conferencing

As you add more features, online web conferencing

morphs into other types of conferencing. Here's a

quick rundown of the different flavors available:

A webinar is just like a web conference except that

the audio is streamed over the Internet instead of

carried on a separate phone line; it is used for

structured events like training sessions. Webcast

services include video to allow you to see the

speaker, but have with limited interactive options.

On the high end, web video conferencing

provides television-news like meetings, relying on

dedicated high-speed data connections and

hardware to support this high-quality interaction.

Web based conferencing features

Many web based conferencing solutions are rich in

applications that can make your meeting a dynamic,

interactive experience. Here is an overview of

commonly available features of web based

conferencing:

For the presenter:

Application sharing - Share any applications you

have on your computer desktop directly with your

participants. You can pass the controls over to a

conference attendee to run a part of the meeting,

make changes, and even group edit documents. As

the moderator, you can take back the controls from

a participant at any time with the click of a button.

While application sharing is a powerful feature, you

need to be very careful with it, as it gives the person

full access to your computer and your company's

network, bypassing your company's firewalls, which

can put your infrastructure at risk.

Slide presentations - Upload a PowerPoint

presentation and share slides at your pace. This

feature guarantees that no participant can skip

through the presentation ahead of you.

White boarding - Draw diagrams and write notes

live on screen to support brainstorming sessions.

Screen sharing - Show anything that appears on

your computer desktop such as a single chart or

diagram. You can even isolate part of your screen

with a cropping tool so that your audience can only

view what you want them to see.

Web touring - Display Web pages as you click your

way through them. This can be significantly easier

than verbal instructions such as "click on the third

link from the top in the left hand side" to guide a

person through a site.

File transfer - Send files to everyone at the

conference at one time.

For the audience:

Live chat - Attendees talk amongst themselves and

with the moderator through live person-to-person

chat or group discussion.

Q&A - Moderator takes questions from attendees

throughout broadcast but particularly at the end of

the meeting. Presenters have the option to reply

solely to the person asking the question or to

everyone in attendance. This interactive tool allows

participants to play a more integral part in the

conference.

Polling - Moderator gets instant feedback on

presentations by providing a set of questions with

multiple-choice answers. You can view the results

during the meeting and discuss the results, or

analyze the data afterwards.

Help request - Attendees can quietly alert you that

they don't understand something or need help with

an application without disrupting the flow of your

meeting.

Other web conferencing service features

There are other administrative, reporting, and

infrastructure functions that some web conferencing

service providers offer to enhance your meeting:

Web-based audio - Broadcasts the audio portion of

your conference via streaming audio, instead of a

separate conference call. This way, participants with

a PC sound card and speakers can listen without

additional audio conference calling charges. Usually

referred to as a webinar.

Web camera - By adding a webcam at the

presenter's location, attendees can see view the

presenter during the meeting. This can help them

associate a face with the voice guiding them

through the web conferencing service. Don't expect

too much, though - the video may have a few

seconds' delay and won't allow you to show much

more than your headshot and the background of

your work area. This is sometimes referred to as a

webcast.

Monitoring - Most web conferencing service

providers have a participant window for you to view

a roster of attendees as well as their web and audio

status. You can also monitor who is entering your

conference and bounce people you don't want at the

meeting - a competitor or someone that didn't pay

for access to a fee-based course, for example.

Backup systems: Redundancy, or "conference

continuation", allows the hosted web conferencing

solution to seamlessly move to a second server

should the first server fail unexpectedly. If the

moderator loses the connection to the conference,

the attendees are alerted to stand by while the

connection is fixed. All meeting materials are stored

so critical data is not lost.

While this addresses the potential downtime

associated with problems with the web conferencing

service provider, this does not cover the potential

downtime due to computer, network or Internet

connectivity problems experienced by the

participants. While most providers guarantee nearly

100% uptime for their programs, they have little

control over attendees' connections or hardware.

Security - Almost all web conferencing service

solutions include encryption to protect your

information. For some, Secure Socket Layers (SSL) -

high-level security technology that protects and

secures confidential data - is a critical security

measure for any web conference. Some companies

charge extra for it while others will bundle it as part

of a package. For others, security is less critical -

there's no need to pay extra to protect public

meetings or simple sales calls.

Recording - Online archiving allows you to replay

part or all of the actual meeting. Stored on the

meeting host's PC, it gives you a reliable point of

reference to consider potential improvements for

future conferences. Since it's proprietary

information, only the moderator determines who

gets access once the conference ends.

Reporting - Get conference activity such as full text

chat transcripts or data from survey and quiz

results. You can also find out when participants

logged in and out and receive customized reports of

how each attendee answered a particular question.

FROM: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-article-a-

40949-m-7-sc-30-web_conferencing_buyers_guide-i

Instant messaging

Business application

Instant messaging has proven to be similar to

personal computers, e-mail, and the World Wide

Web, in that its adoption for use as a business

communications medium was driven primarily by

individual employees using consumer software at

work, rather than by formal mandate or provisioning

by corporate information technology departments.

Tens of millions of the consumer IM accounts in use

are being used for business purposes by employees

of companies and other organizations.

In response to the demand for business-grade IM

and the need to ensure security and legal

compliance, a new type of instant messaging, called

"Enterprise Instant Messaging" ("EIM") was created

when Lotus Software launched IBM Lotus Sametime

in 1998. Microsoft followed suit shortly thereafter

with Microsoft Exchange Instant Messaging, later

created a new platform called Microsoft Office Live

Communications Server, and released Office

Communications Server 2007 in October 2007. Both

IBM Lotus and Microsoft have introduced federation

between their EIM systems and some of the public

IM networks so that employees may use a single

interface to both their internal EIM system and their

contacts on AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!. Current leading

EIM platforms include IBM Lotus Sametime,

Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Jabber

XCP. In addition, industry-focused EIM platforms as

Reuters Messaging and Bloomberg Messaging

provide enhanced IM capabilities to financial

services companies.

The adoption of IM across corporate networks

outside of the control of IT organizations creates

risks and liabilities for companies who do not

effectively manage and support IM use. Companies

implement specialized IM archiving and security

products and services to mitigate these risks and

provide safe, secure, productive instant messaging

capabilities to their employees.

FROM:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging#Busi

ness_application

10 tips for using instant messaging for

business

Microsoft Small Business Center

Monte Enbysk is a lead editor for

the Microsoft.com network and writes occasionally

about technology for small businesses.

By Monte Enbysk

Blame it on instant messaging. Here's the scene: A

couple dozen professionals at a New York

advertising agency quietly type away at computer

screens congregated near each other, in an open

room devoid of office walls and tall partitions.

Quietly is the key word here. An occasional laugh or

chuckle punctuates the silence. But no one is

talking. Why? They are communicating with one

another almost exclusively through instant

messaging (IM).

A technology designed initially for conducting one-

on-one personal chats has permeated the

workplace. Many business people are choosing text-

based IM over phone calls and e-mail — preferring

its immediacy and streamlined efficiency in getting

real-time information from partners, suppliers and

colleagues working remotely.

Instant messaging is essentially the text version

of a phone call. At businesses large and small, more

and more people are using it as a communications

tool. For many, it serves as a backstop for e-mail

problems.

Instant messaging benefits businesses that work in

teams or on projects more than it does many

retailers, independent professionals and others.

Why? Because IM enhances collaboration, but does

not lend itself to opening new relationships.

However, aside from the opportunities for time and

cost savings, there are risks and downsides to its

use.

Whether you're a business owner or an avid IM user,

or both, here are 10 instant messaging do's and

don'ts.

1. DO: Adopt a user policy for instant

messaging. If you're an owner, your employees

need to know whether you view instant messaging

as an appropriate vehicle to communicate with, say,

customers or business partners. Any

policy should contain at least general guidelines for

its use.

2. DON'T: Use instant messaging to

communicate confidential or sensitive

information. If your company is in the business of

providing professional advice regarding stocks,

finances, medicine or law, chances are it's not smart

to do so through instant messaging. IM is better

suited to quick information about project status,

meeting times, or a person's whereabouts.

3. DO: Organize your contact lists to separate

business contacts from family and friends.

Contact lists, also known as "buddy lists," contain

your menu of potential recipients for instant

messages. Keep your business contacts separate

from family and friends. Make sure your employees

do the same. Eliminate even the remote possibility

that a social contact could be included in a business

chat with a partner or customer — or vice versa.

4. DON'T: Allow excessive personal messaging

at work. Yes, you make personal phone calls at

work, send personal e-mails, and allow your

employees to do the same. But you encourage them

to keep it to a minimum and (hopefully) do the same

yourself. For instant messaging, go even further.

Urge that personal chats be done during breaks or

the lunch hour — or that the chats generate new

customers or revenue to the business.

5. DO: Be aware that instant messages can be

saved. You may think IM is great because

you can let your guard down, make bold statements,

chastise a boss, employee or co-worker, and have it

all wiped away from the record when you are done.

What you aren't realizing is that one of the parties to

your conversation can copy and paste the entire

chat onto a notepad or Word document. Some IM

services allow you to archive entire messages.

Bottom line: Be careful what you say, just as you

would in an e-mail.

6. DON'T: Compromise your company's

liability, or your own reputation. Statements

you make in IM about other people, your company

or other companies probably aren't going to land

you in court. But they could damage your reputation

or credibility, or your company's. Again, be careful

what you say.

7. DO: Be aware of virus infections and related

security risks. Most IM services allow you to

transfer files with your messages. Alexis D.

Gutzman, an author and e-business consultant,

says her research for a book found that IM file

attachments carrying viruses penetrate firewalls

more easily than e-mail attachments. "Instant

messages [carrying viruses] will run and dip into a

firewall until they find an opening," she says. If you

collaborate on documents for your business, file

transfer is important. You'd be wise to learn more

about the quality of your own firewall protection, to

decide whether or not to restrict transferring files

through IM.

8. DON'T: Share personal data or information through instant messaging. Even if you have the utmost trust in the person or people you are messaging, including personal information such as a password or credit card number, even a phone number you'd rather keep confidential, is not a good idea. That's because the text of your chat is relayed to a Web server en route to your contact. If an IM provider employee or even a hacker is on the connection and can see that traffic, they can see the personal information. A long shot, perhaps. But better to send such info through an encrypted e-mail, or not at all.

9. DO: Keep your instant messages simple,

and to the point, and know when to say

goodbye. How you should use instant messaging is

hard to stipulate.Some people prefer it simply for

seeing if a colleague is at his or her desk, available

for an in-person or telephone call. Gutzman, on the

other hand, sees IM as a way to do quick research

and get fast information from consultants and even

lawyers. She recently used IM in researching a book,

saving entire messages in her personal archives.

Both agree, however, that you must limit your

inquiry, get to the point right away, and avoid

unnecessary blather. "With instant messaging, you

don't need a lot of pleasantries," Gutzman says. "I

pretty much can say, 'How's it going?' and then get

on with my question."

10. DON'T: Confuse your contacts with a

misleading user name or status. IM user names,

like e-mail user names, should be consistent

throughout your company. And users should have

the courtesy to update their status throughout the

day, so contacts know whether they are available for

messages or offline.

FROM:

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/t

echnology/communications/10-tips-for-using-instant-

messaging-for-

business.aspx#tipsforusinginstantmessagingforbusi

ness