the real roi of telepresence

Copyright© 2012 by KVH Co. LTD

All Rights Reserved. Not to be copied or reproduced without express permission of KVH Co LTD

of 5

The Real ROI of Telepresence The key benefits of telepresence systems and how they generate valuable results for businesses

WHITE PAPER: KVH Telepresence Services

Table of Contents

2 Introduction

2 Boost Employee Productivity

3 Increase Retention Rates

3 Decrease Carbon Footprint

4 Streamline Cross-Cultural Communication

4 Cut Travel Costs

5 About KVH

An Introduction to Telepresence

Copyright© 2011 by KVH Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved

of 5

Introduction

The high quality and effectiveness of telepresence

solutions are often overshadowed by their similarly

high cost. Though some benefits cannot be

denied, it can become difficult to put a dollar

figure on the sales gained from a HD video

conference or the churn saved from a last-minute,

dropout-free meeting with international

participants made possible by teleconferencing.

Below is a breakdown of the main benefits of

telepresence systems, and how they lead to

conducting more effective, efficient, eco-friendly

and economical business.

Boost Employee Productivity

Telepresence solutions allow teams to work

faster and smoother to increase overall

productivity by:

à Reducing time spent commuting, in transit,

and out of the office - They transform regular

interstate meetings into effective

telepresence calls that can be managed

from the convenience of your office

à Shortening decision times with real-time

communication - When in the middle of a

meeting and requiring advice from a third

party, instead of waiting until the next

meeting to include them in the discussion,

imagine dialing them in via telepresence to

have that expertise exactly when you need it

à Enabling meetings at short notice or when

physical travel is costly or untimely

à Increasing alertness and participation in

meetings, which often lack in quality phone or

videoconferences since poor video and

audio quality can make meetings feel lengthy

and tire participants

à Improving relationships and team spirit

among groups by allowing them to

communicate more effectively and on a

regular basis

à Streamlining internal reporting and

information sharing processes

à Allowing communication between

employees, customers, and business partners

at any time and anywhere, despite their

counterparts’ videoconferencing system and

whether they use a PC or MAC computer1

A recent survey of C-level executives by Frost

& Sullivan showed that at nearly one-quarter

of organizations, more than 50 percent of all

employees regularly work outside the office.

This exemplifies the strong and growing

1 Depending on the interoperability of the telepresence

solution



of 5

demand for more flexible and reliable forms

of communication and collaboration tools to

support evolving work environments. By

implementing tools that enable employees to

capitalize on opportunities while away from

their desks, companies will maximize the

efficiency and productivity of their employees

with minimal staff and executive downtime.

Increase Retention Rates

With the growing consumerization of IT and an

increasing need for companies to

accommodate for part-time and remotely

located employees, being able to work and

actively participate in meetings from any

location at any time is highly valued.

Furthermore, employees are now choosing

“flexibility” as one of their key priorities in the

workplace, with a recent survey from the

Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)

showing that flexible work options boost

retention rates for 78% of companies.

As telepresence solutions have proven to help

companies increase retention rates by

supporting and encouraging more flexible

workplaces, such companies significantly

save on the external recruiting fees, extra

training, staff downtime, internal HR hours,

and other staff resources that are demanded

when replacing a staff member. When

replacing management and executive staff,

these costs dramatically increase and can

have longer lasting negative effects on the

overall company environment, work culture,

and staff morale.

Decrease Carbon Footprint

By decreasing the amount of travel required

to attend meetings and complete

out-of-office tasks, businesses can drastically

reduce their carbon emissions with

teleconferencing. According to the Carbon

Disclosure Project (2011), US and UK

businesses with over $1bn in revenues can

slash their CO2 emissions by almost 5.5million

metric tones by substituting a fraction of their

business travel with telepresence. This could

lead to total economy-wide financial benefits

of almost $19bn over ten years.

Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant

incident of March 11, 2011, Japan has also

needed to reassess its carbon emissions and

how they can safely and economically

manage their carbon and energy levels, while

also considering the recent 20% increase in

electricity costs for businesses.

Under these growing pressures, an effective

and productive way businesses in Japan and

across the world could be reducing their

carbon and environmental footprint is by

adopting technologies like telepresence that

minimize the need for travel, and thus

significantly decrease the company’s impact



of 5

on the environment.

Streamline Cross-Cultural Communication

Companies conducting business across

various markets face a variety of cultural

challenges that extend beyond language

differences. In addition, even among people

who may speak a non-native language at a

very high level, there are many phrases and

seemingly off-hand comments that often hold

starkly different meanings and nuances

depending on the situation, environment,

and person. With psychologists believing that

approximately 80% of communication is

non-verbal, it is often what is “not said” that

allows people to communicate effectively.

Consequently, people’s mannerisms, facial

expressions, and movements are commonly

what ensure a smooth flow of communication

among people of different cultural

backgrounds.

As telepresence solutions enable

businesspeople to effectively imitate

in-person meetings, they can work from the

comfort of their own office while still reaching

a thorough and deep understanding of a

conversation with people in a different

location. Particularly in countries where

face-to-face meetings hold a strong cultural

value, such as Singapore, Japan, and China,

these high-quality life-like solutions provide a

cost-effective and environmentally friendly

option for maintaining sustainable business

relationships internationally.

Cut Travel Costs

Knowing the most obvious ROI of

telepresence is the significant reduction of

travel. Consider this:

à In 2011, Tokyo was the most expensive

Asia-Pacific business travel destination and

the third-most expensive non-U.S. business

travel city in the world according to the BTN

2012 Corporate Travel Index. Cost for a hotel

room, three meals, and miscellaneous

expenses averaged at US$542 (¥41,666), 5.3%

higher than 2010

à Hotel costs in Singapore soared by 76% in

2011 in comparison to the year before to a

nightly average of US$250, while daily hotel

rates in Seoul, Korea rose by nearly 47% to

US$229. These costs are expected to continue

increasing

à $246bn is spent annually on business travel

in the US, $100bn just for meetings and events

à Average international flights one-way from

Northern America were $1970 in 2011

à Cost of travel is expected to continue

increasing globally, particularly in Asia and

Latin America



of 5

à Average one-way commuting times of

employees is 21 minutes in the US, 28 minutes

in Japan, and 57 minutes in Korea

à Businesses that leverage telepresence

solutions can cut costs and downtime by

converting commuting hours into time spent

working

About KVH

KVH was established in Tokyo in 1999 by Fidelity Investments as a Japan focused IT / communications

service provider. As an information delivery platform that allows enterprise customers to store, process,

protect and deliver their vital business information, KVH offers integrated cloud and network solutions that

include infrastructure-as-a-service, managed services, data center services, professional services, data

networking, internet access, and voice services. KVH operates the lowest latency network in Japan, and

with over 450 financial services customers, is the leading provider of ultra low-latency network and

proximity hosting solutions to the high-frequency trading community in Tokyo and Osaka. KVH also offers

low-latency connectivity services between major financial markets in the Asia/Pacific region and the US

including Tokyo, Chicago, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Sydney.

More information on KVH can be found at www.kvh.co.jp/en/

the real roi of telepresence

Technology