Web Meetings: Freedom to Expand Abroad
If you’re already a Mikogo user, or even if you’re just a first time visitor to our blog, you’re no doubt aware of all the talk these days about virtual web meetings. But are you truly maximizing the benefits of desktop sharing technology to the greatest degree? Are you one of the Mikogo users who when asked about Mikogo reply with “We just wish we had located the service sooner” (Sean Rowen, EZregister)?
You have no doubt that online meetings save travel time – so why am I about to tell you that meeting software can actually increase the likelihood of business trips? Do you think you can get the best of both worlds from web meetings?
Web Meetings can Enhance Travel Possibilities
When people discuss web meetings a few facts are commonly mentioned: the increasing ease and availability of web conferencing, the reduction in lost worker hours, increased conference participation, and most importantly, how meeting on the Web can substantially cut a company’s expenses. But one advantage is often over-looked: extra time to move abroad and connect with colleagues and clients in other states/countries.
But wait, aren’t web meetings supposed to free us from travel? Of course that is one option and one way to see it, but it is a fact of the modern economy that most of today’s major companies are multinational, with branches in many countries on several continents. The relative ease of air travel and border crossing means that more owners travel to their overseas locations more frequently, and more local contacts expect regular visits. However, scheduling can quickly become a problem when personnel are required in various locations in a short amount of time. Furthermore, scheduling is a massive problem is one person is expected to be in two places at the same time. Unfortunately, all-too-often essential home-base operations can end up neglected, or some meetings are sacrificed.
Web Meetings Are the Answer
Meeting on the web is easier, less expensive, and more accessible than ever, meaning that owners and employees are no longer tied down to the home office. If particularly skilled technicians are needed overseas this week, they can still attend their usual staff meetings via the Web. If an owner is needed on-site during a critical event in Singapore, they can still maintain close contact with the central office in San Francisco with regular web conferences, ensuring that vital projects continue to move forward. Killing two birds with one stone comes to mind in these scenarios.
Many leading companies are beginning to realize that web meetings are the answer not only to reducing unnecessary travel, but also to solving these common scheduling difficulties. Surprisingly, businesses that regularly use web meetings to maintain connections with home-or abroad offices can actually increase their personal contact with customers. In the end, isn’t that what business is all about?
Are you using Mikogo to travel abroad while still attending web meetings back in your home office? Or are you more likely to stay in the office and use meeting software to attend overseas meetings?
