| With no one certain just how bad the swine flu | | | | facilities at hotels, HP with Marriott, and Cisco with |
| outbreak is going to get, and folks increasingly | | | | Tata Group's Taj chain. |
| talking about a pandemic, the flu is landing some | | | | A March 2008 report from IDC called for the |
| blows on an already unsteady economy. Service | | | | telepresence market to grow from $170 million to |
| and travel industries are taking especially hard hits. | | | | $1.7 billion by 2012. ABI Research VP Stan Schatt |
| Pharmaceutical stocks, however, are rising right | | | | had a similarly optimistic outlook when IT Business |
| along with fear levels since their products could be | | | | Edge's Carl Weinschenk interviewed him in |
| used to fight the flu. | | | | January. Thanks to falling prices, middle managers |
| I wonder if the telepresence market won't see a | | | | and not just senior executives are using |
| similar boost. As I wrote back in October, | | | | telepresence, he said. ABI Research believes the |
| business executives seemed bullish on it due to its | | | | market will reach $2.5 billion by 2013. Even with |
| ability to help companies cut costly business travel. | | | | the tough economy, said Schatt, companies that |
| Companies are still in a travel-cutting mode, | | | | had earlier purchased telepresence gear are |
| evidenced by an announcement that crossed my | | | | making incremental investments. He said: |
| desk this morning, that the Independent Oracle | | | | You can buy individual systems and take |
| Users Group is offering virtual sessions for its | | | | advantage of the initial investments. It is one thing |
| annual users group conference next week in | | | | to pay $300,000 for a room, another to pay |
| Orlando. The combination of an iffy economy and | | | | between $5 and $10,000 to outfit middle manager |
| a possible pandemic may lead more companies to | | | | so they do not have to travel to Asia. It does |
| investigate telepresence. | | | | not take too many trips to recoup the cost. |
| They should, writes IT Business Edge blogger Rob | | | | Where we are seeing a decline is in the financial |
| Enderle. In a post yesterday, he encouraged | | | | sector. They certainly were early adopters of this |
| companies to refresh their business continuity | | | | technology and are not in shape to buy it in 2009. |
| plans, determining how they could shift large | | | | Other growth opportunities in the telepresence |
| chunks of their work forces to work-at-home | | | | sector include the consumer market and the kinds |
| schedules if necessary and canceling all non-critical | | | | of public systems offered by the likes of HP and |
| business travel. As part of the latter strategy, he | | | | Cisco at hotels. Another driver is the simplified |
| recommends using a Web conferencing or | | | | technology, that makes it possible for even |
| telepresence system if you have one, or looking | | | | technology-averse users to use systems without |
| into renting or sharing one if you don't. And make | | | | IT's intervention. Said Schatt: |
| it a priority in the next budget cycle, he writes, | | | | In many cases, there is just one button to set up |
| since there are almost sure to be future flu | | | | a call. It is handled automatically through a |
| outbreaks. | | | | concierge system. It is designed for senior |
| The video conferencing business benefited from | | | | management without patience or technology |
| earlier disasters, including the Sept. 11, 2001, | | | | backgrounds. People won't use equipment if it |
| terrorist attacks and the SARS scare, says | | | | requires IT to come in and set up and manage. |
| Polycom CEO Robert Hagerty in a Forbes article. | | | | They want it to be very simple. The choice today |
| The article mentions several options [ including | | | | basically is to have concierge services or a Web |
| high-end and expensive systems from Cisco and | | | | portal to schedule calls on something that looks |
| HP and less costly offerings from Polycom. Both | | | | like an Outlook calendar. |
| Cisco and HP have deals to offer telepresence | | | | |