business communications cribsheet
DESCRIPTION
Additional help with resources for AO1 Level 3 OCR NationalsTRANSCRIPT
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