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Distance dollars: The cost of linking teams
What is the return on investment of uniting geographically dispersed teams? The value of faster decision making and more effective problem resolution can be many times the dollars spent on technology. If teams use communication and collaboration technologies effectively, these tools and the networks that support them can save companies millions of dollars.
When Parker Hannifin considered deploying videoconferencing, the company conducted no formal cost analysis, because "the pay out was so obvious," according to Parker Hannifin's California IS manager Bud Parer. "It was back of the envelope. There are going to be lots of airplane flights. With a couple of flights, we can pay for the systems."
A major cost for many companies is video transport charges. However, using part of a dedicated connection blurs the cost of transporting video. Parker Hannifin pays $2,400 per month for two T-1s that support a variety of data, including video.
While Caterpillar uses ISDN and pays for each minute of use, the company keeps transport costs in check by using
a modest 128K bit/sec as its default videoconferencing line speed. "Why do you need to do high-bandwidth calls if you can get sufficient business quality at 128 [K bit/sec]?" insists Gus Otto of Caterpillar. "You don't need 384 [K bit/sec]."
The Dow approach of deploying video, voice and data over a single global IP network could ultimately deliver the greatest return on investment. While Dow refuses to provide dollar figures on the infrastructure costs, the company believes that it is creating the ultimate team-uniting mechanism.
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Rosen speaks on distance leadership and broadband topics. He is chief strategist of Impact Video Communication in San Francisco and can be reached at erosen@impactvid.com.
No time for face time
Global Companies build IP-based videoconferencing networks to link project teams.
Poster child for distance leadership
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