Monday, November 3, 2008 Out in Front Web and video conferencing: Being there without being there By John W. DeWitt State and local governments, which have used video communications since the 1990s, now are rapidly expanding into web conferencing, videoconferencing, and telepresence technologies. For instance: • The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque, N.M., has used video conferencing since 2005 to interview and arraign inmates in another facility. • Arlington County, Va., which first piloted a videoconferencing system in 2002 for public safety and emergency response, now uses its video network across dozens of locations and local government agencies. • Iowa and Alaska have joined Arizona, Utah, South Carolina, Oregon and Louisiana as users of a web conferencing system. First adopted as a means to improve emergency response, video and other communications tools are being used today as a substitute for face-to-face meetings, saving on fuel and other travel costs, says Stu Gold, founder and executive director of the Carbon Free Meeting Coalition in Glen Rock, N.J. "There's a perfect storm of economic, environmental, and technology conditions that's driving adoption of [web and] video communications," Gold says. "Government agencies often start with sustainable government in mind but then discover other benefits -- reducing operational costs, providing additional readiness for emergency response, helping to improve interagency communications within and between state and local governments, providing access to experts regardless of location, and creating flexibility in terms of work/life balance."

Iowa web conferences cut travel, improve employee communication Iowa's web-based videoconferencing system As part of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's environmental initiatives, the state's department of administrative services is using web conferencing from Phoenix-based iLinc. "We wanted to get to more people during the benefits enrollment and change period, and were having a hard time getting benefits information to state employees spread out all over the place," says Ed Holland, administrative services risk and benefits manager. "Using web conferencing, we can get a lot more people signed up for seminars, and we're not spending money on travel and gas. It's proving to be a good deal not only for the department, but for getting the employees the information they need." The informational sessions remain available to employees who miss the web conferences. "If you don't participate in a live feed, you can access recorded sessions on our web site," Holland says. He recommends having a clear strategy and implementing web conferencing solutions step by step. "We've learned that you couldn't do it all at once," he says. However, now that the technology application has two years of success, the department has identified other human resources applications where it plans to use web conferencing.

Arizona embraces web-based video conferencing Arizona government is aggressively promoting a "culture of telework and telepresence, getting on the phone and online rather than getting into the car," says D.J. Harper, spokesperson for the state's CIO and Government Information Technology Agency (GITA). A 2007 GITA policy directed state employees to increase their use of web conferencing. Gov. Janet Napolitano backed the directive by telling state employees that unless they absolutely have to drive to a meeting, they should use virtual meeting tools instead. Arizona's Medicaid agency has moved 20 percent of its workforce to a virtual office environment. The commerce department also is enthusiastic about its adoption of web-based conferencing.

Iowa's web-based videoconferencing system Arizona is using relatively low-cost, web-based video and collaboration technology as it reduces the cost, time, and environmental effects of official travel in the geographically expansive state. In some cases, conferences are conducted using phone bridges with the web; in others, the web application handles both voice and video. "In the old days, the idea of videoconferencing was a dedicated room with expensive cameras and monitors and proprietary software," Harper says. "Today it's an online web service, meaning you can use inexpensive equipment and just pay a very low rate per conference." Moreover, he adds, video is not always needed, and when used, video doesn't have to approach broadcast quality; just as important are collaborative features that allow real-time sharing of documents and other information during the conference. "It's not very often that you need to read the wrinkles on somebody's face," Harper says. "More important is that you can you see the documents, look at the PowerPoint presentation, and take the users to the web page that you're demonstrating. It's actually an enhanced user experience in a lot of cases, because you can quickly and easily share documents without having to learn a lot of proprietary software." John W. DeWitt is a marketing consultant and business writer based in New Salem, Mass. He can be reached at john@jwdewitt.com or www.jwdewitt.com. • http://www.iowa.gov • http://www.az.gov • http://www.c02fmc.com • http://www.ilinc.com

©2009 iLinc Communications, Inc.

 

Built on a foundation of proven technology and an obsession with enabling customer success, iLinc provides world-class web and video conferencing solutions that reduce costs and increase revenues for individuals, small businesses, enterprise companies, and government organizations via webinars, events, training, collaboration, learning, and remote support. In addition, iLinc focuses on developing online meeting software and services that liberate people by enabling them to get more done, travel less, and achieve work-life balance while preserving the environment. All rights reserved. iLinc, iMeeting, iLinc for Learning, iLinc for Webinars, iLinc for Support, iLinc Enterprise Suite, iLinc Audio Conferencing are registered trademarks of trademarks of iLinc Communications, Inc. All other logos and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.