********The following article appeared in a sponsored supplement to Strategy.*******

Strategy meetings, sales briefings, and training sessions; these days it’s hard to conduct business without at least one of these penciled into your day timer. With the scope of most organizations moving from local to national and even international markets, conducting or attending any of these events can be a time consuming and costly proposition, especially when you take into account the cost of travel and accommodation, plus productive time lost en route. Therefore, many organizations with clients or branch operations in other cities are turning to telecommunications for solutions.

Conferencing services offer the ability to be in several places at one time and allows more people to participate in the decision making process. ‘It’s becoming a question of efficiency,’ says Charles Cormier, Regional Manager, Conferencing services, Bell Canada. ‘Is it more efficient to have one or many people invest their time and the company’s money to travel to the same site for a meeting, or is it more efficient to find a way to move the same information to them without moving the people? These days our customers are finding they can move ideas as efficiently as they do in face-to-face meetings, without the costs associated with business travel.’

Today, the alliance of Canada’s telephone companies’ conferencing services include AdvantageTM Teleconferencing service, AdvantageTM Videoconferencing service and AdvantageTM Desktop Conferencing service which enable everything from client briefings, idea generation sessions and press conferences, to distance education, remote diagnostics and seminars or lectures. These services link two or more telephones, stand-alone video equipment and computer terminals, so that multiple users communicate with others simultaneously. And they are a perfect example of how today’s telecommunications technology is used to enhance business communications.

‘When compared to the cost of travel and accommodation,’ Cormier says, ‘the benefits of using these services are obvious. It’s estimated that with air travel, meals and accommodation, it costs approximately $650 for someone to travel to Toronto from Montržal to attend a one hour meeting; not taking into account their cost of being away from the office. That’s a lot more than it costs to have that same meeting conducted via Teleconferencing, Videoconferencing or Desktop conferencing.’

A teleconference involves linking two or more telephones in different locations, so Cormier says the only costs are the telephone charges applicable at the time of the call. Advantage Videoconferencing service is charged at a rate of $60 per hour for each public room rental, and as low as $47 per hour for connection. Desktop Conferencing service can cost even less, based on user needs. And, a company that has its own Videoconferencing equipment pays only long distance charges.

‘So if you take the Videoconferencing service rate as an example, a one hour meeting in a telephone company’s public room would cost approximately $170, as opposed to $650,’ says Charles Cormier. ‘When you factor in the productivity losses associated with traveling to meetings, and that more than one person can attend the meeting, choosing Videoconferencing service as the most cost-effective approach, is just good business sense.’

AdvantageTM Teleconferencing Service

According to the telephone companies, Teleconferencing service is the simplest and most widely used conferencing service. Without subscription fees or special equipment, anyone who has access to a telephone can arrange an audio teleconference and be instantly in touch with colleagues, customers and suppliers. It immediately improves the effectiveness of communications.

Teleconferencing service can be established as either an operator-handled call, where a telephone company operator connects all participants before the meeting begins, or a customer-established call, where participants dial in to a reserved number at a pre-arranged time.

AdvantageTM Videoconferencing service

When it was introduced in 1972, establishing a videoconference was an elaborate process that required substantial capital investment. But today’s Videoconferencing service, inexpensively establishes a connection between two or more locations – locally or worldwide – with a single phone call to the telephone companies’ Videoconferencing service centre at 1-800-267-6570.

The Videoconferencing service reservation centres make all the necessary arrangements, including booking conferencing rooms in each city and arranging for the conferencing links. The alliance of Canada’s telephone companies will also assist with room ergonomics and the selection of terminal equipment if customers wish to establish permanent Videoconference facilities on their premises. Whether you choose a public room or your own, Videoconferencing ensures that conducting meetings at a distance is as easy and productive as if you were sitting across the table.

AdvantageTM Desktop Conferencing service

Advantage Desktop Conferencing service represents the new age available conferencing service. It allows for the connection and sharing of information between two or more remote computers while using a combination of voice, image, data, text and graphics communications. It’s a powerful communications tool that allows all participants to dial-up a conference as required via standard telephone lines, and without the need for conference rooms or reservations.

With the right computer communications software and equipment connected to the telephone companies’ digital network, anyone can conduct a Desktop conferencing with colleagues, clients or suppliers at any time.

‘The Conferencing service applications and uses are limitless,’ says Cym McMurray Sales Manager, AGT, ‘and the savings these services offer over moving people around, make conferencing an effective business tool that can save money and increase productivity.’