Brockmann and Company | Customer Insights

Business users value alternatives to business trips

Study: Users cite greater business impacts from HD video conferencing by replacing same-day trips than intercontinental trips

May 13, 2008 -  Northborough MA - In the comprehensive study on the value of high definition (HD), telepresence, desktop and personal video conferencing products and services, Brockmann & Company reviewed the insights provided by nearly 300 business users of communications products and services. Findings were released in the new report, The Value of Video Communications, which is available at no cost for a limited time at http://www.brockmann.com.

This report takes a major step towards understanding the value of alternatives to business travel. These insights are important for policy makers, executives and users since reducing the carbon dioxide due to business travel is a compelling opportunity to reduce the effects of climate change.

Peter Brockmann, president of Brockmann & Company said, "All business trips are not the same. Users told us how much they'd rather pay to attend an HD video conference than participate in a same day business trip, an overnight trip or a week-long intercontinental business tip. Surprisingly, they would rather pay 2 x more per hour to avoid the shorter trips than the longer trips and as much as 6 x the actual cost of the same day business trip."

Brockmann added, “HD video is also more valuable than the readily available audio or web conference, since users reported that they'd be willing to pay at least $75 more to attend an HD video conference than either audio or web conferencing.”

The report also developed several insightful tools:

• A demand curve for substitutes of each of three classes of business trips. Most users were willing to spend up to half the actual cost of an intercontinental business trip to avoid the travel, but 6 x more than the actual cost to avoid the same day business trip.
• An appreciation for how the home entertainment environment influences business user expectations. The promotion and heightened awareness of the US broadcast change from analog TV to HD TV has spurned the production of low cost devices setting a high expectation for quality.
• Brand perceptions can be improved through inviting customers to participate in video conferences instead of audio conferences, more so for HD video conferencing sessions than telepresence or executive desktop sessions.
• A proposed method for determining a value-based business case. The report shows how the segmentation of target users’ business travel is used to reduce the arbitrariness of most initial investments.

This independent report is partly funded through the financial support of Nortel and LifeSize.

About Brockmann and Company

Brockmann and Company is a consulting and advisory firm serving high tech equipment & application vendors and service providers. Clients accelerate growth through customer research & thought leadership. Our motto: "In God we trust, all others bring data." Learn more at http://www.brockmann.com.

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