Global workplace solutions provider Regus unveiled a public access video communication (VC) network in SA last week, in preparation for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
The company, headquartered in Luxembourg and Jersey, US, says it has 49 VC centres located in a network that covers all major cities and business nodes in SA (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Pretoria).
Joanne Bushell, Regus vice-president of Middle East and Africa, says the company's investment in expanded VC facilities is a response to growing global demand. “In SA, expansion is perfectly timed as the influx of World Cup soccer supporters is expected to cause congestion at airports and on roads, while sometimes steep increases are anticipated in airfare and accommodation costs.”
According to Bushell, many of Regus' multi-national clients and South African groups with offices across the country are already VC adopters. “In the run-up to the World Cup we expect an increase in enquiries from first-time users,” she adds. “Here in SA, pre-emptive planning ahead of possible World Cup disruptions is a major contributor to growing interest in the VC option.”
Bushell says estimates of the number of foreign visitors for June and July vary, but could approach 500 000. “Feedback from local corporate clients is that contingency planning for possible World Cup disruption has been under way for some time, and that video-conferencing is a key component of that planning.”
Bushell explains that for the 12 months to end December 2009, Regus logged a global average increase of 22% in VC bookings. “Businesses are looking for smart ways to reduce travel and the associated environmental impacts and costs without compromising business operations,” she adds.
According to the company, its VC facilities enable executives to engage in meetings with colleagues from several remote locations, all centrally orchestrated from a Regus office suite.
Communicating via video as opposed to travelling can be up to 75% cheaper, with negligible carbon emissions, Bushnell points out.
Furthermore, international research and advisory company Gartner predicts that the VC market will achieve compound annual growth of 17.8% between 2008 and 2013, rising from $3.8 billion to $8.6 billion.
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