There’s no argument that the weak economy has negatively impacted many businesses. With cost savings on most executives’ minds, many look to efficiencies wherever possible. And that includes the communications technology space.

 

One area where IT is helping firms save money is with conferencing and collaboration tools, Greg Plum (News - Alert), director of business development for The Conference Group, a provider of Web, audio and video conferencing services, told TMCnet in an interview. Organizations are increasingly adopting conferencing services to save on travel costs and enhance their productivity, Plum said, who will be speaking about conferencing trends at an upcoming ITEXPO session in Miami next week.

 

“The slower economy has forced people to look at their latest needs of communication,” Plum said, who will join a panel of experts to discuss the future of the Web conferencing and collaboration marketing and emerging trends during a session called, “The Future of Web Conferencing and Collaboration” at 11 a.m. Jan. 20 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. “But one thing that has taken a back seat is the whole green motivation. While it is a nice benefit, what is driving conferencing is the cost savings.”

 

Plum, who will join representatives from Global IP Solutions, RHUB (News - Alert) Communications and Iotum on the panel, will talk about how businesses are becoming more accepting of non-traditional forms of communications, whether its Web conferencing or desktop video conferencing.

 

“Conferencing is now in the forefront of everybody’s minds,” Plum said. “It used to be the stepchild, but no more. Conferencing as a whole is getting a lot more interest than we in the past. The reason is that price points are extremely aggressive and the equipment is practically non-existent. All you need is a Web browser and a Web cam and you can have a video conference.”