Publications

High Tech: Low Carbon The role of technology in tackling climate change

Section 2: What the technology sector does for other sectors: enhance, enable, transform

C: Transforming technologies

Cisco: TelePresence video conferencing
Cisco TelePresence is a remote conferencing tool that makes a virtual meeting seem like a physical one, using state of the art technology with life-size images, high-definition video, and spatial audio. Users feel as if they are at the same table with remote participants, everyone communicates in real time, with no delay, catching every comment and every nuance of the conversation. The industry-leading high-definition video means that every expression and every gesture is now clearly visible, whether participants are meeting across town or across time zones. There are two different room systems for different applications: The Cisco TelePresence 3000 allows a meeting for 6 people per room, creating a “virtual table” for 12 participants in group meetings and small team interactions. The Cisco TelePresence 1000 has a unique design, allowing a small meeting for 2 per room or up to 4 at the virtual table, and is designed to be used in smaller spaces, such as executive offices, hotel lobbies, bank branches, retail stores, or doctors’ offices -- anywhere a one-on-one or small group conversation is needed.

Co-Op Travel Group, Future Travel: homeshoring
New technology is now enabling “homeshoring”* where agents work flexible hours from home through a virtual call centre. The Co-Op Travel Group’s Future Travel subsidiary is the largest virtual contact centre in the UK with 630 ABTA-certified home based staff. Besides a host of improvements in operating costs, quality of service and transparency, there are a number of positive side-effects including a reduction in energy requirements (because there are no central offices to heat and light), and staff travel is minimal. The “rebound” effects (see above under Teleworking) are also minimised because the majority of workers are already home-based, and now able to work productively, for instance whilst the children are at school.

View Co-Op Travel Group, Future Travel homeshoring case study more»  

HP: Virtual Collaboration System
Halo, HP’s Virtual Collaboration System (VCS), offers a compelling alternative to traditional work and collaboration methods. The HP Halo Collaboration Studio is a precisely designed broadcast solution that enables remote teams to communicate in real-time in a face to face environment. The Halo Collaboration Studio allows for interactivity between teams and enhances business connections while visually reinforcing the sense that meeting participants are in the same room. It reduces CO2 emissions by reducing the need to travel for team meetings.

Smart Services: changing agricultural practice
“Smart services” applications are an offshoot of satellite based remote sensing technology and have the potential to change agricultural practice for the better. They are based on a remote sensing application that monitors soils, assesses the fertiliser or water requirements according to its specific signature, and feeds this information live to a device in the tractor or sprayer that adjusts the flow of fertiliser or changes the irrigation plan accordingly.

Tandberg: video conferencing solution for Vodafone
Vodafone recently implemented a move to videoconferencing in an effort to reduce air travel, using Tandberg as its supplier of videoconferencing tools. Vodafone has 200 globally connected videoconferencing units, all multi-connected and most using Internet Protocol. To ensure employee engagement in this policy, Vodafone implemented internal controls on employee travel (for instance, employees need to seek approval for travel in advance and state why their objectives cannot be achieved through videoconferencing) and marketed the policy clearly to staff. This has cut travel dramatically – travel between sites with videoconferencing facilities fell by 100 trips per month per site in 2006, facility utilisation was 85% during business hours and 5520 tonnes of CO2 were saved as a result. There were also some interesting learning outcomes – multi-point facilities (videoconferencing suites where more than two units could participate simultaneously) proved essential and Vodafone gained a clearer understanding of when videoconferencing was an appropriate substitute for travel - and when it was not.

View Tandberg: videoconferencing solution for Vodafone case study (pdf 971.89 KB) more»  

Thales: nuVa collaboration solutions
NuVa is a collaboration desk that allows teams of colleagues split geographically to work together and hold multi-way project meetings, using standard broadband connections to the internet. Collaboration tools will only be used regularly if they provide real benefits, are easy to use, non intrusive and make the users feel comfortable – it is not enough to provide faithful audio and video representation of the remote collaborator, support tools are also needed. Therefore the nuVa collaborative desktop includes a number of tools such as a synchronised document set for teams to use during their sessions. Benefits include improved staff efficiency, and better time management, reduced travel and improved multi-site and off site working, and reduced carbon footprint.

View Thales: nuVa collaboration solutions case study (pdf 559.37 KB) more»  

* Source: Flexibility.co.uk - the online journal of flexible work