Introduction of Tax Incentives for Using Video Conferencing Equipment

A recent report published by the WWF has highlighted the growing popularity of video conferencing in some of the UK's biggest companies. The "Moving On" report is part of the WWF's 'One in Five Challenge', a programme designed to help businesses as well as the government to reduce business travel, which in turn will reduce costs and cut carbon emissions. Over 150 companies took part in the survey for the 'Moving on' report, all of which are among the UK's top 500; the overall aim being to establish whether business travel and meeting practices among the UK's leading companies had changed in the last two years.

Survey Findings

Nearly 50% of respondents said that their company had cut the total number of business flights it had taken in the past two years. Surprisingly, from those companies which had cut their flying, 85% do not intend to return to 'business as usual' levels. In fact, 63% of companies that responded now have a policy in place to reduce business flights, or are intending to implement one.

What's evident is that the UK's top companies are changing the way they meet and collaborate. The use of video conferencing has increased by 75% and is expected to keep growing. The adoption of video conferencing would be further enhanced if the government take on board the recommendations from the study. The most popular government initiative to encourage alternatives to business flying would be the 'nationwide provision of high-speed broadband' which was favoured by nearly 85% of respondents. Also, a key recommendation of the report would be the introduction of tax incentives for video conferencing equipment and its use.

The report also highlighted that the UK's leading businesses are now looking beyond the associated cost savings from reduced travel that conferencing technology provides and are actually increasing productivity.

Other than the reduction of costs from cutting travel, some other key findings from the study were:

Reductions in companies' carbon footprintMore flexibility for staff and improved work-life balanceThe ability of staff to continue working during disruption to travel networksThe new culture of working and collaborating - where staff question the need to travel

Ultimately, the research shows that in the last few years, whilst the UK has been in a recession, the majority of those companies who took part in this survey have reduced their business travel and increased their use of different conferencing technologies - such as audio, web and video conferencing.

Conferencing technology is becoming even more sophisticated and it's expected that there will be yet more changes to the way businesses communicate and collaborate. The growing popularity of unified communications and desktop video solutions will make video conferencing more accessible to a broader range of businesses - particularly small to medium sized enterprises (SME's), who still account for 99.9% of the UK's private business sector!

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Guide to Purchasing Videoconferencing Equipment

Purchasing equipment for business videoconferencing can be difficult if you don't know much about the technology. There are different types of equipment available and some may not be well suited to your needs. The following guide will serve as a primer to help you ease into the market and see what is out there.

Know Your Needs

You can't just go out and purchase the cheapest videoconferencing solutions you can find on the market.

You have to think hard about what your needs will be for this equipment. Some things to consider include:

? How often will you be using the equipment?
? What is the average size of the conferences you will typically be holding?
? What is the size of room that you may be hosting your conferences from?
? Do you need any special features or functionalities available for these conferences?

How often you will use your equipment will help you determine whether it is wise to purchase your own or just rent the equipment as needed. Many businesses start out with rentals and as their need for the technology increases they eventually make the investment to own their equipment. By this time they are familiar with the equipment types and know what works best for their needs.

There may be some other things you need to think about, but that information will be asked for by a professional when you are ready to rent or make a purchase.

Don't be Afraid to Shop Online

If you are purchasing your own videoconferencing equipment it may feel natural to shop around for the best prices online, but businesses in the market to rent often don't know to look online. You can rent conferencing solutions through the Internet and have it delivered to your office just as you would when purchasing equipment.

You can learn a lot about videoconferencing equipment, and find better rates when you shop around online before making a purchase or rental. Just make sure that you give time for the delivery if your conference is scheduled soon.

Ask Lots of Questions

You want to rent or purchase this type of equipment from a professional who knows all about this industry. You know that you are working with a pro when you can reach a real person by phone or email and have all of your questions answered. If they don't seem to know what you are talking about or you feel you know more than they do, then perhaps you aren't dealing with someone knowledgeable enough to help you.

If you are working with a company that really knows about their equipment, they should be able to help you make your final decision. They can help you determine what type of equipment is needed and maybe give some pointers on getting it all set up. Without this, it is just the blind leading the blind and you won't get the most out of your equipment.

Learn, Learn, Learn

Finally, learn about all the different types of videoconferencing equipment available today before making a purchase. You may narrow it down to a couple options then rent them both and test drive the equipment before you commit with a purchase. Just make sure that you get the equipment you need for the type of conferences you want to conduct.

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