Many companies today are now focused on tightening their budgets to combat the tough economy. One area they are looking to cut costs is travel expenses. Reducing travel not only saves companies money, but it also reduces carbon emissions.
Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said the introduction of new video conferencing applications and collaborative tools is allowing companies to reduce travel expenditures significantly, Travel Agent Central reported.
"Video conferencing, and in more recent years telepresencing, has become better, cheaper and ubiquitous, tremendously increasing its network value," Mitchell said.
Video conferencing is even beneficial to companies that continue to send workers on business trips. Certain Shell gas stations across Europe recently deployed business lounges connected to their facilities. These lounges feature video conferencing services, printers, fax machines and scanning devices so employees on the road can remain connected and in communication with their company and clients. The first lounge has already opened at a Shell station southwest of Paris, and numerous other lounges are expected to be launched in 2012.
"We know that many of our customers are working on the move and are excited to explore offering them accessible and innovative working options as part of our existing network,” said Istvan Kapitany, vice president, Shell Retail Europe.
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