Where does it fit in?
There are many forms of communication, understanding where online meetings fits, within your enterprise's requirements will greatly assist during the rollout.
By understanding the various communication methods, and, where this one will sit, it is much easier to explain to people why you need it and how it will provide a benefit to them. So, what forms of communication do we have -
Face to Face - With visualisation the bulk of any form of communication (see here), face to face communication is the richest form of communication to use. All messages however don't carry the same value, so face to face is not necessary for all forms of communication.
Video (Telepresence, High def, or standard def). Nearly as good as being there, and depending on the requirements can be considerably cheaper then travel costs associated with face to face.
Online Meetings - No video, but being able to share materials at the same time, collaberate, and discuss using a voice conference.
Phone confernece - Missing the ability to share materials, and missing the viual clues of a video confernce or, face to face.
Email \ brouchure - One way communication, no collaberation, no visualisation.
The cost \ benfit model really stacks up for me for online meetings. None of the cost \ travel needed for face to face, but the ability to share and collaberate on materials, or, see exactly what is being discussed rather then to try and visualise it.
Understanding the fit is important. Dont use Online meetings for everything, they will replace some face to face, and some video meetings, and will add to voice conferences, but they do not replace these meetings all together.
