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INNOVATION IN ACTION March, 2009
Sitting in Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight to a distant land and another business meeting, I can't help thinking about the vast expense it takes to expand airports, as well as the very real public concern over lost land, lost villages, increased traffic, increased noise, increased carbon output.
The fact that airports are still being created and expanded simply shows the lack of awareness of many companies - as well as the lack of awareness, foresight and understanding of innovation from many governments.
Sitting here in one of the worlds major airports ... the entire argument over airport expansion is all quite incredible to me. Why can't people see what's happening? Why can't people see beyond the end of their noses and understand how the world is developing? Stupid questions, let's face it. Rarely can they understand how the future is developing, hence the main reason the world is in a bit of a mess - and hence the main reason I'm employed ... and why airport expansion is still being discussed.
The fact is ... the world is changing, technology is changing, how people and businesses use technology is changing. The technology is here to allow people at the opposite sides of the world to seem as if they are sitting in the same room, to communicate, to share information, to increase globalisation, to enhance business. The technology is here. It is extremely effective ... and is about to become even better. This technology is called Telepresence. It is about to also become much less expensive.
Recent history shows that when a worthwhile technology becomes less expensive, it becomes more widespread. This is the technology that in a few years will largely negate the "predicted" rise in business travel.
And the great benefits of Telepresence? Because the "contact" and face to face communication is so real it effectively reduces the need for many, many business journeys to far off places in the world. And what will this achieve? For business, it achieves SIGNIFICANT cost savings, not only on the cost of flights, but also in hotels, etc. It means greater productivity from staff. This mounts up to being a lot of money. For outside of the business, it means SIGNIFICANT drops in carbon output, it means a far more healthy work-life balance of those who have to get up early in the morning to go to the airport and not return to their families for days. The technology is here to make this happen and yet still busy and stressed execs are jumping on planes, still there is limited exchange of information, still companies are using up valuable resources by allowing this to happen.
Of course, Telepresence won't negate ALL business flights as it won't negate ALL business meetings (my present one, for example) - but it will reduce business travel by a large amount.
And so, while some in the world are busy arguing about airport expansion, while some are wondering how they are going to pay for it, while some businesses are blissfully unaware of the developments taking place that can save them literally vast amounts of money, the rest of the world is moving far ahead, leaving those who want to dwell in the past ... in the past. The world is moving forward without them. It won't be long before the Telepresence technology filters along from the large companies to those less large. To be honest, it won't be long after that, that the business driven innovation reaches the home.
Innovation in action. There's a lot of it happening. And just like most other innovations, it's beneath the radar of those companies and organisations who have virtually no visibility of what's going on. And they expect to survive in a fast moving world?
Regards
JS
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