|
Case Studies
State of Arizona
Relies on Web and Video Conferencing
to Cut Costs and Reduce CO2
Emissions
Demonstrating the
power of web and video conferencing
to bring greater efficiency to
government, the State of Arizona has
aggressively taken steps to cut
costs, enhance productivity and
reduce carbon emissions.
The results have been more than
impressive. Having invested $220,000
in the software over the first year
of implementation, the state
identified savings of $1.7 million
in the first half of 2008 and
reduced more than 761,000 pounds of
carbon dioxide emissions..
Governor
Napolitano Backs Web Conferencing
Initiative
Critical to the
success of this effort has been
active support and leadership from
the top levels of state government.
In fact, Governor Janet Napolitano
will soon lead the state's first
virtual cabinet meeting, employing
web-based video conferencing to
engage the rest of her cabinet
members from varying locations.
|
|
|
As the governor
has been quoted as saying, "I'm
proud to be the first state in the
union to lead a web-based video
conference initiative on a statewide
level."
Spurred by an executive order issued
by Governor Napolitano in 2003,
Arizona's Efficiency Review
Committee embarked on an initiative
to improve employee productivity,
reduce costs, and increase
efficiencies across all state
agencies.
Bringing together leaders of major
state agencies to implement energy-,
money- and time-saving measures, the
Governor's Office of Efficiency
Review ultimately endorsed web
conferencing as a means of meeting
the state's performance objectives.
Bringing together leaders of major
state agencies to implement energy-,
money- and time-saving measures, the
Governor's Office of Efficiency
Review ultimately endorsed web
conferencing as a means of meeting
the state's performance objectives.
Off the Interstate
and On the Internet
After an
exhaustive review of the options
available to government agencies,
the organization recommended iLinc
as its preferred provider for web
conferencing solutions.
Among the reasons cited for this
choice were:
-
demonstrated
savings and efficiencies
-
ease of use
-
the
sophistication of its technology
-
security
capabilities
-
the ability to
serve remote sites that lack
broadband connections
-
iLinc's offer
of four products for the price
of one which met all the
possible scenarios for use
across statewide agencies,
including:
-
Training
needs
-
Meetings
-
Webinars
-
Support
As of mid-2008, 14
of the state's agencies--including
the Government Information
Technology Agency, the Arizona
Department of Education and the
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment
System—have adopted iLinc's
solution. As the rapid uptake of the
technology suggests, the State of
Arizona sees a growing number of
applications for web
conferencing—stretching from virtual
meetings to online training.
Web Conferencing
Generates a Cascade of Compelling
Benefits for Arizona
Faced with
strained budgets and weakening
economies, government agencies of
all kinds are seeking alternatives
to the status quo. Drawing on
Arizona's experience, they will find
an array of benefits to be realized
through web conferencing:
-
Decreased Fuel, Maintenance and
Fleet Expenses. The
State of Arizona will remove
unwanted costs associated with
travel and fuel expenses as
state employees reduce drive
time. Considering that overall
costs for a state vehicle are
approximately 42 cents per mile,
travel reductions promise gas
and maintenance savings as well
as fleet management/reduction
savings. The Arizona Department
of Education, for instance,
saved $5,000 in travel and per
diem expenses for a single
training course, which was
offered online instead of
on-site. iLinc is the only
solution available on the market
that provides an embedded tool
inside its web conferencing tool
that allows organizations to
track actual cost savings
resulting from decreased travel.
-
Enhanced Productivity.
Web conferencing improves
productivity by reducing travel
time. Employees who travel to
meetings frequently will recoup
hundreds of hours in
productivity per year. One third
party study sponsored by the
Arizona Health Care Cost
Containment System identified
notable productivity and
employee satisfaction gains
across the department resulting
from its use of web
conferencing.
-
Increased Environmental
Benefits. Reduced
travel will result in a
reduction in vehicle emissions
and CO2. Indeed, iLinc's
patent-pending Green Meter™
offers the ability to measure
CO2 savings by the pound based
on distance from one IP address
to another IP address. That's
what enabled the state to
determine that it had reduced
761,000 pounds of carbon
emissions in just six months.
-
Increased Statewide
Collaboration. A
unified approach to web
conferencing will allow the
state to achieve increased
communication and
interoperability between state
agencies. This is especially
important in the event of an
emergency.
-
Reduced Overhead Expenditures.
The Web Conferencing Initiative
supports state agency programs
like "Virtual Office." The
number of employees able to work
from home by using a web
conferencing tool will save
state agencies the overhead
expenses associated with
maintaining an office space for
employees.
Chris Cummiskey,
Chief Information Officer for the
State of Arizona and Director of the
Government Information Technology
Agency, actively participated in the
decision to promote web conferencing
as a state-wide initiative. As he
puts it, "Web conferencing has the
potential to significantly improve
state employee productivity, reduce
carbon emissions, avoid
transportation costs, and increase
collaboration between state and
local officials in disparate parts
of the state."
If you’ve created a way of working with LearnLinc that you’d like to share with your peers as a best practice, drop us a note at support@parsecinfo.nl and describe your method and how it’s helped you improve your LearnLinc experience. We’ll publish your ideas in a future newsletter.
|
