By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY

Why waste time at the airport and rack up travel expenses when you can hold that business meeting over the Internet?

Many companies began asking that question after 9/11, when traveling to meet in person became more of a hassle and — for many — pretty scary. Suddenly, a Web meeting became more than a curiosity.

Three years after the terror attacks gave a huge boost to its use, many of the companies that provide equipment and service for remote conferencing are thriving. Industry giant WebEx, for example, which went public four years ago, expects revenue of nearly $250 million this year. With 10,000 customers, it controls more than two-thirds of the Web conferencing market.

But experts say the degree to which remote conferencing has stolen business from the financially struggling airlines is unclear. While remote conferencing has certainly displaced some business travel, signs indicate that growth in the conferencing industry is the result of increased familiarity and comfort with the technology. In many cases, it's being used as just another electronic tool, not necessarily a substitute for travel.

It's tough to quantify how much travel has been replaced by conferencing since Sept. 11. But travel expert Kevin Mitchell says it has replaced more trips than he had expected.

"What 9/11 really did was force senior executives to try this stuff," says Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporate travel departments. "Many of them had never really experienced it. They tried it. It worked."

The 9/11 attacks gave a huge, immediate boost to remote conferencing, but events since then also have promoted remote business meetings as a substitute for travel. Among them: tightening airport security, the SARS outbreak, war with Iraq and an economic downturn that demanded trimmer travel budgets. Meanwhile, technology for remote conferencing has improved, prices have fallen and user comfort has increased.

Despite its growth, remote conferencing over the last three years has fallen short of expectations, says industry analyst Elliot Gold. He says 9/11 gave it only a temporary, disappointing boost.

"From Sept. 15 to Dec. 15, 2001, we saw tremendous growth, people using teleconferencing as a substantial substitute for travel," says Gold, president of TeleSpan Publishing. "When they got back to work on Jan. 1, they kissed their spouses goodbye, and headed for the nearest airport."

Still, the industry shows healthy revenue growth. This year, it's expected to generate $3.7 billion in revenue, 32% more than 2000 revenue of $2.8 billion, Gold says. Teleconferencing represents two-thirds of the total, with the rest shared by Web and video, he says.

Nobody disputes that in-person meetings are still crucial. Many say that virtual meetings make it hard to build personal relationships, let alone gauge audience interest in a presentation.

Sammy Tawil, a marble and granite salesman, tried conferencing for two months after the attacks. He's now traveling more than ever, with impressive results.
"Nothing can replace the impact made when seeing clients face to face," says Tawil of Port Reading, N.J.

Not so for software consultant Margaret Briggerman of San Diego. She says she started phone and Web meetings after 9/11, initially due to travel fears and a budget crunch. Now it's part of her daily routine. Clients regularly schedule virtual meetings, and her company uses it for training.

"Taking off a week or three days to attend a meeting is no longer acceptable," she says.
Conferencing has proved particularly useful to global companies eager to cut travel costs and increase productivity.

Amer Sports in Helsinki, Finland, parent of Wilson Sporting Goods in Chicago, greatly expanded conferencing after Sept. 11, says Karen Walerow of Amer Sports' Chicago office. WebEx conferencing, for instance, lets people in Chicago, Finland, Australia, Canada and Japan work on Web site redesigns together, she says.

Providers of remote conferencing services are seeing sessions become shorter and more frequent. That, they say, shows the practice is becoming just another daily business tool, and not only a substitute for business travel.

At conferencing service provider InterCall, people are making twice as many conference calls today than before 9/11, executive Ray Britt says.

"People aren't hesitating," he says. Instead of scheduling calls far in advance, they arrange them 10 minutes ahead by sending colleagues e-mails with the number to call.

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