Chinese government saves US$320,000 via video conferencing

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in China has deployed high-definition telepresence systems to speed up the development of its large-scale projects saving some US$320,000 in travel costs for 175 meetings in just four days.

MOST acquired Polycom’s comprehensive UC video solutions and RealPresence Platform to accelerate the management reform, evaluation and review of MOST’s 175 strategic research projects for 2011 to 2012.

MOSTI has set up 10 meeting rooms for experts and control rooms in Beijing and 25 video meeting rooms in 20 Chinese provinces.

The solution has enabled the ministry to complete the review process of its projects in four days, conducting 175 meetings over video, with an average of 44 sessions a day.

A number of emergency support solutions are also provided to enable a seamless transition and smooth delivery of the meeting sessions.

Prior to deploying the solution, the department personnel were required to travel to MOST’s headquarters in Beijing to participate in project application assessment. The process took weeks to months of downtime and significant travel costs.

In an official statement, MOST said the solution brought rapid cost savings and changes to the traditional methods of face-to-face review and assessment processes.

“We benefited from a large- scale video network connecting participants in over 20 provinces dispersed across the country, providing a reliable guarantee for 175 multi-media conferences,” MOST said.

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