CC ECONOMICS Looking at the Cost and Value of Computer Conferencing
by Lisa Kimball

More and more business organizations are exploring applications of computer conferencing. One of the biggest issues facing these organizations is how to assess the real cost of this technology and how to evaluate its contribution to the bottom line.

This is a complex task. When compared to conference calls, express mail, other forms of teleconferencing, and face-to-face meetings, computer conferencing can be a good buy. For example, Bill Paul of Exxon estimates that he saved at least $50,000 in travel alone (in addition to benefiting from productivity increases) in the first year of the conference he runs internally. But are these comparisons fair? Although computer conferencing does perform some of the same functions as these other processes, it may also do other things beyond the scope of traditional technologies.

CC Economics is a major focus of the "Symposium" conferences which began last January on several systems. One of the participants, Gary Regensburg, suggests that the *process* of communication online may produce value above and beyond the *content* of the information itself. He defines information as "that which changes me," and thinks we should look at the intrinsic value of that changed state beyond the cost of obtaining it. "Looking at cost alone assumes nothing else has changed, an assumption I'm not so willing to make."

Stefanie Kott mentions a number of these "intrinsic" values, including "collaborative work that was never before possible in this way, communications without regard to time or location, and more that [would] offset the cost even if it were higher than doing business currently." Her view of conferencing is that it could be the vehicle which makes the incredible volume of available information meaningful to business. However, she warns that this can't happen until software is friendlier and some of the technical and legal issues facing the medium are solved.

"We are probably UNDERestimating the benefits to be derived from conferencing," says Art Bechhoefer, whose online investment service benefits from the FAST transmission of information via computer conferencing. He points out that information has a declining value relative to time. Therefore, the speed of this medium actually *increases* the value of the information it distributes.

In spite of these views, many businesses still seem reluctant to invest in computer conferencing technology. Joseph Zuckerman suggests that we may need to distinguish between COST and PRICE when analyzing the economics of the medium. "If enough potential customers are not willing to pay a high enough price to provide a sufficient profit margin to the supplier - there will be no enterprise - unless there is a subsidy from somewhere." Although the medium has been supported by subsidies to some extent up to now, systems can't survive in the long run without a solid customer base from the business community. This may be difficult until we find better ways to articulate the value of the "intrinsic" benefits described by those who are convinced that this technology is more than a fancy mail system.