Wachovia Corp. has installed Internet-based "telepresence" technology enabling executives at its Charlotte headquarters to hold videoconferences with counterparts in the Richmond, Va., offices of Wachovia Securities, Cisco Systems Inc. announced Monday.
Cisco, a San Jose Internet equipment maker, said that Wachovia plans to expand its use of teleconferencing to allow multisite meetings involving domestic and international employees.
Jim Kittridge, a senior information technology leader at Wachovia and its telepresence product manager, said in a Cisco press release that the "technology will substantially change the way Wachovia employees communicate and collaborate across large distances."
James P. Kittridge, a senior vice president at Wachovia and its telepresence product manager, said Wachovia expects savings on travel and improved productivity. "This gives us an opportunity to stay off airplanes," he said.
The systems have been in use for three weeks, and though Wachovia has no plans to buy more of the $300,000 set-ups, if the first 90 days meet the company's intial expectations, it could install them in locations such as New York, California, Texas, London, Hong Kong — places with extensive employee air travel, he said. "I can see this changing the way we conduct business," Mr. Kittridge said.
