Advancement in technology has brought significant changes in the world today. In every sphere of life, we encounter a myriad of changes that were nowhere to be seen a few years ago. From internet communication to global mobile phone usage, the world continues to experience technological innovations at an extraordinary rate. Consider a case of business meetings being held in this era of massive technology. Managers agree that holding meetings with widely spread participants can be a lifetime hassle. Such meetings have intertwined logistics that have to be fixed in order to realize your vision. From planning to moderation of events, face-to-face meetings pose serious challenges in organizations around the world. Initially, meeting participants were to fly from their various destinations and assemble in a central place for the meeting. Needless to say that this was costly and time consuming as compared to what is emerging as virtual meeting technology (Rafter, 2010).
What is the place of face-face meetings in an environment that focuses on improving every technology that is available to simplify life? It is probably one of the most awaited developments in the hospitality industry. Can you hold a meeting without physically gathering? Latest research indicates that the technology is already with us. With the coming of some computer programs like Microsoft NetMeeting, it is becoming possible and common to attend a meeting at the comfort of your office or at home (Rafter, 2010). This approach allows participants to share applications and documents remotely regardless of the location of other members as long as they are connected through some network. However, this has been met with some compatibility challenges where most of the programs used require common software for better communication. Corporate firewalls also make it hard to reach other people thus lowering its efficacy in replacing face-to-face meetings. With ever-advancing technology, face-face meetings are likely to be faced out especially in regions with high level of information technology that allows easy and effective interconnection.