Expect our world to change more in one lifetime than it did in a millennium. The traditional view of technological change verses today’s accelerated change is like comparing gentle ocean waves caressing the shore and changing rocks to sand over time…to a Tsunami.

Like a Tsunami, the future business environment of the meeting and planning industry will change not in millennia, but in minutes. By every measure including speed, capacity and bandwidth, the power of IT is doubling every year. The progress of the whole 20th century will be matched in the next 14 years, then matched again in seven. Sound far fetched?

Not according to Raymond Kurzweil who received the National Medal of Technology, 12 honorary doctorates and awards from three U.S. Presidents. Bill Gates calls him “the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence.”

In his latest book The Singularity Is Near, Kurzweil says by the end of this decade, we will develop supercomputers with the ability to emulate human intelligence. How will this change the way you and your organization conducts business?

What does the future hold for virtual reality technology and what implications does it have? Virtual reality promises people the ability to have any experience they want…wherever they are. Could traditional meeting and conferences disappear and the travel industry evaporate due to this technological advance?

Virtual reality promises to create the same sensations, emotions and feelings as if you were actually there participating in the experience. Why risk drowning while white water rafting through the rapids or your parachute not opening in a freefall experience from 10,500 feet? Soon you will be able to experience the same sensations emotions and feelings and enjoy the safety of virtual reality.

Why will people want to leave the comforts of their homes, endure the inconveniences of travel, jet lag from time zone changes and separation from family, if they can duplicate the “meeting or conference experience” virtually? You may feel that, like the shopping experience, rather than buying online, the interactivity and social life will still be important. Virtual reality promises to add those missing ingredients.

Why will organizations want to continue the costs of meetings and events if an equally effective, less costly and easier alternative emerges? According to an analysis of the competing services by Publicare, an online marketing firm, companies can save as much as 95 percent by meeting colleagues and customers online instead of in person.

According to Nemertes Research, “90 percent of company employees work away from their company’s head-quarters. Because of globalization, mergers, acquisitions, telecommuting, outsourcing, and off-shoring, it has become nearly impossible to get all of the people who have the information needed to make a decision into the same room at the same time.” The trend away from national or international toward regional conferences has been driven by these same dynamics.

A recent article in Business Week said new “telepresence” technologies are taking capabilities a quantum leap forward right now. “The revolutionary systems that are just hitting the market create experiences so lifelike that par¬ticipants who are separated by thousands of miles can look and feel like they’re in the same room.”

Trends Magazine cites a recent survey by the National Business Travel Association where 68 percent of corporate business travel managers expect their companies to pay for more trips in 2007 than in 2006. The cost of the average business trip is expected to increase by 5 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, the cost of the new telepresence systems is likely to drop by 10 to 15 percent per year for the next decade.

Some meeting and conference proponents feel that despite the cost savings and convenience of virtual meetings, there is no substitute for the personal contact that can only happen when people actually meet. They feel that the ability to develop a sense of trust through a firm handshake, at dinner, on the golf course or over drinks can’t be overestimated.

As virtual reality continues to improve and allow participants to experience the same thoughts, feelings and emotions as if they were actually there, will real-world meetings continue to be worth the expense and inconvenience of travel?

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