In the Lab's upcoming publication Telepresence, Effective Visual Collaboration, and the Future of Global Business at the Speed of Light (Due out next week... cross your fingers... see below), I made the case that one of the factors that will accelerate adoption of telepresence is higher costs for physical travel brought about by the continued rise in the price of oil/jet fuel. There were a number of stories this week that confimed that the costs of physical travel are indeed skyrocketing.

1. Record Oil Prices - Light sweet crude for August delivery hits a record high of $75.40 per barrel yesterday. Article Here.

2. Significantly Higher Oil Prices in the Near Future? - Investor Jim Rodgers predicted to Reuters that the price per barrel "will be much more than $100 before the bull market is over". "We're going to have high oil prices for a very long time. The surprise is going to be how high it goes," Rogers said. Article Here.

3. European Union Hits Travelers with Steep Tax on Jet Fuel - Here are some excerpts from an article on a new tax on jet fuel that will be levied on passengers in Europe:

If the rising fuel prices were not enough, the air travelers in Europe would now have to pay for the environmental impact of their journeys.

The European Parliament has now approved plans for the "immediate introduction" of a tax on jet fuel for flights within the 25 member states of the EU.

This tax alone would be bad enough to double the cost of millions of budget airline flights in the region. And air travelers would be charged up to £40 (~$73 USD) extra for a return ticket within Europe.

4. France Imposes Additional New Airfare Taxes As Well - France has imposed a tax of between 70p (~$1.45USD) and £27 (~$50USD) depending on destination with the proceeds going to an international fund for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. French President Jacques Chirac is championing spreading the tax in other European countries. Article Here.

5. Domestic Carriers Lead by Southwest Airlines Raise Airfares - Yesterday Southwest Airlines raised fares by up to $20 per roundtrip flight to cover the cost of rising jet fuel prices. The higher fares were matched by American, Northwest, Delta, United, and US Air among others. Article Here.

6. Higher Hotel Room Rates as Well - PricewaterhouseCoopers' hospitality and leisure practice has forecasted the largest rise in hotel rates in 24 years with average room rates rising 5.6% with top resort destinations rising as high as 15%. PwC Press Release Here and article Here.

7. Cab Fares, Car Service, and Rental Car Gas is Going Up Also - Many taxi cab and car services are raising rates as well. One article on taxi company fare increases and fuel surcharges can be found Here. Obviously higher fuel costs also increase the costs of fuelling rental cars as well.

In the Lab's upcoming paper on Telepresence and Effective Visual Collaboration, I outline a number of scenerios where fuel prices could head even higher and discuss what impact rising fuel prices have on the airline industry. Given the skyrocketing cost of physical travel, the potential for oil prices to soar even higher, and the other attendent advantages of telepresence (increased productivity, quality-of-life, time-to-market advantage, disaster recovery, etc.) I predict a dramatic acceleration in the adoption of telepresence solutions in the coming years.

The Corporate Collaboration Strategy Decision of the 21st Century

In a rapidly globalizing world do we build our strategy for effectively collaborating with our world-wide partners, vendors, and customers around:

A. Physical Travel - Skyrocketing costs, worsening quality/convenience, and pain (being away from the family/lower back)
B. Telepresence - Falling costs, dramatically improving quality/end-user acceptance, and improved quality-of-life.

I am betting on telepresence...

Update on the Publication of Telepresence, Effective Visual Collaboration, and the Future of Global Business at the Speed of Light

The Lab's landmark paper on Telepresence is completed, the press release has been written, the updated website is ready...however.. the Lab's graphic designer suffered a hard drive failure yesterday and we are working to recover the final draft as laid out for publication. If we are able to recover the files today then we expect publication next week. If we are not able to recover the files then we will need to replicate the graphical design which could push publication to the following week. Our apologies for any inconvenience.