Virtual conferencing has the potential to save businesses and organisations 90 per cent of their away day and team meetings budget according to UK-based company Virtual iVent.

The company claimed one of its clients in the engineering sector slashed the bill of a single conference from £300,000 to £30,000. Meanwhile, global engineering consultancy firm WSP Group saved more than 50 per cent of its usual costs by running an international conference virtually.

Leeds based Virtual iVent says it is behind the launch of the UK and Europe’s first complete virtual conferencing and events package, with companies from multiple sectors, including engineering and the NHS adopting its product.

Gavin Newman, Virtual iVent’s virtual director, said: “Basically, we can offer everything a traditional conference or meeting has – and much more. Our virtual venues include rooms for speakers to make their presentations and where seminars can take place, as well as conference hall lobbies where delegates can chat. The potential savings that this kind of virtual conferencing can bring to a business are tremendous. We have found that people are more likely to get involved with the meeting, if they don’t have to actually stand up in a large hall, but can put their points forward in the virtual world.”

“There’s also the environmental issue – virtual conferencing dramatically cuts an organisation’s carbon footprint, something that is becoming increasingly important to public bodies and private sector companies looking to meet green targets.” Newman continued.

Virtual conferences are already making a major impact in the US with Fortune 500 companies looking to make savings by switching to virtual technology as experts argue that delegates seem to pay more attention to the virtual world.