Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Sony

Impressive. If I had to use one word to describe Sony's Video Conferencing technology, that's the word I'd use. The technology has moved on significantly since I last looked at it, now representing a real alternative to stacking up those air miles or spending four hours driving up and down the M6 or the M1.

I have always been a big fan of 'pressing the flesh' and face to face meetings with customers, but always get frustrated with car travel in particular; it always feels like 'dead time' when I could be doing something else. My time is such a precious commodity these days.

The range of product is good, with integration across its breadth, allowing implementation across a group to accommodate up to eight screens in a Head Office boardroom, for example, and then midrange meeting room systems in satellite offices and right down to desktop systems for remote workers.

Sony has done its homework and come a long way in a few short years. The most impressive part for me though, as ever, is the people part. Sony get it. And the product specialists really know their stuff, inspiring confidence in the product range, but more importantly in the after-sales support.

I particularly liked the integration of computer based outputs; 'death by PowerPoint' is still a very real possibility, unfortunately. Sony's IP CCTV range can also be integrated in to the network too, which presents some good opportunities for corporate and the SME.

So what do you really want from Video Conferencing? Arrive in your meeting room, power it up, make the call(s), have your meeting and then leave. With the right configuration, Sony's kit makes this a reality; if you can use a phone and a PC, then this is a doddle.

Is Video Conferencing an alternative to 'pressing the flesh' and meeting new clients in their own environment? No. But as a viable proposition for internal meetings and those project meetings with existing clients, it's a no-brainer and very easy to justify a business case for it.