Video Conferencing

Perhaps one of the biggest draws of video conferencing is the ability to conduct business meetings or lectures with people hundreds or even thousands of miles away. In a time where company spending is being curtailed, video conferencing offers an eco friendly and economically viable way to liaise with clients, where expensive flights, taxi's or other transport methods are not required.

Business can be carried out between different company offices throughout the world, negating the need to pay for hotels as well as travel and subsistence expenses. As well as between offices, video conferencing can be carried out between individuals, from the comfort of their own homes. This is ideal for those living in remote areas, without easy access to transport hubs and also for those who may have physical disabilities - for whom; conducting business in familiar surroundings can be more helpful.

As with a standard face-to-face meeting, video conferencing allows for visual interaction between individuals, who can interact simultaneously. It is widely thought that such interactions produce a more effective business meeting, as protagonists can see the body language of the other party and act accordingly, as well as feeling more comfortable in a 'real life' eye-to-eye situation.
Despite the innovative nature of the technology, you won't need a plethora of systems to facilitate video conferencing. Many dedicated companies will be able to set such systems up with ease, tailoring them to your business needs. Indeed, components for the system include standard technology such as a video camera or webcam; computer monitor, television or projector; microphones; loudspeakers and the internet or LAN.

Benefits of Video Conferencing

The benefits of video conferencing for a business are many. It can help you cut costs, save time, and stay on top of what your employees are doing.
One of the biggest reasons why businesses take up video conferencing is to increase the productivity of their employees. It helps employees to share their ideas with the management quickly and efficiently, air their opinions, stay on top of the latest developments in a project, and converse with multiple people at the same time to take quick decisions. The more productive and efficient your employees, the more your business will benefit.

Another major reason for taking up video conferencing is to save time. Traveling to and from conferences and meetings can take up a whole lot of time that could be put to better use. Even having to get up from a workstation to go to another room for a team meeting can upset the work rhythm of an employee. Thus, meeting online can save on time, as well as maintain productivity.
Video conferencing, of course, is much more cheaper too, especially if you have staff in different physical locations. The cost of bandwidth today is almost negligble and the physical devices required for conferencing online are readily available (microphone and webcam). Moreover, if you or your staff has to travel to a meeting, you will end up shelling money on transportation costs, hotel room, and food. By meeting online, you can cut all these expenses to none and have the same level of interraction as you can physically.

Also, remember that traveling to and from a meeting place will use by fuel. By meeting online, you can cut down on this expenditure and make your business a little bit more environment friendly.
Lastly, you can do video conferencing as many times as you want in a day. It can help to improve relations between employees. Getting to know your employees can help foster team spirit - a vital ingredient to a successful business.