Video conferencing. If you haven't heard the
words lately, just wait. Video conferencing is becoming the most
in-demand application of the new information age. This upsurge is
prompted by three factors:
- Globalisation and the need for "virtual" workgroups made up of
experts from many different locations require a technology that
allows people to meet face-to-face with high productivity on a
moment's notice. Only video conferencing meets this
demand.
- Changes in
video conferencing technology, particularly high definition and
what's being called video presence, are giving video conferences
the same sense of connection and collaboration as a live meeting.
In fact, they're better than live, because video conferencing
allows data sharing that is not possible in live meetings, plus the
recording of video conferences provides necessary records for
security and regulatory requirements. In addition, new video
conferencing technology has excellent security plus advanced
management and scheduling capabilities. Also, the cost of video
conferencing end points has decreased ten fold since 1998. Travel
costs have escalated.
- The IP (Internet Protocol) revolution has lead to "IP
everywhere" making the transmission of video conferences far less
expensive, much easier to use, more reliable and significantly more
scalable to meet a company's growing requirements.
The bottom line is that every company, big or small, must
evaluate video conferencing as a possible application. Here's a
checklist to help determine if video conferencing is right for your
company.
1. Would it enhance your productivity if workers at separate
locations could meet as workgroups?
Enhanced productivity and reduced time-to-market are the main
reasons companies give for installing video conferencing. Being
able to meet spontaneously face-to-face not only allows people at
different locations to get more done faster, it also improves
camaraderie, communication and employee morale.
2. Would you benefit from faster decisions?
Arriving at quick decisions based only on audio or e-mail
communications is often difficult. Many people don't communicate
well verbally or in writing. They always feel more comfortable
seeing each other face-to-face – judging expressions, body language
and millions of tiny non-verbal cues. The new video conferencing
technology has such excellent definition, picture and sound
quality, plus data-sharing capability that people feel like they've
gotten the whole story.
3. Does your whole company rely on the skill and contribution
of individual experts at disparate locations?
Rather than trying to replicate the expertise of certain
personnel at every company location, video conferencing allows
those experts to be
leveraged optimally. Meeting face-to-face on an as-needed basis
lets those experts share their knowledge in an enriched
communications environment and enhances the trust and enthusiasm of
those calling on that expertise.
4.Would you like to communicate with the whole company more
often?
Branch and satellite offices can easily feel disconnected from
headquarters and upper management due to lack of communications.
Video conferencing allows whole companies to come together often,
even spontaneously, to solve problems, share successes and
celebrate, increasing company identity.
5. Could your hiring process use some streamlining?
If your company hires people from multiple locations, video
conferencing can simplify the interview process. More and more
companies use video conferencing right through the final interview,
allowing top candidates to be processed and hired more quickly — as
well as impressing the candidate with the company's leading-edge
technology.
6. Could you attract or keep better employees if you could
reduce their time away from home?
While reducing travel costs is one of the first things a company
thinks of when considering video conferencing (and it is a
significant factor), the real cost of travel is better measured in
lost productivity from employees out of their offices and the high
cost in employee morale from personnel spending days and weeks away
from their homes and families. Video conferencing can significantly
reduce time away for even the most travel-intensive personnel.
7. Do your customers or suppliers have video
conferencing?
New video conferencing software is based on standards allowing
easy integration with other audio visual systems as well as
scheduling protocols. Integrating video conferencing with customers
and suppliers can not only improve communications, but also enhance
a sense of shared values, experiences and mutual dependence that
are good for business.
8. Do you have compliance and training requirements?
If you're in a field with stringent compliance requirements,
then video conferencing can help encode data necessary for the FDA,
Sarbanes-Oxley and others. Additionally, important training
materials can be made available to personnel both live through
video conferencing and later through video-on-demand.
9. Do you want to reduce travel costs?
Companies with big travel budgets can often justify the purchase
of video conferencing systems based on travel cost savings alone.
While productivity costs are the main impact of travel on
companies, eliminating a big percentage of airfare, hotels and per
diem expenses can directly impact the bottom line.
10. Do you want to be aligned with the next big step in
communications technology?
The growth of video conferencing is explosive, making the
technology more and more essential in inter-business as well as
intra-business communications. Companies have invested huge sums in
computer and networking technology and now are focused on getting
even better returns from that huge outlay with applications that
can bring real business benefits. Video conferencing is the next
"killer app."
While small businesses with only one location may not yet be
able to justify an investment in video conferencing unless customer
demands require it, most other companies should at least consider
the benefits to their bottom line. Even if your firm has evaluated
video conferencing in the past, the enormous changes in the
technology in just the last year more than justify reconsidering.
Companies around the world are quickly realising that video
conferencing is not just a less expensive communication method, it
is actually a better one -- a method destined to change the face of
business in the years to come.
About the Author
Larry Karagheusian serves as executive vice president for GBH
Communications. He has over 30 years of experience in a broad range
of high technology solutions from companies such as Intel, Texas
Instruments and WaveThree Software. He's served in the video
conferencing industry for the past 13 years. Karagheusian holds a
B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University,
Boston, Mass.