Thanks to improvements in telepresence support technologies like WebRTC, VoIP and software solutions, video conferencing has become one of the most crucial productivity tools in today's global marketplace.
Even if companies have decided against video conferencing in the past, advancements in technology and an improved user experience warrant another look. Larry Karagheusian, executive vice president for GBH Communications, suggests that companies ask themselves nine questions to determine whether they should invest in video conferencing:
- Would creating workgroups that utilize employees in different locations improve your productivity?
- Would your business benefit from faster decision-making?
- Do you have experts within your business working at disparate locations?
- Do you want the C-suite to communicate with the whole company more often?
- Does your company want to support telecommuting as a way to retain high-quality workers?
- Do your customers and suppliers commonly use video conferencing?
- Could video conferencing support your compliance and training needs?
- Do you spend too much on travel?
- Does your company need to streamline hiring?
Older technology that required complicated setups and delivered unreliable performance has given way to a new generation of solutions. For example, setting up a room-sized conferencing system used to require expensive HVAC upgrades. Smaller and less expensive solutions didn't deliver an immersive, realistic experience.
Now, next-gen telepresence technology including HD video and audio, display scalability, touchscreens and motion sensors creates the sense of being in the same room. Collaboration tools allow participants to click through presentations, share documents, utilize virtual whiteboards and submit questions via chat.
CNN recently reported that worldwide global business travel spend in 2012 was over $1 trillion. Companies are traveling to the Asia-Pacific region more often than they travel to the U.S. and Europe, and longer distance means higher travel costs. In addition, longer distance means more time spent traveling, which means lost productivity and opportunity costs.
Video conferencing, including WebRTC solutions, can't replace all face-to-face meetings. They can supplement and even eliminate some travel requirements. Best of all, they promote a collaborative workplace, allowing companies to leverage talent from all over the globe.
Edited by
Alisen Downey
