Videoconferencing Saves Businesses Money
Videoconferencing is one of the hottest technologies to come out of the last twenty years of technological growth. If you are unfamiliar with the world of videoconferencing, it is essentially a tool, and an interactive one at that, that uses computing technologies, audio, video, and communications devices to help people collaborate as if they were in the same room with each other, instead of in different locations within a city, different states, different countries, or even different time zones. They can, through this technology, talk to each other in real time while offering all sorts of information, including documentation, data, sounds, and pictures that they have collected. Videoconferencing is a great way to break down barriers.
During the process of videoconferencing, each participant within the conference has a specific set of equipment. A video camera or a web cam, some type of microphone, and speakers, as well as a desktop or a laptop computer makes up the basic hardware needed for a videoconference. There are, though, many wonderful videoconferencing systems available from various companies that allow for a bit more freedom through the videoconference.
Videoconferencing, as a technology, isn’t necessarily a new invention. Videoconferencing, on some level, was available when the first televisions sets were created. Two closed circuit television sets could be connected via a cable, and one participant could see and talk to another. The technology did begin to grow and change, but for many years, it was far too expensive to be useful to very many people. Moreover, the quality of the original videoconferencing systems was so poor, that few people wanted to invest in such horrible technology, as it didn’t really have any serious practical applications at the time. In the nineteen eighties, telephone companies attempted a revolution in the videoconferencing industry, but it, again, failed, because the phone lines were far too poor to transmit high quality video images that people wanted to see using videoconferencing equipment.
However, as networks and technologies like ISDN became more and more popular, the videoconferencing industry revolutionized itself again. Over the course of the last ten years, more and more office facilities have begun to install videoconferencing equipment as a part of their standard office equipment. There are many reasons for this change. First, the videoconferencing equipment has gotten much, much better since the early days. Most networks that are designed to handle videoconferencing can transmit up to three frames of video every second; making it actually feel like you are in the same room with the party you are attempting to speak with. This can mean some serious savings for big businesses.
At one time, businesses had to spend thousands of dollars every year on travel budgets for employees. People needed to attend conferences to network with colleagues. People needed to see clients in different states or countries. People needed to talk with specialists in their industrial areas. While these things are all still needs of people, business has found a way to overcome the serious expenses associated with travel for those reasons.
Videoconference Meeting
photo credit: Jeffrey Beall
Let’s face it – travel is expensive. You not only have to have an employee away from the desk for a day or two, you also have to pay airfare, mileage, lodging, and meals for the person who is away during the time period. A good videoconferencing system, though, can change all of that. No longer will the employee have to even leave the building for travel reasons. A simple videoconference can be set up at an arranged date and time, and the employee can speak with the specialist or the client in a matter of minutes for just pennies instead of the thousands of dollars the employee might have spent during the course of travel.
If you would like to save your business some big bucks through a videoconferencing system, your first step would be to contact your local phone and Internet service providers. Most of these companies offer videoconferencing systems to meet your needs. There are, however, dedicating videoconferencing companies who can show you higher end systems to meet more of your needs than you ever imagined. Most of these companies have excellent websites that will introduce you to the technology and help you decide what kind of system you might need to invest in to get your videoconferencing needs off the ground. Start saving money today with a new videoconferencing system.
