Video conferencing can allow hundreds of virtual participants in a conference. People can see each other, share information, study, use whiteboards and even share computer desktops. The possibilities of training and learning are huge. Conventional training can be very expensive to set up, and doing it via video conferencing makes a lot of sense.
Here are some of the main advantages of video conferencing over face to face conferencing:
* Video conferencing are far cheaper to run than their real world equivalents. If you were to gather a team from around your country for a meeting, the costs involved can be astronomical. The travel itself (both ways) can cost a lot of money, but for those that travel the furthest distances, there is the additional costs of hotels and meals to contend with. Those people travelling the greatest distances could lose a couple of days in work time as well. Just count that up in terms of unproductive salary payments, and you will soon see cost benefits to video conferences.
* Easy access to information is also a great benefit to video conferences. Most people will have all of their business contacts and information available on their computers. So, if they work from home for the day, everything that they need will be to hand.
* Another major advantage of a video conference is the ease with which people outside of an organisation can join in. Say for example you are involved in building projects, the chances are that a different architect would be used for each project. If your meeting requires the presence of a non employed expert, it is far easier to organise if you are running a video conference rather than a meeting in the flesh.
* It is possible to record video conferences, so that they can be re-run at a later date. This kind of thing can be an invaluable training aid as well, so that your staff can improve presentation skills for example.
* Business decisions can be made more quickly using video conferences. The time saving mentioned previously also helps with this regard. If you need to meet deadlines then having meetings using video conferencing can be a great advantage.
Even a simple comparison to a shared phone call should be enough to convince you that video conferencing makes more sense. Have a visual connection is invaluable, not only from a personal point of view but also to watch body language, which can tell you a lot.
With the improvements in technology come reductions in costs as well as better technical facilities. The longer time goes on, the better value for money that video conferencing becomes.
Tags: Communications