Video conferencing is an evolution of the older teleconference which is based on telephone landlines.

Video conferencing addresses the drawbacks of teleconferencing by adding video to your business communication.

The use of video in business events has grown in the last few years thanks to the upgrade in the general Internet network.

It becomes increasingly easier for everyone to connect with colleagues, customers, and prospects with video.

For video conferencing to work at its best, you need a strong Internet connection to cope with high definition audio and video connection or link between two or more participants.

Video conferencing becomes even more powerful when you have the correct video conferencing bridge and specialised video conferencing equipment such as large screens, professional cameras, video conference phones and others.

Of course, you can run video video conferences with cheaper alternatives thanks to free software such as Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other providers, but the quality of the video is not guaranteed.

If you need a more professional setting for a more intensive use of video conferencing it’s better to invest in a secure, high quality, high-definition audio and video connectivity and equipment.

Even though the initial investment can be high, this can be easily profitable if you compare the costs between video conferencing meetings and face-to-face meetings which often includes travel costs.

Latest technological development makes it even easier to connect across all users no matter the location with browser related WebRTC technology.

This technology enables attendees to dial a video conference IP address to meet and share information as well as documents connecting their laptop computer to the system. Real-time video conferencing software that is browser enabled is the type of virtual meeting that is closest to the real face-to-face meeting.

In order to ensure that the conversation between attendees is secure, you need to make sure that your provider uses a secure network as well as built-in security encryption.

Video conferencing is especially useful for important business meetings such as Annual General Meetings (AGM), management meetings or important project meetings. Video conferencing makes it easier for everyone to meet in a more human way.

Video conferencing hosted in the cloud is powerful because anyone can host a meeting.

This means that anyone in your business can own a meeting room and organise a video conference.

This potentially means that you don’t need as much space as physical meeting rooms and your entire business can experience the benefits of visual collaboration instantly.

Since this technology is web-based, you can reach anyone, anywhere and anytime — given they have the right internet connection.

With video conferencing as a service there’s no infrastructure to buy or manage so deployment isn’t an issue.

There’s no need to get your IT team involved which makes you quicker to act.

Each year that passes, the cheaper video conferencing software and hardware becomes.

You can stick to budget easily and make your organisation more productive than ever.

Video conferencing can be used by everyone across your business.

Whether it’s your CEO interacting with staff, the engineering department streamlining production, or even HR finding better talent; fast and easy video conferencing helps to improve productivity and create a more collaborative business culture.

Finally, video conferences are very easily customisable. You can therefore create different meeting formats easily and use different functions depending on what they need.

This includes desktop sharing, rebranding, multi-camera support and loads more.

If your company has transitioned in the 21st century, you probably work in an open plan office.

This has become the standard for all offices across the world and companies try to maximise their space.

Especially with COVID-19, more and more colleagues will be working from home and more businesses will invest in video conferencing equipment to be able to collaborate remotely.

You can reorganise different meeting rooms in your office in order to ensure their efficiency for video conferences.

Small meeting rooms can be repurposed to allow one or two people to meet via digital meeting.

For this, you might want to look for wide-angle field of view that is compact to fit the small space.

If you have a lot of small rooms, you want to make sure that your equipment is affordable and easily scalable across the office.

Medium meeting rooms that allow up to four people in a room can also be repurposed.

In those spaces it is important to make it dead easy to use the video conferencing solutions with a wide-angle lens that adapts better to small spaces.

Meeting rooms of up to 30 people can also be adapted to fit video conferencing specific requirements.

For these rooms, you want to make sure that everyone can see properly which the use of two screens can enable.

You may want to invest in multiple microphones in addition to high definition cameras with optical zoom to make sure that the collaboration is maximised.

Like any meeting, video meetings need to respect a few fundamentals to make the video conference a better experience.

For all attendees, it’s advised to respect the standard video meeting etiquette.

We advise you to use proper equipment to enhance the overall experience.

Making use of headsets in a crowded or noisy environment will also make your meetings more enjoyable.

Using headsets will make it easier for you to concentrate properly on the meeting.

We all have the experience of hearing audio feedback from someone else’s phone or computer.

This is not a pleasant sound that you want to hear often.

Best practice is to mute yourself when you’re in a loud area which will cancel the background noise and make it quieter for everyone.

Make sure you are not back or near a window when meeting via video conferencing.

Strong natural light can also negatively impact the quality by giving you a harsh silhouette effect.

You can try sitting back to a white wall or lowering the light in your meeting room to avoid this.

Recording your video conferences is also recommended.

Apart from the fact that you don’t have to type out minutes in a live stream event, recording your meetings will allow all colleagues to access important information and content after the fact – side conversations and distractions tend to disappear when people are recorded.

The golden rule is to gain permission from colleagues and your company in order to make sure that all attendees are comfortable with this practice.

Part of the etiquette is to also respect the inherent property of video meetings.

Try not to turn your back on the audience or obstruct the camera for others.

It’s also best practice to behave like in a real meeting and don’t forget to greet and say goodbye during the meeting.

The video conferencing market is very competitive, and there’s many options.

Most notably, companies such as Zoom, BlueJeans®, Skype®, Google Hangouts™, Google Meets™, Microsoft Teams™, Webex® can offer variable video conferencing solutions.

You need to decide which company suits your business needs and objectives best.

All actors in the business offer different solutions and the one you will choose will depend on your strategy.

For some organisations, cost is the primary consideration, while others focus on security, reliability, and support.

You can also choose between monthly subscriptions vs. pay-as-you-use, yearly contracts vs. no lock-in contracts, limited vs. unlimited and a lot more features.