It’s a competitive market out there, and as a business you’re always looking for new and exciting ways to keep your edge. New technology is often a great way of making sure you’re on the cutting edge, but has your business tried video conferencing yet?
Video conferencing is known for cutting costs, but it can do much more than that. With companies such as Blue Jeans bringing polycom video 
conferencing to an area near you, now is the time to check it out for yourself. So, just what benefits can it bring to your business? Read on to find out.
- It reduces travel costs: The main reason most companies try out video conferencing is that it drastically reduces their travelling costs. Clear One notes that once you’ve paid out for travel, accommodation and meals, it’s put a significant dent in your budget. Conferencing from your own office means that you can speak to anybody without ever having to leave your seat.
- It saves time: As well as saving on travel, online conferencing also saves a huge amount of time. If you’re not always on the road travelling to and from meetings, it means more of your time can be spent more productively in the work place, getting things done.
- Lets you communicate with people around the globe: Many businesses no longer work from one single branch. You could have several across the country, or even across the globe. Picture Phone points out that with video conferencing, you can be in touch with different branches, no matter where they are, with just the touch of a button.
- Makes companies more productive: Videonations claims that having all of your attendees meeting face to face online, and allowing them to share presentations and other media easily through conferencing technology, means that they can be much more productive. When you can meet up instantly and make decisions quickly, a lot more can get done in a much shorter space of time.
- Is environmentally friendly: One side benefit of video conferencing is that due to the reduction of your travel time, your carbon footprint will significantly decrease. If you’re a business that’s trying to reduce your impact on the planet, this is one change you could make that will help you achieve those goals.
- Can be used by everyone: This technology is very democratic, in that everybody in your business could make good use of it. When made available to everybody, everybody can get the most out of it and communicate with everybody else quickly and effectively.
- Is more personable: Video conferencing is more personable than other forms of web conferencing, as everybody can see each other and pick up on non-verbal cues and facial expressions. Also, Search Unified Communications cites the example of a company that brings all of its employees together every weekday morning to get together and discuss what’s to be done that day. They comment that it pulled the company together every day, bringing it closer together.
- Is more efficient: Meetings held over video conferencing software are usually a lot shorter than traditional face to face meetings, meaning that they’re more efficient and allow employees to get a lot more done in a shorter time frame. Have a question? Rather than waiting for a reply over email or leaving a voice mail, quickly meet up online and ask, meaning you get an answer quickly and so can get back to work.
- Is great for the home office: More and more people are choosing to work from home, due to their personal needs. Video conferencing means that even if you’re at home, you can still check in with the office whenever you need to, and keep yourself in the loop.
- Meet wherever, whenever: Similarly, if you’re on the road a lot, it’s easy to become out of touch with what’s happening in the workplace. Luckily, video conferencing software works on mobile technology such as laptops and smartphones. Call in whenever you need to and make sure you’re up to speed with what’s happening back home.
- Makes you more competitive: To stay on the cutting edge, video conferencing works in several ways. Polycom notes that it helps employees share ideas faster, leading to faster turnaround on new products. It also allows you to cultivate a closer, more loyal relationship with your customer base, as it allows you to chat one on one, which is a much more personal format than the traditional call centre.
As you can see, there are a multitude of ways in which video conferencing can make your business more productive, environmentally friendly, and cost effective. Try it out for yourself and see just what the technology can do for your business today.
