Increasing fuel costs, busy transport networks and expensive hotels are all good reasons to avoid travelling to business meetings if this can possibly be avoided.
Video conferencing can offer your business a viable alternative, making expensive, time-consuming business travel virtually a thing of the past. More and more organisations want to be “seen to be green” these days too, so if an alternative can be found to reduce their carbon footprint, the cost of a video conferencing set-up is considered a very worthwhile investment.
Video conferencing set-up
Small businesses often mistakenly think that video conferencing software and its associated peripherals are only for big corporate entities, but this need not necessarily be the case.
The choice of cost-effective desktop alternatives is growing all the time and they can be just as effective, even if the picture quality is not as sharp. In addition, there are many video conferencing software packages that can be downloaded for free. That said, a robust, reliable business internet connection is clearly essential for seamless video conferencing and a good telecoms provider should be able to ensure that your premises enjoy this.
The componentry required to install a video conferencing link is pretty simple. Two computers with internet or LAN access are required, each with a webcam, microphone, soundcard, speakers and the selected video conferencing software package.
Security measures
Obviously, it’s important for businesses to be aware of the security implications of video conferencing over the web and suitable protective measures should be put in place to prevent hacking and invasion by malware.
A video conferencing software package of decent quality should work fine alongside an existing firewall and security settings although most signal and image problems are caused by security conflicts. It’s therefore important to double check for compatibility with the software supplier’s technical support team before investing in their product.
Using a dedicated provider
Bearing in mind the potential problems involved in downloading software and the installation issues that can arise, an alternative to investing in a video conferencing software suite would be to use a service provider. This option has a number of advantages such as live streaming from high speed servers, for example.
A robust, stable internet connection and network is essential for good video conferencing performance. For more information on how your current network could be improved, contact the experts at RHM Telecommunications.
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