The march of technology continues to provide businesses with great opportunities for better and more timely communications. The question is what kind of communications technology your organization needs, and at what expense, to function most profitably. It’s always possible to rush into the latest video conferencing software and apps before really knowing what you’re getting into — leaving you open to paying too much and/or investing in a system that isn’t flexible enough to meet your needs down the road.
Before committing to any one brand or app of video conferencing, take a step back to first of all consider if you really need it. If it seems likely your business can profit from such technology, then proceed to work out a budget that won’t impact your financial reserves too severely yet provides you with the appropriate video conference technology. It’s not a toy used to impress clients and employees, but a business tool to shore up your ROI.
Do you need to record this meeting?
Every company has different standards and requirements when it comes to documenting and sharing decisions and policy implementation. A quick word in the hallway with a manager or supervisor about course corrections, or a reminder of policies already in place, is often sufficient to achieve the desired result. If need be, a paper memo or company email can be issued without having to go to the time and expense of holding a formal meeting and recording it via video technology. According to an article written for The Telegraph, the average human attention span of any given person was around eight seconds.
But there are other situations which demand a sit-down formal meeting, such as:
- Major situation review with departments.
- Major training and updates.
- Immediate action/decisions are imperative.
- Getting everyone onboard and up to date with both short term and long term company goals and objectives.
Of course, there are many other reasons for a conference as well, but the trend right now is to accomplish as much as possible with one-on-one meetings instead of a full blown conference. And sometimes the decisions made at a conference need to be officially recorded for legal purposes.
Don’t forget that today it’s possible to outsource your video conferencing and recording for a fraction of the time and cost of setting up an in-house department for such things. If your company is moving away from large and formal meetings you may not even need to invest in very much video conferencing technology at all.
On-site meetings and security
If your business is a far-flung concern, with geographically disparate offices around the country or the world, video conferencing is obviously the way to go. Fewer and fewer national and international companies are willing or able to fly in a dozen or more people at a time for important conferences. A good video conferencing app can save a company literally thousands of dollars in airfare and hotel costs each year and still allow for clear and timely communications between distant offices. Which is one great reason to use video conference apps like BlueJeans.
Then there is the matter of security. According to a study by IBM, the average cost of any single cyber breach could cost anywhere from $3.8 million to $4 million in the year 2016. When your company needs to discuss sensitive and hot button issues, or to share proprietary information that competitors would be willing to pay good money for, in a meeting, then strong cyber security measures are crucial. So make sure that whether you are using in-house apps and staff or having it outsourced, your video conferencing is secure enough to withstand the exploratory taps of those wishing to hack your company.
Investing in the right video conferencing technology for your company and finding the appropriate vendor is not something that should be left up to chance. It can play a major role in the secure transfer of information and in the building and maintaining of employee morale.
