Why spend time and money on distant meetings? The current videoconferencing systems offer functionalities that guarantee the same face-to-face meetings efficiency
When a company expands its frontiers and opens branches, offices or distribution centers in remote locations, it now faces the challenge of providing communication conditions among employees, despite the distance. In order to do so, in addition to the most usual means, such as telephone and email, companies can rely on videoconferencing systems, which allow content sharing, offer high definition sound and video, guaranteeing productivity to a meeting as if it were in person.
These technologies nowadays go far beyond opening a communication channel between employees, they also integrate professionals from other companies, from other regions, through different mobile devices use. In addition, videoconferencing allows professionals not to have to go to face-to-face meetings, a practice that has always generated high costs and investment in travel time, sometimes higher than the meeting duration.
As an unstable economic scenario such as the current one, this situation would be unsustainable for the cost reduction goals imposed on companies.
Possibilities and flexibility
Imagine that you have the mission to reconcile 10 executives agenda based in the Southeast, South and Northeast. The task becomes a bit simpler by bringing them together in a meeting by video conferencing systems means, which may be complex or simpler but meet everyone needs.
Videoconferencing allows the following scenario:
– The team that is in the northeast will use equipment installed in a robust room, built specifically for this purpose. All will be arranged in screens front with integrated cameras;
– In the south, there is a simpler equipment, installed in a common meeting room, with a TV, video camera and access to the company network;
– The executive based in the southeast will remain in his/her room, which is equipped with video conferencing system, connected to a simple monitor. At the meeting time, it is enough that (s)he answers the call.
If you needed to add a collaborator who is in transit, (s)he would have to have a mobile device with camera (notebook, tablet, smartphone) and Internet access to enter the conference. Or, if the person joining was an external agent, a supplier, for example, the integration could be performed with any device/system that has the same communication standard used by the company.
Analyzing variables to adopt a videoconference system
Videoconferencing systems can be integrated into any size companies in order to streamline communication and facilitate decision making in the face of new business opportunities. But if your company thinks about adopting a videoconferencing system, you must first analyze the variables between the project size and the infrastructure to be implemented.
For an individual device, such as the team located in the southeast, a dedicated 1Mbps Internet link is sufficient, and can be integrated with existing corporate links (WAN). Robust rooms, on the other hand, require equally robust infrastructure, which varies greatly from deployment costs.
It is advisable to include the return on investment (ROI) issue in these analyzes. In a company where meetings between its affiliates or even between partners are constant, videoconferencing systems must be at the top of the investment priorities, ensuring communication ease to the teams and the most cost-effective for the company.
Gustavo Emerim, Network Engineer – [email protected]
