Traditionally, businesses operated within confined geographical boundaries. However, this is no longer the case today. Now businesses can reach out through virtual meetings and do business with anyone, anywhere. This is greatly benefiting businesses in many ways.
Better Communication Means Better Productivity
One of the biggest ways video conferencing can help your business today is by enabling you to be more productive. This is happening more as video conferencing technology gets better. It’s because, at the same time as this is happening, the technology is getting cheaper, more flexible, and more capable.
UC Today points out how video conferencing huddle rooms are now replacing the traditional conference room. This is happening at the same time as collaboration is replacing how, in the past, each person had their own tasks to do. For evidence that these trends really are happening in today’s business world, all you have to do is look at how heavily Microsoft is investing in Skype Room systems. Another company that isn’t far behind Microsoft is Cisco with their Spark Board. Of course, Google is also keeping up by creating their Jam Board. While video conferencing is great here, UberConference will make this even better, even more collaborative, but more about that in a moment.
Many people believe that while huddle rooms are still somewhat new today, they have a really bright future ahead of them. Those who are developing such systems have an unparalleled opportunity to monetize them by selling hardware that can be used while on these platforms. Of course, bundled packages can also be sold so that you have everything you need for a great collaborative experience all at your fingertips.
These types of solutions are going to continue to evolve today. As they do so, you can also expect that the opportunities businesses have to use this technology will only continue to improve as well. Some experts in this field are actually anxiously waiting for the day when virtual assistants (BOTs) will actually host meetings for you. They also believe that contextual and cognitive communications will continue to make meetings more productive and efficient for everyone who’s in attendance.
In other words, huddle rooms are only the beginning. In fact, Lets do Videopoints out how they’re leading the way to group conferences being hosted through dedicated video conferencing rooms. Today, this is actually another common trend.
Many of these trends are attributed to millennial workers who are looking for flexible work opportunities. This includes the growing trend towards working from home and freelancing. These are trends that it’s important for businesses to keep up with and cater to. Of course, businesses must also consider the requests and concerns of diversely located customers and how they can meet these in real-time.
Fortunately, video conferencing technology allows companies do this without paying a lot of money or spending a lot of time to travel to a location. This is the time that they can instead direct towards fulfilling their clients’ demands and achieving sales conversion targets. For this reason alone, the inclination towards video conferencing will likely increase. This is especially true as the workforce grows increasingly mobile.
Learn new Skills With Great Ease
In some ways, the future of video conferencing is already here. The Video Conferencing Guide mentions how we can take classes online and learn new skills. They not only see a growth in the trend of distant learning but they also see that this technology will soon be used in court trials as well. According to this source, it won’t stop there either. In fact, they foresee a day when parole hearings and prison visits are primarily conducted in this way too. All these things will actually bring people closer, which is where the biggest impact on your business lies: When people are closer, businesses operate more efficiently.
Virtual Reality (VR) Advances Things Even Further
Video conferencing will be used for more than just traditional virtual meetings. This is something that you can clearly see when discussing VR. Many people believe that this is what will take video conferencing to the next level. With video conferencing you don’t only see facial expressions and body language, you also experience non-verbal cues, which is what 93% of communication consists of. VR will take these things even further though.
When you put on a VR headset you combine virtual and augmented reality into a single experience regardless of where anyone is physically located. This is accomplished through holograms that you view through the headset. With traditional video conferencing you see the other person on camera via your computer screen. You can still miss out on eye contact and feel separated from the other person. Office says this doesn’t happen with VR because you step into a virtual environment where you feel like you’re seated right next to the person whom you’re working on a task with.
Clearly, VR is taking video conferencing a step further. It’s making these conferences even more interactive since it offers the impression that everyone is gathered together, seated next to each other in the same room. As such, you can turn your head to actually look at the other person’s hologram as you interact with them. This means there’s no chance for you to miss eye contact.
While video conferencing saves you time and money with travel expenses there are still sometimes when you’ll need to be in the same room when working with someone. This is something that VR makes possible for you. So, with VR you honestly won’t need to travel for business in the future. Simply use VR technology to connect with your team instead. This really is going to greatly impact and change the way business is conducted in the future – especially as VR becomes more of an acceptable norm within the business world.
It’s only a matter of time before all these things will change how businesses collaborate in the future. With video conferencing becoming more of acceptable norm businesses will grow and change. They will also benefit in a lot of great ways as well.
