Face-to-face communication is our preferred means of engagement. It allows us to really appreciate the nuances of the more subtle forms of communication, eg, body language and facial expressions.
Invention and innovation, however, have created numerous other means of communicating our thoughts and ideas, from the written word to the telephone. Technology has taken this one step further, allowing fast and effective communication electronically via e-mail, SMS and instant messaging.
After years of driving mobility, remote access, real-time response, and presence, communication technologies have come full circle - back to enabling face-to-face collaboration, or the best equivalent that technology can create. For those who had written off video as clumsy and overpriced, the time has come to reconsider and re-evaluate the options.
According to Steve Casey, Technology & Solutions Manager for Converged Communications, Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, the demand for quality video has been driven in part by the proliferation of social media as well as the commoditisation of visually enabled devices.
“Devices such as smartphones and tablets are changing the way that people share and consume information. Readily available visual communication via Skype and even YouTube has created a generation where this kind of media is becoming commonplace.
Businesses are being pressured to cater to the needs of their markets - both internal and external - and leverage new forms of communication. With the demand for these channels growing, many organisations find themselves having to integrate visual communication into their business strategies.”
Introducing video communications certainly makes good business sense. In the current economic climate, where resource utilisation is critical, and efficiencies need to be optimised, saving time and expense by curtailing unnecessary travel is an obvious plus point.
“Often it is senior management who have more severe demands on their time and availability that are regularly commuting long distances, leaving them jet-lagged and fatigued during their engagements. Visual communications tools not only improve efficiencies, but the quality of the collaboration as well,” says Casey.
“Many organisations are not aware of the multitude of additional benefits and opportunities that are created through investing in collaboration solutions,” says Casey. “A multitude of meetings and discussions take place via teleconference, because travel is just not an option. These interactions could be enriched at relatively low cost to the company.”
Added to this is the ability to conform to increasing pressure to lower carbon footprints and meet green objectives by cutting down unnecessary air travel. Further green opportunity is created through the ability to hot desk, which saves space and lowers carbon emissions as employees can work from home. “Businesses should not overlook the attraction that flexible working environments have when it comes to acquiring and retaining the right skills. Quality of life and work/life balance can be a key motivator for employees wanting to leave - or stay with an organisation,” says Casey.
So, why isn't everyone doing it? One of the main inhibitors, besides capital expenditure, is the dubious reputation of video conferencing. For many, it's difficult to overcome the perception of a grainy image on a TV screen in the boardroom with somewhat time-lagged audio stream, making communications stilted and awkward. Limited bandwidth and inadequate infrastructures have historically tended to hinder more than help video conferencing projects.
But times have changed and the technologies supporting video communications have evolved in leaps and bounds. “Almost every aspect of IT infrastructure being released now is taking the emergence of video into account,” says Casey.
“Intelligent networks are geared to prioritise video packets for quality imaging and sound, virtualised environments are better suited to manage content created, and unified communication servers are designed to fully support and enable visual communications as part of a converged communications strategy. Bandwidth challenges have been largely overcome and local service providers are keeping pace with global trends, deploying the new generation technologies needed to make video an ubiquitous service.”
“Although many video solutions are aimed at the enterprise market, we have also developed solutions that will benefit small to medium businesses. In fact, the ability to communicate in this manner may just unlock the competitive advantage or enable greater business agility that a small to medium business requires,” says Casey. The evolution of cloud computing has created the opportunity for service providers with the right combination of skills and resources to offer video communications services as a hosted service, available on demand and on a pay per use model, which eliminates the obstacle of capital expenditure.
Visual communication is definitely becoming more prevalent as the costs and complexity of the solutions decrease and businesses rediscover the value and differentiation it can add. “This is something that every business should investigate, and include as part of their technology strategy for the future. Video looks set to form an integral part of how business is conducted in the future,” concludes Casey.
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