KINGMAN - An easy way that companies are saving money during these tough economic times is by increasing their video conferencing capabilities. Doing so cuts down on rising travel costs, helps the environment and increases employee productivity.
Video conferencing isn’t as expensive as it used to be. High-quality webcams are now available for as little as $50. Once the webcams are installed, web programs need to be downloaded for live chat capability. Programs such as Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Apple iChat, OoVoo or Skype are among the number of good options that are available, and most offer free downloads. Within a matter of days, the webcams and video conference program can be installed companywide and ready to use.
The number of people that are able to participate in the same videoconference call varies depending on the program. For example, with Skype, up to 25 people can talk at one time, and with OoVoo, six is the max. Once everyone on the call has entered the “room”, the video chat room that is, you can do much of what you would normally do if the group was meeting in-person, such as sharing files. You can even share what’s on your desktop with the others in the conversation by using a web browser. This gives you the ability to collaborate on a document or give a PowerPoint presentation, while still seeing everyone in the meeting. Instant messages can be sent during the conversation as well, providing the opportunity for additional conversations that are productive to the group discussion.
Companies also have the capability to record these video chats. With iChat, calls are recorded as MPEG-4 files that are played back on iTunes or an iPod/iPhone. With OoVoo, video chats can be saved in AVI, FLV or HTML embedded video. This way, if someone can’t participate in the call, they don’t have to miss what happened in it. They can simply play it back to find out everything that was said. The recording capability also gives companies and employees the ability to create a database of past calls that can help if information needs to be accessed or referenced.
In short, with video conferencing, $50 webcams and free web programs, businesses can offset the costs of regular $1,000 plane tickets and $200 a night hotels. Employees are more productive because they can accomplish in most one-hour calls what a business trip took in the past. Time isn’t wasted on “travel days”, and a “Green” culture is fostered, with the company helping the environment by using less jet fuel. While video conferencing doesn’t eliminate a company’s travel needs, it does cut down on them, and that saves money and most importantly could save jobs in our tough economy.
If you have any technology questions, feel free to contact Lynne Petersen from Frontier Communications at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or log on to www.frontieronline.com.
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