Video Conferencing is a live connection between people in separate locations for the purpose of communication, usually involving audio and often text as well as video.
At its simplest, videoconferencing provides transmission of static images and text between two locations. At its most sophisticated, it provides transmission of full-motion video images and high-quality audio between multiple locations. It provides a complete simulation of a normal meeting environment, enabling both parties to see, hear and present material, just as if they were in the same room.
Tangible benefits are most easily related to actual cost savings. The most obvious quantifiable saving is the cost of travel and the cost of the time wasted during travel.
Some of the benefits include:
- Greatly improved communication between remote sites both within a company and between suppliers and customers
- Reduced pressure, stress and fatigue from travel
- Shorter product/project development times (this can be worth millions when it reduces time to market and/or improves the quality of the product or project)
- Reduced time of meetings as the principle often applies when visiting
- Immediacy of contact between people
- Rapid face to face resolution of urgent situations
- Ability to seize opportunities within narrow time frames
- Faster and better decision making
- Increased executive productivity
- Broadcast of key messages throughout the company
