Organizations are becoming more aware that we are living in a connected world. Video conferencing is playing a vital role when it comes to a more effective way of communicating.

Last week I discussed how video conferencing is providing more convenient and safer interactions for inmates. Today I am taking a closer look at some of the benefits for video conferencing inside courtrooms.

Video Conferencing is making its way in to schools not only with distance learning, but also with the use of telehealth solutions. Each year, the U.S. federal government awards billions of dollars in grant funding to schools, government agencies, healthcare organizations, and other public entities to improve operations and delivery of services to our communities.

mHealth stands for the provision of health-related services using mobile communication technology. As 2014 shifts into the mainstream of mobile video conferencing , healthcare providers will need to recognize and accept patient-provided data in a large-scale way. 

Video presentations using video conferencing are becoming more and more predominant in today’s business place, as are audio conferences using web conferencing and conference calls.

With high-speed internet, quality web cams and microphones, anyone can host a video conference, even a small business! 

Video conferencing is becoming an effective tool in the classroom. Being prepared to instruct virtual learning can be crucial.  Making sure you have an understanding of its benefits, restrictions, and how to utilize it, can help make your teaching experience easier.

1 .     Why does my business need video conferencing?

As video conferencing access increases to virtually every employee with a laptop or mobile device, users in various business roles within organizations use video to defy distance in slightly differing ways. Polycom broke down some of the major positions and found several reasons why there is such a huge demand for video conferencing within the work place.

The popularity of standard video capabilities on tablets, mobile devices, and notebooks paired with a new wave of affordable, enterprise-quality products and Prime Call Cloud services means that many of us will increasingly need to be "on camera" for one business reason or another.

Video conferencing has become an important way to communicate and collaborate. The following 5 tips can help transform your conference room into the best video conferencing space possible!

Federal budget cuts in travel have given the video conferencing industry an uptick in federal sales. Providers are looking forward to this trend continuing due to tightening budgets as well as initiatives like the “Cut the Waste, Stay in Place” Act of 2013 which is looking to cut agency travel expenses by 50% by 2017. The across-the-board federal spending cuts have caused agencies to substitute in-person meetings for virtual ones.

Those who work from home often preach the great benefits of telecommuting – better work-life balance, increased productivity, they’re saving their company money, etc. But some individuals and companies alike feel the negatives of working from home outweigh the positives.

Penn State York has recently developed a teleeducation program for their students who have limited time to attend classes due to other commitments and responsibilities. This program is deisgned to deliver credentials to their adult learners. These new real-time and interactive classrooms will allow students working toward a degree or certification to take courses through video conferencing.

Businesses and government agencies alike have the same priorities: to lower costs and increase productivity. Mobile Work Exchange has recently done a study to show that video conferencing had potential to deliver results for both. According to this study, if only half of government workers used video conferencing they would see an increase of 3.5 hours of work each week and almost $5 billion annual savings in travel expenses alone.   As a result of these findings one congressman is promoting a new bill called “Stay In Place, Cut the Waste Act of 2013”. This bill highlights video conferencing services as a way to cut Federal Government travel expenses in half.
Even with all of the obvious benefits, some are still hesitant to support video conferencing as a reasonable replacement for traveling and in-person meetings. Whether they are unsure the savings will ever outweigh the initial investment, they are technology phobic, or not knowing which system will work with their partner’s system.