Video Conferencing: The Complete Guide

Businesses and individuals use video conferencing apps on an unprecedented scale. The market is currently worth over $10 billion, and experts anticipate that figure to double in five years.

Likely, your clients and professional partners now expect the convenience and collaboration that video conferencing affords them. Has your organization adopted a platform that lives up to standards for security, functionality, and usability? 

Use this guide to video conferencing to decide what features and benefits you require from the technology.

Key Takeaways:

• Video conferencing is part of the new normal in business.
• Good equipment, high-speed internet, and a solid provider are necessary for video calls to go smoothly.
• Easy setup, strong security, and unified communications are vital for professional video conferencing.
• Companies should encourage good etiquette among team members to have productive video meetings.

Why Video Conferencing Is Essential in the Modern Business World

Studies show that a significant number of offices will continue to use a hybrid work model. This new normal, along with the persistent remote work trend, means video communication is here to stay. 

Even for in-office operations, video conferencing usage will continue because it helps organizations save money on travel costs. There’s no need to pay for business trip transportation, accommodation, and employee meals when you can hold a virtual meeting with high-quality software.

Another factor is habit. People have grown accustomed to the comfort and convenience of video conferencing. From sales calls and corporate events to telehealth and legal consultations, many demand video conferencing as an option. 

Equipment and Services You Need To Ensure Your Video Conferencing Runs Smoothly

Cameras, microphones, and speakers are so common on contemporary devices that you can easily take for granted whether your equipment is up to par. You could subscribe to an outstanding video conferencing service and still have issues because your gear is lacking. 

For example, you should ensure your team’s devices are not too old and run operating systems that still receive security updates. An obsolete OS will suffer from lag and broken signals. In addition, you need a strong enough internet service to carry voice and video effectively.

Confirm everyone is using HD cameras to send out crisp pictures that look professional. Microphones should have noise cancellation to reduce ambient noise.

Give particular attention to your microphone and speaker setup if you conduct conferences with your group together in a single office. You have to ensure that everyone in the meeting room can hear the audio well and that the mic picks up all voices. Otherwise, meetings will quickly become exasperating.

What To Look For in a Video Conferencing Solution To Foster Productivity and Collaboration

Free video calling software may work well for personal use. However, businesses require a feature-rich platform that enables productivity and collaboration. 

Nevertheless, professional solutions don’t require an unbearable expense. Cloud-based unified communications with video conferencing are affordable for businesses of all sizes. Hence, small and medium-sized organizations can now access the same features as their larger competitors.

A business-class online meeting service provides your company with a high-quality tool that makes getting work done in a virtual environment a breeze. The following tools and features help your teams thrive:

• Screen sharing and screen annotation allow for easy interactivity.
• HD video quality simulates real-life interactions.
• A notes feature makes it easy to send action items to participants after the meeting with the click of a button.
• Remote control gives all participants the ability to control certain aspects of the meeting.
• Meeting transcription and unlimited recording storage are useful for people who can’t attend a session.

Ensure your communications provider offers these features when choosing a video conferencing platform.

The Importance of Easy Integration and a Quick Setup

Cloud-based video conferencing solutions are also easy to set up. Once users download the app on their laptop or mobile device, they can connect from anywhere. 

In fact, many top business-grade services let your users get started right away. No training or onboarding is necessary for use. Still, an attentive vendor will be ready to assist 24/7 to offer you a worry-free experience.

How To Ensure Security and Compliance

Another critical factor is security. Keep data safe and ensure your video calls are secure by verifying that your vendor offers adequate encryption and security controls. 

The following are standard security features an online meeting solution for businesses should offer:

• Secure Real-time Transport Protocol, which offers encryption and message authentication
• Meeting lock
• Muting controls
• Meeting passwords
• Host control over security settings

Security is even more critical if your organization is in a highly regulated industry, such as healthcare, law, or finance. Confirm that your platform is capable of meeting your compliance needs.

Video Conferencing as a Component of Unified Communications

Fortunately, your video conferencing doesn’t have to involve a separate vendor from your phone service. Actually, your communications work better together in one platform. You also simplify your accounts payable and reduce costs by working with one provider.

Combining all communications together boosts your efficiency as well. The reason is that records of your video, voice, and text messages can sit together on one app. Because unified communications integrate with your business software, it’s much easier to update client and employee data.

Plus, you have extra protection if someone’s actions during a meeting become a legal or human resources matter. With archiving, you can quickly retrieve records of past events without sifting through multiple apps.

Tips for Using Video Conferencing Software

When using video conferencing for online meetings, keep these basic etiquette tips and best practices in mind:

• Remind participants not to share passwords or meeting IDs.
• If recording the meeting, let participants know ahead of time.
• Encourage muting when not talking to remove distractions.

Following these guidelines helps your meetings to be productive and collaborative.

Intermedia: Your Go-To Video Conferencing Provider

Your organization needs to get the most out of video conferencing, as it is now a foundational business communications tool. However, you require a platform that ticks all the boxes for compliance, integration, ease of use, and price.

Intermedia Unite is a powerful solution that goes beyond business phone and chat to also enable engaging meetings. With HD audio and video quality, a plethora of productivity features, and industry-leading security, your organization can stay connected stress-free. 

The Intermedia Team

Intermedia helps businesses of all sizes connect better – through voice, video conferencing, chat, contact center, business email and productivity, file sharing and backup, security, archiving, and more – from wherever, whenever. And, as a partner-first company, Intermedia goes to work for our channel partners to help them grow their revenue and maximize their success.