We are moving towards a world where communication will be dominated by videos instead of texting and calling. The ever increasing usage of video calling applications is clearly indicative of this trend among the global populace. According to statistics, more than 94% of businesses assert that video conferencing helps in boosting efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, around 98% of employees and managers acknowledge that video conferencing also helps to build professional and interpersonal relationships.
Moreover, the importance of commercial audio video solutions increases if you are running a multinational company. The same applies to freelancers as they need to interact with clients across the globe. So, it is natural to wonder whether or not you should adopt video communication in 2020. Let’s find out as we dive into the topic.
The Current Global Scenario
While exploring a topic, it is essential to delineate its ‘what, when, and how’. However, video calling doesn’t need an introduction. A look at the developments that have taken place in recent years should be enough. In the initial years, only a handful of companies used to work on video conferencing applications. These included giants like AT&T and Google. With time, however, developers started to focus on this technology, and today, there is a plethora of competitors in the field.
Today, we are surrounded by endless options when it comes to video calling. Google Meet and Zoom are popular for distance education, businesses are relying on Skype, gamers prefer Discord and House-Party is popular among those who want to have fun video calls. If we broaden our perspective, we will find that video conferencing is even used by the military and organizations that prioritize anonymity. They add extra layers of security such as hashed transmissions and stronger encryption algorithms on top of VoIP calling.
In short, there’s a video chatting application for everyone today. Now that we know the current situation of video conferencing, let us examine whether or not commercial audio video solutions are essential for you.
Use Cases of Video Conferencing
Besides casual video calls, conferencing has many use cases. In the paragraph above, you have read an overview of the widespread use of video-conferencing applications. Given below are some specific use-cases where video calling has changed the face of the entire workflow.
● Business Administration
Managing businesses, especially if those that have offices in many cities or countries, is a tedious task. Before the advent of video calling technology, managers and those at the top of the organizational hierarchy had to pay physical visits. Even if you wanted to have a short discussion, you had to travel for hours and adjust your work schedule accordingly.
After apps like Skype, Zoom, Hangouts, and WebEx were adopted by organizations, it changed them completely. Now, you could have a brief discussion with the CEO of your company, without having to wait for hours out of their office. Not only this, but managers and project leads can also guide a team of hundreds of members at the same time, even if the company lacks physical infrastructure. All in all, if you are part of the administration of your firm, you must consider using video-conferencing software.
● Distance Learning
Many people confuse distance learning with pre-recorded lectures where students could cheat during assignments. But today, this is definitely not the case. Millions of people associated with academia and online businesses use real-time video conferencing services. Whether you want to teach quantum physics or cooking, you can always rely on services like Zoom.
Instead of being restricted to students of your locality, instructors can now target a global audience. Not only this, but you can also monitor your pupils in real-time and have discussions with them. There’s no scope of cheating in tests or any illegal distribution of your course material. You just need a proper setup and equipment in your room. With all these advantages, it is understandable if you prefer classes on Zoom.
● Legal Advice
There’s a scarcity of top-notch attorneys in almost every country. This is natural due to the highly selective nature of admissions in law schools. Nevertheless, technology has bridged this gap in no time. Now, people can easily access the top attorneys of a country via video calls. They don’t need to meet them in their offices and spend on transportation and accommodation. One can discuss the issues with lawyers over video chat every day and proceed with the case.
Talking from the perspective of attorneys, video conferencing apps don’t only help them gain clients but also strengthen the judiciary. Video-conferencing apps have helped many innocent people facing allegations by connecting them with the best lawyers. Besides traditional methods, attorneys should use video-conferencing services that have a robust network.
● Medical Consultancy
If there’s an industry that is being rapidly disrupted due to real-time video calling, it has to be medical consultancy. All kinds of doctors have started treating a significant number of patients through the use of video-conferencing. This concept was considered very idealistic by the critics a couple of decades ago. However, practitioners are getting used to Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) diagnosis.
Furthermore, doctors are also helping patients with physiotherapy, prescriptions, and are even guiding surgeries remotely. According to the American Telemedicine Association, more than 50% of hospitals in the USA offer telemedicine programs. A similar scenario can be observed in Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Medical consultancy through video-conferencing is also a feasible solution in areas affected by pandemics, be it Ebola or COVID-19. If you’re a doctor/physician, you can easily expand your reach via Zoom, Skype, or any similar software.
● Freelancing
In order to be a successful freelancer, one needs a clear understanding of their client’s demands. If we go back to the beginning of the century, freelancers used to communicate via e-mails and text messages. In the best-case scenario, they would call the clients for a minute or so. Although there were some successful freelancers, many newbies in the industry faced a lack of communication, which directly affected the projects.
This is where video-conferencing steps in. When you have a face-face conversation with the client, you clearly understand their requirements. This is not the case with communication over e-mails and texts. Video-conferencing saves a lot of effort and also a developer’s or a client’s time. The importance of video-calling in freelancing is quite apparent when we see that many leading freelance platforms have integrated video-calling services. You need not pay and register separately on them. Instead, you can set up your own video-conferencing environment on your work desk and meet your clients in Zoom rooms.
● Construction and Real Estate Industry
A factor that many civil engineering enthusiasts find constrictive is staying onsite for months at a stretch. Hence, many choose a different career path. After all, what’s the point of earning money when you have to stay miles away from civilization for a project? Even though that’s a bummer, it is a very wrong notion in today’s date.
After laying the foundation and building a wireframe, many engineers and project managers work from home. This is only possible because of video-conferencing software. They can now supervise every nook and corner of a structure someone who is present on the site. They can recommend changes (if any) over the video call. In this way, the work of civil engineers and managers has become a lot more flexible. Moreover, potential buyers also pay virtual visits to properties instead of traveling to the actual location. Commercial audio video solutions can help people in this industry and companies to save a lot of time and human effort.
So, is Video Conferencing Essential?
By now, we have seen the use cases of video conferencing and the way it is helping millions of people everywhere. It is an undeniable fact that communication through real-time video has diversified and is one of the most useful technologies we have. People are learning new skills, saving lives, earning livelihoods, and whatnot via video-chat tools like WebEx, Zoom, Skype, Meet, etc.
Besides, it is not only about the present trends. Recent developments in this industry have ensured a bright future for video-conferencing apps. The best example is the integration of artificial intelligence in tools including Zoom and Google Meet. Apart from the option of changing backgrounds, developers have successfully programmed an AI that is incorporated into these tools to cancel out external sounds (car horns, crying babies, etc.). It has only increased the reliability of video calling platforms.
The global lockdown has made the world realize the importance of conferencing tools. The stock price of Zoom Video Communications Inc. has plummeted from $50/share to $250/share in just six months! Every company working on real time video calling technology has shown similar growth. It is evident that even markets have welcomed this technology with open arms.
Hence, if you want to drive your business towards a constant growth, video-conferencing is the way to go. What are you waiting for? Here at EIG PRO we can adopt, create, and support all types of video conferencing systems in a wide variety of spaces. Check out our online portfolio for more!
Tyler Anderson - Director of Operations
Elusive Integrators Group