Nicole Laskowski: Just like the Jetsons, but in real life. Thanks to video conferencing, it's possible to talk to someone on the other side of the world as if they were in the same room. While it's convenient for catching up with friends and family, video conferencing is especially useful for organizations that need to communicate with other branches, remote employees, or business connections across various locales in lieu of an in-person meeting.
At its core, video conferencing is communication between two or more people through the use of cameras, microphones, monitors and speakers. A high speed internet connection is central to the function. Otherwise, video and audio transmissions will lag and even cut out completely. Video conferences can be initiated through physical desktop conferencing services, usually installed in conference rooms and meeting places or through cloud based virtual meeting services accessible by a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Most
smartphone users are familiar with Apple's FaceTime, Google Hangouts or Microsoft Skype for consumer level communication. But businesses that need to connect multiple people or teams in one call might use enterprise friendly services like Zoom, Go To Meeting, Ring Central and Zoho Meeting, which can support many users at once, as well as features like transcription, recording and archiving of video calls.
While video conferencing can increase productivity through improved communication and lower travel costs, it depends heavily on a strong internet connection. Lagging or poor quality video can feed frustration and might strain a conversation, cutting into productivity gains