The top 10 factors to consider when choosing a videoconferencing service
Videoconferencing (VC) is becoming a critical part of today's rapidly evolving digital workplace. It can reduce travel time and costs, supercharge productivity, and optimize communications for a global and mobile workforce. But given that no two businesses are the same, it is crucial that you choose a VC system that matches the needs of your workforce and fits into your budget.
There's plenty of competition for the VC dollar right now – from mobile apps to dedicated hardware and software solutions – so it shouldn't be difficult to find a VC service that aligns closely with your business needs. Here are the key factors that you should keep in mind when choosing VC technology.
EASE OF USE
I can't connect! Where's the audio? To avoid frustrations like these, make sure you choose a VC service that is intuitive and easy to navigate. The last thing you want is to miss an important business meeting because the user interface was too complex. If it includes an administer interface, it should also be user-friendly.
SCALABILITY
How many people will typically be joining a video conference? Some VC services are free if there are just a few participants, while some can accommodate dozens or more users. If you plan to grow, you'll want a service that can scale effectively, and where possible, allows you to only pay only for the features and capacity you need.
INTEROPERABILITY
Some VC systems can integrate with various third-party applications, such as Microsoft Office 365, Google Suite, Slack and HipChat. This allows you to share all kinds of video, audio, documents, and other information in real time during a VC call. Integration with calendar software allows organizers to see who's going to be available for a meeting and schedule them in.
EASE OF SETUP
VC services come in all shapes and sizes, with the simplest systems providing the audio and video hardware only. Newer systems can be highly portable and need only to be plugged into a computer's USB port, allowing them to connect to a proprietary or standard VC app. Some VC products also come with a digital video output (e.g. HDMI), allowing you to display the video on a HD monitor or TV of your choosing.
RELIABILITY
While no VC service can be expected to work flawlessly all the time, frequent glitches can quickly cancel out the service's value as a productivity tool. For a team of five, for example, a six-minute outage equals 30 minutes of total lost time. A reliable service allows participants to focus on their work rather than the communication medium they are using.
BANDWIDTH REQUIREMENTS
The most critical factor affecting call quality will be network bandwidth, especially if you plan to stream HD video. In general, a point-to-point video call between two users or locations will need about 2 Mbps of internet bandwidth in both directions to run smoothly. Based on Lifesize's service usage data, a typical organization will need to purchase at least enough bandwidth capacity to run five simultaneous calls for every 100 users sharing the connection.
SECURITY
Just as reliability is critical, so is security for most organizations. A business VC service should have a sign-on procedure using a password or PIN. To guard against any unauthorized third parties eavesdropping on your VC calls, look for a solution that offers encryption on the VC data stream.
MOBILE CAPABILITY
In today's fast-evolving virtual workplace, your VC service must be able to connect people in remote places – and that will often mean connecting to a conference call through a mobile device or laptop. The best VC solutions will be able to easily connect any combination of conference room, PC, laptop and smart device.
COMPLIANCE
Check if there are any legal requirements in your industry that are applicable to VC services. In healthcare, for example, VC technology which is used to provide telemedicine services must comply with HIPAA data security regulations. This may require using data encryption technology and anonymous peer-to-peer networks.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
The final but still important factor is the quality of the VC provider's customer service. Ideally, the VP service will be easy to use and require little or no intervention from IT support. But if something does go awry, you'll want tech support to be available 24x7, so that problems can be fixed quickly no matter where they occur.
