The use of technology in the business field, to improve communications and their productivity, has been a common element in all kinds of professional sectors. One of the most widely used tools, still growing, has been technological solutions, software, and applications for videoconferences and virtual meetings. The main use is concentrated in company-client meetings or those carried out by the company’s partners.
ADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS
The multiple advantages offered by videoconferencing have captured the attention of many companies, many of them SMEs, for years, which have a means of communicating with clients and other professionals without leaving the office. In addition to this benefit, we do find other great potentialities of this type of technology that is interesting to analyze.
COST REDUCTION
One of the obvious advantages of using video conferencing and virtual meetings is the reduction of travel and travel costs. Undoubtedly, many meetings can be held remotely without the need to use time or money to travel, something that any company values very positively and contributes directly to the income statement and productivity.
GREATER NUMBER OF COMMUNICATIONS
The convenience of using any of the video conferencing tools on the market means that any company has the possibility of communicating with clients, partners, or suppliers in a very agile way. This in turn, allows the number of communications to be increased, whenever necessary.
BETTER MONITORING OF PROJECTS WITH THE CLIENT
Clients always value the follow-up that we do of their projects or professional relationships that we have.
With virtual meetings, distance is not a problem to be able to speak face to face frequently with the client, providing adequate follow-up, and transmitting much more closeness through virtual meetings. Without a doubt, in many cases, it can become a great tool to build loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.
BETTER MONITORING OF PROJECTS WITH COLLABORATORS / EMPLOYEES
The same is true of the projects we carry out with company professionals who are offshored, in places other than the headquarters.
The possibility of being able to meet with them virtually through videoconferencing solutions allows a better relationship with the professional, a more adequate follow-up of the project and a feeling of greater proximity to the project.
GREATER AGILITY IN DECISION MAKING
Usually, decision-making in a company occurs in a face-to-face meeting, since several people, partners, etc. must intervene.
The use of video calls and virtual meetings has meant that, during these calls, business decisions can also be made.
The possibility of bringing together the executives or people involved in the decision in the same space is essential so those firm agreements can be reached in a more agile way than if we had to find a face-to-face meeting of all the members, with travel and more associated schedule difficulties.
In general terms, the main functionalities of this type of virtual meeting software are:
- Free video, voice and text communication between users, usually through zoom and other video conference platform.
- Video conferences from PC and mobile devices and the main operating systems.
- Group video conferencing functionality, with multiple users from different geographical locations.
- Possibility of sharing the screen with the other members of the videoconference (documents, presentations, etc.)
- The functionality of sending documents and files to the other members of the videoconference.
- Live chat functionality with all members of the video conference.
- Message and call encryption systems to guarantee the security and privacy of the participants.
- Apps to download on mobile devices in the main App Store.
- Recording functionality of video conferences.
- HD definition functionality of video conferencing.
Whether through tools without cost or through tools or payment functionalities, the market has very attractive and profitable software for SMEs and large companies, as the results in terms of productivity are very evident.
If the use of video conferencing tools has grown to date, the future is expected to maintain the same trend. In recent years, the use of software in desktops and laptops has been joined by that of mobile devices, which still have a lot of room for growth in the coming years. If we add to this that the technology and functionalities will continue to improve, or that there will be many companies that bet on teleworking for their employees, their use will be stronger every year.
