video conferencing comes in many guises, from the simple – though still effective – to the extremely sophisticated and expensive. Telepresence video conferencing is the most high-end of the options available. The idea here is that the other person or people in on the call should seem like they are actually in the room with you. That means they employ the highest quality sound and vision communication, depending on high bandwidth connections for the significant amount of data that needs to be transmitted reliably for such high resolution and fidelity reproduction at the other end. That involves specialist equipment and, as such, has an associated price tag. For that reason, it is most frequently employed by big businesses that can both afford the costs and require the best audio visual conferencing that technology can offer. At the other end of the scale there is the simplest camera and microphone set-up, which is cheap enough to be built into many new computers – even netbooks, which might cost only £200-£300. Powered by Skype or other similar software, these are used by millions of people to make cheap or free video calls across the world with only a broadband connection.

There are many advantages to all forms of video conferencing. Cost is one, and is the reason that so many people use Skype. Why pay for a costly international call when you can get one for free online? Throw in the video images as well and you have all the reasons you need. For companies, this cost factor is multiplied when you consider the expense of getting people together for a meeting – especially if they are coming from different countries. This also takes time, and generally you will be spending far longer travelling than in the meeting itself – an inefficient use of time. There are also environmental advantages, since travel is carbon-intensive. That makes a difference in an age where carbon footprint is quantified and incorporated into a company’s results and public image.

Video conferencing will usually pay for itself in a pretty short time. Naturally, there are limits even to the best technology and there is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting. But the benefits are such that every business with any kind of geographic spread – even across a few miles – should consider some form of audio visual conferencing. Whether that’s at the lower end of the spectrum or one of the cutting-edge telepresence video conferencing set-ups will depend on the needs of your firm.

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