Benefits of Free Video Conferencing

There are some of the major benefits of free video conferencing as follows

Video Conferencing Increases Productivity

As a video conference can be held during working hours people will not need to travel to get to the location of the conference as video conferences are usually held in a room within the business office. This makes internet video conferencing a fast and convenient way to hold meetings.

Video Conferencing Saves Money

The initial video conferencing cost is fairly high but ultimately costs are reduced as people will not have to travel and fly to the other side of the world to meet up. Additional costs such as food and other travel expenses like hotels are non-existent with this way of conferencing.

Video Conferencing Saves Time

Just walking into another room in your office building takes up less time than travelling to another location (even if the meeting is to be held in a local place). As every person necessary to make decisions can join the video conference, this is the ultimate way to speed up corporate decisions.

Video Conferencing Friendly to the Environment

As travelling is reduced to a minimum with internet video conferencing, less of a burden is put on the environment. Fuels from airplanes and cars are damaging the environment already and video conferencing can reduce extra travelling to zero.

Disadvantages of Video Conferencing

Of course there are also disadvantages to video conferencing:

Video Conferencing Kits can be Relatively Expensive

The initial setup costs for video conferencing technology can be quite costly, depending on how big a group of people should be able to converse via this technology. The cost of video conferencing can add up to over $15.000 when setting up the conference equipment

The Lack of Familiarity with Technology used can be Disconcerting

Staff will need training to be able to work with video conferencing devices and technology, or at least two people within the company should know how to operate and explain the video conferencing system owned by the company. The entire procedure can seem daunting to personnel at first and it is important that people feel comfortable using the equipment.

The Problem of Time Zones

One of the big advantages of internet video conferencing can be a problem too. People in different countries or even in different parts of the country live in different time zones. This can make it complicated to set up video conference meetings.

Extra Space Needed

As the devices and a screen have to be set up in a permanent environment to keep the connection stable and to keep the entire setup running it is best to set aside a special room within the office building for video conferencing. This will take up (often costly) office space that could otherwise be used for personnel or normal meetings.

Skilled Personnel Needed

A company will have to invest time and possibly money into training a number of their staff or to hire extra staff to familiarize their workers with the technology offered. Someone has to maintain the system and needs to know what to do in case of failure and other problems that might arise.

Cost involved in Video Conferencing

An internet video conferencing system suitable for a smaller group of people can cost from $3000 up to $12.000 and is a big investment for smaller companies. The company would have to investigate whether this system would be used often enough to justify the costs.

The same technology suitable for a bigger number of users to plug into to the system from all over the world would cost from $10.000. Free video conferencing is not really an option for businesses needing a stable video conferencing situation that they can depend on.