Since last year’s re-launch of its SightLink cloud video service, Internet Videocommunications has seen unprecedented growth in this market area as more and more organisations recognise the vast benefits of face-to-face communication without the need for travel.
In the UK alone, companies are spending, on average, a
staggering £15,979 per head, every year on travel. As a result, UK SME
businesses are potentially wasting £637,000 per annum on meetings, which could
be held via conference call. The problem that lies therein is that people
prefer face-to-face meetings that allow for a better communicative experience.
With this in mind, a recent survey of video conference trends found that organisations are taking advantage of cloud services, while also deploying video into small meeting rooms and across desktops.
How are people taking advantage? The simplest and easiest way to meet by video is via a Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) and Internet Videocommunications has found that their service that provides this, SightLink, to be a hit with customers.
SightLink allows access to a VMR from any type of device, whether a video conferencing system, a web browser, through Microsoft’s Lync, Skype or Skype for Business clients, a smartphone or a tablet, a regular phone, and in many other ways. Being always available and accessible for ad-hoc or scheduled meetings our customers have found that sharing information, presentations and collaborating is easier than ever before.
According to a recent Nemertes Research survey of 132 organisations, Cloud-based video conference systems are gathering steam. In 2016, 31% of organisations were using cloud video conferencing. This year, that number jumped to 40%, with another 41% planning to use cloud video conferencing. "Video conferencing in the cloud has skyrocketed," said Irwin Lazar, a Nemertes analyst. "Cloud has become the elixir that allows companies to rapidly expand video without having to make a huge capital investment upfront."
The real difference a cloud based solution makes is in its convenience and affordability but there are other factors that have made services such as SightLink become increasingly in demand.
Security
A main concern for internet Videocommunications’ customers with video conferencing moving to the cloud was security issues. SightLink has enterprise-grade security and end-to-end encryption which gives as much security as if you were holding a meeting on your own premises.
Simplicity
If all you have to do is send out a few invites to the virtual meeting and then click a button to join, why would you drag everyone into one location? The level of ease boosts efficiency way above previous levels in terms of collaboration. Users can quickly conduct a video meeting face-to-face with colleagues, customers, co-workers and suppliers anytime, from anywhere.
Speed
The worst possible scenario for any video conference is lag, patchy sound or distortion in visuals which detrimentally affect the quality and professionalism of a meeting. SightLink makes use of the widest reach of data centres across the World. This kind of resilient architecture means that when you connect to SightLink you will be doing so using the shortest IP path to the nearest point of presence, which in turn means eliminating packet loss, latency and jitter that is often observed by traversing large distances across the public internet.
Increasing Use of Connected Devices
According to a GSMA study, the number of connected devices in the global market will increase from 9 billion in 2011 to more than 24 billion by 2020. The increasing use of connected devices has made cloud video conferencing services seamless. For travel delays or other unforeseen circumstances, you can easily join a virtual online meeting on your mobile phone, iPad, laptop or other device as long as you have Internet access, no matter where you are. For most organisations, everyone in their mobile workforce can get a top quality, high definition cloud video conferencing experience on any connected device without a complicated setup.
Everyone benefits from less travel
This point need to be taken with a pinch of salt for people in the hotel or travel industry but less commuting has huge benefits. From the mental health of workers who get to spend more time with family, to reducing the carbon footprint. It will even add to the health of your business’ bottom line.
