Conferencing Solution Ideal For Distancing and Working In COVID-19 Era
The world changed in the span of three months and the COVID-19 era is upon us. It redefines the way we interact, socially and at work. Since distancing is the only way to keep safe, it has become the norm but that presents an impediment to getting things done. Video conferencing is ideal for distancing and yet working in this new age of coronavirus.
Recreate the Normal Work Environment
Work is not just talking and getting things done. One must be able to see the other person and also exchange documents during the course of interaction. This is how it is done in the normal fashion.
However, lockdown and the fear of the virus keeps us away from work environments. Video conferencing brings everyone together in shared screen space. You are in a secure place and yet you are working. The conferencing solution allows participants to exchange documents in electronic format and arrive at decisions. Such documents may be presented on screen or simply exchanged during the ongoing conference. You can do quite a few things such as:
- Schedule a conference and be the moderator
- Present documents
- Authenticate participants
- Record the conference proceedings
- Broadcast message or interact one to one or one to many.
- Leave the conference temporarily and then rejoin with a chime to mark exit and re-entry
- Mute the mic, control volume, choose who may see you
- Mail notification during the conference
- Name and PIN mapping
Two people can start a video chat. Then they can call in a third and a fourth person into the chat and invite even more colleagues to make it a conference.
So, who are the potential beneficiaries of video conferencing software?
Business
Lockdown or no lockdown, businesses must keep running, at least the essential office part if manufacturing is not possible due to restrictions. Employees, managers and business owners can simply get together on the virtual video conferencing platform and conduct the day to day business. The virtual office permits collaboration and, more important for business, keeps its operations open for customer services.
Government
Businesses can afford to take a break and suffer a loss. However, governments must keep working day and night. Cabinet ministers must meet to know what is going on in various departments. The lockdown and fear of contracting COVID-19 make this a near impossibility but video conferencing helps key decision-makers stay in touch with others and be on top of the situation at all times, even when they are on a mobile. Video conferencing easily ports to mobile devices and that is ideal for law enforcement agencies to know what is going on in different areas.
Law Enforcement
Not all members of the public strictly follow lockdown orders. Some may try to take unfair advantage of the lockdown. Patrolling areas are good but how do the police communicate and let head offices know the situation on the ground. The simple solution is video conferencing on the mobile. This helps them to transmit live videos and call for assistance if necessary or port it to TV for broadcast to the public. Courts are now conducting cases using video conferencing, especially those that require an urgent hearing.
News and Journalism
It is vital that news lines remain open to inform the public and prevent the spread of rumors. A journalist must work in the field and must submit reports for publication. While the former may be possible and easy, the latter is not easy. However, video conferencing proves wonderful in more ways than one. The normal way of video newsgathering is to use satellite outdoor broadcasting vans but such vans cannot reach all areas. Journalists and news reports can use their mobiles to gather live footage and stream it over the internet to their head offices for broadcast. Importantly, there is an intrinsic safety factor. Journalists are subject to harassment and detention in which cases the conferencing solution helps them to let other colleagues know their situation and turn it into a new item!
Education
Schools and colleges are closed. Exams are canceled. In a way, you can say the future of the world is at stake. Educational institutions cannot remain closed and yet no one can take the risk. The easy solution is for education to continue but in a different way through video conferencing. It has all the features to make it easy to conduct virtual classes and hold exams.
These and other sectors must adopt video conferencing solution but not all such software is ideal. There are issues with poor quality video conferencing solutions.
Issues with Video Conferencing Solutions
Many people and even businesses are using free to use video chat and conferencing systems as a make-shift solution but with frustrating experiences. Some issues you can encounter with low-grade software or with free software:
- Poor grade audio and dropped packets leading to interruptions in voice flow and loss of clarity
- Video freezes and there are lags
- Audio and video do not sync properly
- It is not possible to share whiteboards or exchange documents;
- Restrictions on the number of participants
- Codec incompatibility if your users use different codecs.
- Slow internet affects smooth operation
- Lack of security
- Difficult to set up and use
- You may not be able to record the conference
- Inability or difficulty to integrate with your CRM
- You cannot talk with the other person if they do not have the same app
Apps like Facebook Messenger are fine for personal use but when it comes to serious business of governance, policing or education or even plain business, you need something that is technically purposed for group use and interaction. Take a look at professional-grade top-notch full-featured video conferencing if you want to have a seamless experience, security, and performance.
The Case for Multi-Tenant Video Conferencing
Multi-tenancy means you have a single point video conferencing solution that can be used by various branches or departments with centralized control and monitoring but each tenant is like an independent subscriber within the system. This type of video conferencing system is ideal for large corporations with a global footprint, governments that have so many district administrations and departments and also for law enforcement agencies. They need secure multi-tenant video conferencing fast and it should work without glitches regardless of the number of users.
Find the right vendor and your work improves. In fact, video conferencing could become the new norm in the post-COVID-19 era.
