This isn’t exactly breaking news, but the rapid rise of video conferencing solutions is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. A recent Polycom-sponsored survey of 159 IT professionals in the US, Germany and Australia offers us a detailed breakdown of just what this A/V boom looks like right now.
74% of respondents reported that video conference calls have increased over the past two years. In the US, only 2% of IT pros said their video call load has decreased. With the rise of cloud-based conferencing (62% of US IT decision makers said they increased cloud-based applications in the past two years), even early adopters of video conferencing and collaboration solutions are experiencing growth and change that can be hard to keep up with. According to the survey, there is almost no such thing as a seamless transition into the video realm: 96% of worldwide respondents said they face challenges managing their video conferencing solutions.
With that in mind, we offer four key strategies for clearing the obstacles between you and a pain-free video conferencing experience.
Training Is Fundamental
No matter how user-friendly your video conferencing solution, your introduction (or escalation) of a new communication method will disrupt (briefly, one hopes) your employees’ workflow and change the way they operate on a fundamental level. To ignore this reality is to court trouble. Take the time to fully investigate how video will affect your employees and offer thorough trainings catered specifically to each department and/or time. No video conferencing solution is a one-size-fits-all affair. Train appropriately and efficiently.
Streamline Solutions
Of the 159 IT experts surveyed by Polycom, 84% said they used two or more cloud-based video conference solutions, while 78% have two or more video conference endpoints in their conference rooms. This proliferation of difference probably accounts for a sizable share of challenges encountered by IT departments. With a cloud-based solution like Prime Call Cloud UC, which boasts total interoperability with any hard or soft endpoints, anyone in your organization can communicate with anyone else inside or outside your company no matter what they are using to connect.
Make BYOD Make Sense
The convenience and economic benefits enjoyed by BYOD workplaces are not to be discounted, but the preponderance of different devices can complicate matters. To mitigate any confusion, be sure to set guidelines about when and how your employees are to use their devices for work-related matters, and choose a solution that offers the same user experience on all devices.
Know Your Users
As we said above, no two departments or teams will use a video conferencing and collaboration solution in the same way. In fact, a tool that would be completely unnecessary for a remote employee (an immersive screen array, for instance) will be an essential A/V addition for employees who will be conducting high-level meetings with executives and important clients. Get to know the needs of all users and choose the unique shape of their solution accordingly.
Explore our many A/V integration solutions and contact us with any questions about pricing and implementation. We will have one of our experts get back to you right away. If there is anything else you’re looking for, use our Advanced Search tool to find it.
