Video conferencing is a technology for communication which allows users located at different locations to conduct face-to-face meetings without having to move to any definite location. Video conferencing for business use video and audio communication to bring people from different locations for a conference or meeting. Conferencing platforms like GoToMeeting UK even offers multi-point video conference where 3 or more employees sit in a virtual room and communicate in a way which looks as if they’re sitting against each other.
Business traveling is a trip which is taken by the employee of a company to carry on duties which are related to multiplying business for the company. Employees and company leaders travel in order to meet business partners and also attend meetings with clients. Now the million dollar question is whether or not video conferencing complements business travel or is all set to replace it?
Video conference – Is it a potential nightmare for business travel?
The new technologies usually deliver the best results and video conferencing is also not an exception. But there are some who anticipate that this may interrupt business traveling significantly thereby cutting down the bottomline of airlines and hotels as employees and managers start boosting their desktop communication rather than packing their bags for a business tour. The people who vouch for business travel say that no matter how much high quality service video conferencing offers, its impact on travel will definitely be positive and interesting.
Are poor economic conditions better for video conferencing?
There’s no doubt about the fact that the video conferencing market is entirely in its growth mode now. In 2016, there were predictions that the industry would grow at a rate of 25% which is almost double the pace it grew 5 years ago. But if you consider the backdrop of the market, you will see that a turbulent economic time can make such tools for cost-cutting attracting for the businessmen.
Big shot video conference players and their marketing spreadsheet are full of case studies which show considerable meeting and travel cost reductions. As tools like GoToMeeting make conferencing more mainstream, the big companies will open up new markets with mid-sized businesses in order to save money. This is the face-to-face game which has always been like this and which will always be the same.
Business sales drive business travel
You can’t see video conferencing ever replacing entirely the person-to-person requirement of a complex sale process. For instance, if you consider enterprise software for the airlines, can that be sold on screen? As budgets on traveling loosen down with better economic outlooks, business travel will be back as sales team move on to meet in person with customer teams. Sales can only happen when people spend enough time together, building enough understanding and trust.
It is true that the hassles of weather, traffic and lack of time will turn face-to-face meetings into desktop video calls but the need for an in-person meeting will always be there. There will still be vital meetings which will be performed in-person as they were done before.
