Making Video Conferencing Work in a Highly Mobile World

These days, it’s pretty common to see professionals using their smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices for business communications. Gone are the days when employees heavily relied on analog telephones for talking to potential clients for hours, or investors personally flying to remote destinations for business meetings. They take too much time and resources and even induce stress to some extent. Despite the growing criticism for the lack of face-to-face transactions, the business world and society in general have clearly embraced mobile devices.

For instance, cameras on mobile phones were hardly a thing a mere decade ago. It was a simply a “nice to have” feature for those who can afford to purchase high-end phone units. Today, it has become a must even for entry-level models. In the same manner, video conferencing on mobile devices was virtually unheard of; there were no solutions or providers available to cater to such technology. In recent years, the demand for the ability to host online meetings with video participants using smart devices has dramatically increased.

Video conferencing in a mobile device-driven world

Independent research and publishing company The Fast Mode claims that by 2018, video conferencing will become one of the most widely used methods of communication. More than 70% of the SMEs have replaced business travel with video-based communication, and even large companies are joining in on the bandwagon to at least reduce business-related travel costs through video conferencing.

Today, it’s not just all about being able to conduct or participate in video meetings. This type of conferencing isn’t just limited to boardrooms anymore. It’s for the freelancer who works in a coffee shop; the boss who joins a meeting while frolicking in the beach; and the remote language teacher who would rather not memorize an access code to dial in. These highly mobile individuals require video conferencing on their mobile devices, and it using it should be as simple as launching an app on their phones and clicking on the name of the person they want to call.

Additionally, these meeting participants are usually stuck in environments where they have no control over the internet connection speed. Can their cellular provider give them the appropriate bandwidth for high quality video? Is every word spoken by the conference host heard as it should be heard? What if they reach the mobile data limit while in the middle of the meeting? Concerns about audio and video quality and data limits continue to crop up for product developers and users alike.

Thus, finding a business-class provider that addresses these troubles is a must, especially for one-man teams or startups with employees who are always on the go. Good video resolution with low data consumption, plus a powerful, intuitive app or web interface could well be the key ingredients in perfecting video conferencing for the growing mobile workforce.

Other key features to look for in a mobile video meeting solution

To truly embrace video conferencing on mobile devices, you should look for a vendor that hosts a handful of features and functionality aside from the foremost considerations of video and audio quality:

• Support for many devices. It’s only important that the product supports as many types of devices as possible. Ask your potential provider if the app works on Mac, Windows, Android, or iOS. These days, you need something that can work across all the tablets, PCs, and smartphones your team members use. You also have to consider that some of the clients you’ll be meeting with might have a completely different set of requirements.
• Real-time sharing. Compare and try out different providers to see how fast and reliable the service is. Ideally, you would want to use the same internet connection to do your tests. You wouldn’t want a something that will frustrate you with delays whether you’re on the video feed or using the file sharing functionality.
• Security. We’re talking about your most important conversations that can make or break your next business strategy, so you better get something with an added layer or security or encryption. Consider enterprise-grade vendors when you want to keep your communication and content in safe hands.
• Ease of use. Pinch-to-zoom controls for presentations, maximized video screens, click-to-call dialing, and other navigation functions that emphasize the need for simplicity must be incorporated into the mobile solution you’re going to choose. The right look and feel of an app or online interface will take your video conferencing to new heights.
• Multiple participants. Your solution must support your maximum desired number of participants whether it’s 10 or 25 people. You want to make sure that everyone can join your meeting.

“Today, having high-definition video conferencing capabilities is not just a nice-to-have for Fortune 500 companies, but an essential part of any enterprise’s efforts to bridge the gap between increasingly dispersed teams,” said Kira Makagon of RingCentral. With the right solution, scheduling or joining a video meeting using your mobile device can be a breeze, so there’s no excuse why you can’t be productive anytime or anywhere you are.