Another interesting application is when participants can not only view updates to spreadsheets simultaneously, but also input changes in real time. Apart from this it has also become effective for sales and marketing activities, and is quite reliable as a training tool as well. Other applications include providing information to shareholders, or to end-users through help desks.

Cost-effective Connection
From a cost perspective, Web marketing is a much more effective way to go. The challenge for companies is to make the presentations sufficiently warm and interactive to create a near touch-and-feel effect. The use of two-way video, instant messaging, and Web-based conferencing effectively counter that challenge.

There have been marked changes in consumer preferences. While IT purchasers still place strong emphasis on cost minimization, today, there exists a bigger need among end-users to seek solutions that unify different forms of communications and help solve specific business problems.

Enterprises require an interactive tool that can incorporate communications, computing and audio/videoconferencing. This would comprise technologies that allow people in remote locations to collaborate electronically via voice or face-to-face, and in real time, and share all types of information, including data, documents, sounds, and images.

Audio, video, and webconferencing have resulted in huge cost reductions in travel across geographical boundaries. These benefits come in various forms: allowing multipoint meetings across time zones and international borders; reduction in costs of travel and executive time; reduced communication costs; archiving, whereby conferences could be tapped for future reference; real-time sharing of files and presentations; improved effectiveness of meetings with enhanced fluency and focus; bringing together dispersed groups at short notice; savings on infrastructure costs by opening offices at remote locations, etc.

Conferencing solutions release the business potential via attractive economic benefits based on usage of converged resources. It brings about the organizational agility and the flexibility to work from remote locations as well, besides providing applications that increase productivity and efficiency. IP telephony sales are thus likely to grow from 7% in 2002 to 46% by the end of 2007.

There has been growing demand for managed/hosted solutions as well. The reasons being the need for reducing capital expenditure, optimizing internal operations and bringing down operating expenses, enabling rapid deployment of new applications and services, and leveraging on the specialized expertise of the vendors, channels, and service providers in managing complex networks.

Videoconferencing is a significant breakthrough in communications technology. It has been adopted globally and is being used in various fields and facets of life, as people are now aware of its innumerable tangible and intangible benefits. One of the many advantages of videoconferencing is the possibility to communicate at all levels, including making use of body language, which plays a significant role in effective communication.

Page(s)   1  2  3  4