The Villains of Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing continues to gain popularity; Ovum predicts that the global market for videoconferencing will hit nearly $3.6 billion in 2016. This is not merely a fad; last year, the world made 1.8 billion hours’ worth of Skype calls (according to Microsoft). The benefits of face-to-face interaction, compared with a phone-only conference call, cannot be understated. It has been proven that videoconferencing is a more productive medium and attendees feel more of a connection to each other; collaboration is thereby ramped up and time spent in a meeting more productive. Travel costs are also lowered, which is a big budget boost.

With all of the positives to videoconferencing, there are still glitches: quite possibly the biggest villain in the battle of effective collaboration is the human component. Being able to easily use the equipment can be one of the leading deterrents to ruling the world of videoconferencing.

The animated movie “Penguins of Madagascar” (2014, Dreamworks Animation) highlighted a very relatable and common videoconferencing scenario: there is picture, but no sound. In this case, Dave, the villainous octopus, hacks into the good guys’ Skype-like system … however, his threats lose their effect when he can’t use the technology correctly:

“Can you hear me? Can you see me?” he asks, after he figures out how to turn on the microphone volume. The rest of the call will make you laugh, as we’ve all experienced meetings that don’t go as planned:

KAPOW! ZOWIE! BAM!

The best way to combat this villain is to provide conferencing equipment that is easy to install, use, update and maintain. A straightforward, simple to use speakerphone from Jabra, the new Speak 810, can be the perfect solution and hero for many organizations using USB connection to their videoconferencing system. The 3.5mm jack cable offers another option: with your smartphone or tablet too! With plug and play connectivity, the Speak 810 is a unit with crystal clear sound and ZoomTalk microphones for picking up the human voice.

Designed for conference rooms of up to 15 people, echoes, background noise, and any distortions are filtered out with Digital Signal Processing. With Jabra Direct, firmware updates are automatically pushed out to your device as they are available, ensuring your Speak 810 is ready when you are. Easy-to-use touch buttons that light up, along the top of the Speak 810, take the guesswork out of collaboration. It’s all of the conference call capabilities you need, without the complexity. MSRP for the Speak 810 is well-priced at $599. For more information about the Speak 810, read our review here.

Other common videoconferencing villains:

1. Poor sound (echoes, distracting noises, unable to hear participants due to the wrong equipment being used)
2. High set-up costs
3. Video clarity (video conferencing uses more bandwidth; picture quality can be poor and buffering may occur.)

No one wants to deal with a “Dave the Octopus” when it comes to technology. In the 2015 Knowledge Worker study, Jabra & Lindberg found that, on average, 15 percent of the time during an hour-long meeting is wasted. Since we spend 18 days each year (on average) in meetings, those 15 minutes add up in a hurry! If you’re ready to gain back wasted time, and learn more about the Speak 810, give us a call. We’re happy to help!

Source: 13 Reasons Videoconferencing is a Popular Vision for the Future