How to make your virtual board room meeting a successful one

Video conferencing equipment

Depending on where and how you connect to a video conference session, you may need different peripherals.

Video conferencing in a meeting room or congress hall

In order to equip a virtual boardroom with high quality, it is necessary to observe many nuances. First of all, it is necessary to correctly calculate and install the sound amplification system. There was a good report on this topic at one of the Video + Conferences.

If the hall is small, then it will be enough to install one or more speakerphones (these are special devices that combine one or more microphones and speakers and are designed to eliminate echo and noise).

Video conferencing in the workplace

There are already many ready-made sets and complexes that include everything you need, but take up extra space on the table.

Therefore, often, and also in order to save money, a regular running program is used as virtual board software. Of course, the difference between them is enormous, because specially designed software allows you to increase the efficiency and productivity of business processes and improve the entire work cycle.

To prepare a PC for a video conference session, you can use a good webcam or that one that is built into all-in-ones and laptops, and a headset (preferably a USB headset) or a portable speakerphone connected to a PC via a USB interface.

Mobile video conferencing

One of the advantages of a boardportal is its portability. They can be used even while traveling or on the go. A device that can act as video conferencing is a smartphone or tablet computer. It is enough to install a special application on them.

What affects the quality of video conferencing?

Unlike electronic communications familiar to us, such as e-mail or messaging, online board meetings are referred to as real-time communications, which impose more serious requirements, both on videoconferencing terminals and on channel links that bind them.

We are all used to judging the quality of a connection by its speed, which in the context of a video conference will not be entirely true. Declared speed may change rapidly over time, may decrease under load, and may be radically different from the transmission direction.

While all this is critical for video conferencing, where the uniformity and predictability of the data flow are most important. It is not difficult for board management software to adjust the video stream to a wide range of values ​​from 64 kb/s to, say, 4 Mb/s, depending on the type of conference and the signal quality of the participants. It is much more difficult to adapt the channel width in real-time to the changing conditions of each of the participants in the communication session.

In order to successfully hold a conference, you need to produce the following algorithm:

1. Learn the features of the software. Be sure to study the software you choose. Read carefully how to use the program and what functions are allowed to be used. Doing the proper research can help you determine the features and services that are right for your company.
2. Take care of job support. Keep in mind that if your software is not compatible with a paperless environment, it may interfere with the quality and efficient work. Provide employees with devices and proper protocols so they can start practicing and learn how to avoid problems in the future.
3. Automate workflow. Start by making digital copies and putting them into the software. Anyone who needs a copy of a document can easily download and store it on their device, reducing the need for each employee to print documents.
4. Prepare the team. Paperless conferences are a uniquely convenient and fast process. However, it is important to train staff and teach them how to use the software correctly. This step is no easy task. It may be difficult at first, but with your ability to adapt, you will quickly understand and use this piece of modern technology for a better future.

The simplest solution to this problem is a hard reservation of both hardware and network resources of the video conferencing system.

Conclusion

When choosing a virtual meeting solution system, we recommend that you carefully read the principles of its operation and choose the one that will minimize the cost of its implementation, scaling, and support.