Video conferencing solutions also change the way people participate in meetings

A few months ago, European cities were completely cut off from air travel by a spew of volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland. As air travel came to a halt, a lot of business travels woke up to the importance of video conferencing solutions like the one offered by RHUB.

Unlike the usual telephone call or email, video conferencing is almost equal to talking face to face with an individual, with the slight difference being that the participants are not sitting next to each other and talking. Video conferencing solutions vary from each other in the degree of service, and not in their nature.

A lot of research has been conducted on the efficiency of video conferencing, and many of the studies conducted argue that video conferencing causes the minds to process information differently than they would during face to face meetings. An example of such case studies is the one done by Stephanie Watts and Carlos Ferran in ‘Management Science’ on September 2008.

Researchers on this subject feel that people who use the RHUB web conferencing appliance or any other video conferencing service end up using more of their cognitive abilities than those people who communicate face to face. This is because a greater cognitive load would be used for functions such as identification of the speaker, detection of movement, coordination of eye contact, conversation pacing and turn taking.

Moreover, cognitive attention would be greater because the participants of a video conference would be more self-aware. With a bigger cognitive load, the mind would cut back on its ability to evaluate the information being shared by the other participant. This may be done with heuristics, like the perception of that participant. As a result, the decision on whether to accept or adopt information would be made less on the quality of arguments being shared by the participant.

The study conducted by Watts and Ferran resulted in the report that talked about the difference between video conferencing and face to face communication. This field study was done on medical professionals, and it was found during the study that participants who attended a video seminar were influenced more by the speaker’s likeability and less by the quality of arguments presented by the speaker. In the case of a real conference attended in person, the opposite pattern was found. Even in this study, the researchers agreed that the difference in pattern was due to differences in the cognitive load of the participants.

As a result of these findings, the authors of the study argued that video conferencing is not simply a replacement for face to face meetings. These video conferencing solutions also change the way people attend and participate in meetings. Participants end up using less of their ability to systematically and rigorously analyze the arguments and information presented by the other party during a video conference. However, it must be noted here that Watts and Ferran’s study was based on video conferences where participants did not know each other before.

What does this study mean for business leaders? Likeable leaders who find it difficult to put forth a strong argument in favor of a proposal should use video conferencing services like that of RHUB instead of meeting with participants face to face. If required, a leader may also hire a likeable person for the purpose of presenting proposals or presentations through video conferences.

Additionally, if a virtual team participates in web based meeting and the leader has to make the team process information more systematic, he/she can reduce the cognitive load caused by video conferencing. This is possible by training the team properly about how to participate in video conferencing.

Some good video conferencing services like RHUB provide this training. In addition, participants can also be allowed to practice video conferencing with each other so that they become familiar with the way everyone performs in a video conference.

One more thing that virtual leaders can do to lower the cognitive load on participants is to make it easier for participants to concentrate on the logical and data-centric parts of the meeting. This can be done by opening another window along with the video of the presenter, where a slide show or a systematic list of arguments can be laid out.

So, you can see that video conferencing solutions like the one offered by RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance may not be comparable to face to face meetings, since video conference changes the way in which information is processed. As a result, it may not be possible to make video conferencing the same as face to face meetings just by improving the video streaming quality. However, service providers such as RHUB can help you reduce the cognitive burden on the participants of video conferences, and make your online meetings more effective.

Safe and effective meetings with RHUB web conferencing appliance

Web conferencing services are more of a requirement than a luxury for businesses today.
If you are not implementing web conferencing for your business, you are missing out on
a big opportunity to make your business more efficient.

It is no secret that web conferencing solutions like the RHUB web conferencing
appliance can save time and money for businesses, not to mention the efforts of
your employees, by eliminating a lot of business travel. In fact, online conferencing
streamlines your entire meeting process.

RHUB aims at providing effective and efficient online conferencing solutions for
all businesses, irrespective of their size. Its latest solution is the RHUB 6-in-1 web
conferencing and remote support appliance, which allows businesses to host more than 7
participants. It also offers free audio conferencing services, along with functionality and
efficiency that RHUB is famous for. The RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote
support appliance offers the following functionalities:

Outlook Integration

Businesses can easily integrate daily tools with the RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and
remote support appliance. With Outlook integration, employees can get easy and secure
email access and visibility on calendars, making it a lot simpler to schedule meetings
online.

High resolution video conferencing

The high-resolution video conferencing solution allows participants to see each other
through webcams, therefore making the meetings more realistic. People can convey their
feelings and thoughts through words as well as body language. Additionally,, and the
ability to listen as well as see others’ actions make meetings a lot more effective.

File sharing

Irrespective of whether you are sharing a simple file or a complete business report, the
RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance makes it look very easy.
The file sharing feature improves the speed of your connection and streamlines online
collaboration, making it easier to share and conduct long business presentations with
other participants, no matter where they are.

Meeting recording

RHUB also allows you to record your online meeting, which can be useful for several
purposes. For example, recorded conference meetings can be used for training employees
or for allowing employees on leave to catch up with the latest meetings. Recorded
meetings can also be posted on the company website for informing prospective and
current customers.

Mobile conferencing

Apart from all this, RHUB also offers businesses the convenience of mobile
conferencing. This allows people to attend and participate or host an online web meeting
through a mobile application.

An online web conferencing solution can change the way a company does business,
and there is no better way to introduce online conferencing into your organization than
through the RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance.

What is the hidden cost of free video conferencing?

When one looks at the video conferencing market it is quite easy to get lost in the dozens of solutions available, most of them having different requirements and offering different services at different costs.

Most of the time one tends to go with a solution that one is already familiar with or a solution that one has often heard talking about. In the video conferencing market these are MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Skype.

These are popular because they are inexpensive, most being free, and are used frequently by small and medium businesses as the video conferencing system of their choice. Skype alone has more than 663 million users and 37% of them are estimated to be businesses.

But what many businesses don’t seem to know is that, while these solutions are fine if one wishes to talk to a friend, they are not the solutions businesses need and deserve.

While they apparently provide a service at no cost whatsoever, there are hidden costs that businesses usually discover at their own expense. These costs often hurt companies in other ways than in their wallet and they should be aware of them.

The low quality of such video conferencing calls using such solutions often translates in unreliable connectivity, which often leads to frustration and interrupted conversations. When not getting interrupted, such calls usually suffer from delays and frequent interruptions.

The video quality delivered by these solutions is also quite weak. If one wishes to use video conferencing in his or hers daily business operations instead of audio conferencing then video is supposed to play a very important role. If video hasn’t quality then why use video conferencing at all?

Businesses using such video conferencing products should look for better solutions in the market. They often fail to really provide what they’re suppose to and result in lost clients and partners, lost time and affect the credibility of the company using them.

The purpose of video conferencing is to enhance communications between distant parties. If the video conference solution fails to fill this role then it shouldn’t be used.

There are many other solutions available in the market today and some of them quite inexpensive while also providing the quality businesses need and deserve.  Among them is RHUB’s 6-in-1 TurboMeeting appliance, which delivers high quality video, web and audio conferencing services as well as desktop remote support solutions.

Companies should know that nothing is free and that everything has its costs.

Remote working into a greener world

With remote working slowly but steadily making its way into the hearts of the practices of businesses and companies all over the United States, much has been discussed how will remote work and cloud computing in general affect energy consumption and how will it change our relationship with the environment.

There are many arguments that defend the adoption of remote work and among them those that state that remote work will have a big impact on the reduction of the carbon footprint, mainly because of the prominent reduction of commuting and business travelling.

In 2008, the American Electronics Association has estimated that 1.35 billion gallons of gas would be annually saved if every employee, with the option of doing so, would work remotely 1.6 days per week. This would translate into less 26 billion pounds of carbon dioxide being released every year into the atmosphere.

Still there are those who claim, Greenpeace among them, that though it is true that remote work will reduce carbon footprint associated with travelling, it will exponentially grow the energy consumption of data centers, with computers becoming one of the main sources of global ICT emissions by 2020.

However, a report by the Carbon Disclosure Project has shown that companies that adopt cloud computing will reduce their energy consumption. The report says that these companies can save annually $12.3 billion in energy, which is equivalent to an annual carbon dioxide reduction of 200 million oil barrels.

But remote work contributes in other ways to a greener and cleaner environment which are not so immediately perceived by the people, like how electronic documents are substituting paper which is one of the main causes of deforestation, which in itself has a big impact in global warming. Or how virtual offices do not require physical space and furniture and extra equipment. 

In the end remote working will have a deep impact by driving companies and businesses into greener and cleaner practices, and the soon this adoption takes place the better. Among the best remote working solutions available today in the market are RHUB’s 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliances, which are not only between the safest but also among the greenest.

Working from home becomes a reality

Past are the years when remote working was seen as an eccentricity, a trend that would soon fade because nothing can replace the workplace offices which are the heart and the brain of any enterprise, small or large. The years have proved the doomsayers wrong and now, more than ever, remote working (or teleworking) is flourishing, as it shows Microsoft’s Work Without Walls report.

“Telework is no longer a company perk for employees but a business imperative,” stated Ron Markezich, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s U.S. Enterprise and Partner Group.

“Ten years ago, it was seen more as an employee benefit. Today, businesses around the world are seeing telework as a necessity,” he added.

The report shows that 57% of the information workers surveyed in the U.S. have stated that their company has a formal policy which allows them to work remotely. Sector wise, financial services lead with 64%, followed by manufacturing with 58% and professional services with 55%. Area wise the percentage is bigger in Dallas and Seattle with 64%, opposed to the 50% recorded in Los Angeles and Detroit.

Still, information workers said they’re only working remotely half the time they would prefer. On average, an information is working remotely around four days a month though they would like to work remotely nine days. City wise, Atlanta is leading with employees in the area working remotely, on average, 4.7 days a month, followed by Phoenix with 4.5 days. On the other end of the spectrum is Detroit with only 2.6 days.

According to Ron Markezich, the disparity between how much remote work employees would like to do and the remote work they’re actually allowed to have is still a cultural issue, as employers are still bound to the workplace model.

“So much of business was built around the workplace,” he stated. “But over the past few years technology has made it so people can be more productive spending part of their time working remotely.”

However, the workplace model is slowly being replaced by remote working as its benefits are being realized by businesses all over the country. Remote work improves productivity and lowers costs, it allows employers to access a larger talent pool, increasing diversity. Employees have an easier time balancing their work-life balance and allows them to avoid commuting.

When asked what are the main problems with remote working with other employees, the respondents stated the inability of speaking face-to-face and the lack of a quick response, problems that are easily solved with a remote conferencing solution.

The ideal solution then seems to be one that allows remote work and web conferencing at the same time. Remote working technology developers and vendors should focus on the all package in order to provide a full remote working experience, much like RHUB’s appliances.

RHUB’s appliances allow for remote work to be done while at the same time supports video, web and audio conferencing, allowing remote workers to be in contact at all times, as if they were in the same workroom.

More SMBs are adopting mobile work and employees are working longer hours

According to a new research from Timlico, 93% of the directors of small and medium businesses (SMBs) believe that remote and mobile working is becoming more important in the workplace.

The research also discovered that over 66% of small businesses employees have the possibility of working remotely while at medium size companies this number grows to 75%.

But how are mobile workers affected by their mobility?

Another research recently stated that mobile workers are working longer hours. According to the iPass workforce survey on mobile working, workers are using remote connection solutions to work during non-work hours. 38.3% stated they are using the solutions to work during the morning, before office hours, while 36.6% said they use them to work during the lunch hour. 24.7% stated they use mobile work solutions to work when traveling to and from work, 26.6% that they work after dinner and 18.8% that they work late at night. Only 43.1% of the respondents said they never work during the night.

Still, mobile workers seem to be happy workers. The survey shows that mobile workers feel empowered by their mobility and that they are willing to trade off their free time if that means that they have more flexibility about being or not at the office.     

When asked what would make mobile workers disconnect from technology, 48% answered they would do it to spend time with their family and their children, 46% answered “while on a public performance”, 39% said “air travel” and 35% said “while having dinner at home”.

Problems with the adoption of mobile working

Still, the adoption of remote work has problems that SMBs need to deal with, like the losing and stealing of devices (76%) and lack of security of stored data (61%).

Solutions like RHUB’s 6-in-1 appliance can help SMBs dealing with the problems associated with remote connection and remote access. RHUB’s appliance is very easy to implement, requires no IT maintenance and offers complete security against illicit accesses.