The future of video: From the boardroom onto the high street
THE current demands for video conferencing and communication technology in the office and the boardroom are clear. Businesses need a cohesive, mobile and robust system capable of responding to their needs for communication on a global scale – whether in a video conferencing suite or communicating via an iPad camera. But where are we going to see advances in video technology in other areas?
“We predict a future rise in the use of video conferencing in healthcare and legal services – and we could increasingly see it on the high street in the next few years,” says Chris Argent, enterprise consultant at Hudson & Yorke. “As consumers are used to socialising, banking and shopping in a virtual way, many would be happy to discuss and buy financial products and other services from a video agent.”
As home computing technology increases and with superfast broadband speeds on the horizon, the potential is there for businesses to embrace customer-facing video technology. Rather than just internal, employee-focused video systems and infrastructures, businesses can use video to reach out to potential customers. The main stumbling block to the uptake of this approach may well be cultural, at least at first – but the companies that successfully encourage business-client video interaction will have the edge on their competitors.
COST BENEFITS
The future of video technology will also be driven by the continuing financial squeeze and by the evident advantages for businesses of having employees work remotely. As office rental increases and as companies feel the pinch, the draw of truly mobile video communication technology will be clear to businesses. Rather than being tied to an office space, employees can work on the move and from home. Not only is expensive office space saved, but the increased productivity will help the successful adopters of technology to profit.