Communication – we would all be lost without it. From exchanging pleasantries with your next door neighbor to holding a high-powered meeting with your company’s most lucrative client, it’s good to talk; but face-to-face communication isn’t possible all the time, especially if the people or organisations you want to be in touch with are on the other side of the world.
Technology to the rescue?
In situations where meeting someone in person is rendered impossible because of time constraints, or because you or they lack the means to get to them, technology could help. In the past, a simple phone call was the next best thing; but in the past few years, the growth of video conferencing technology has proved to be a lifesaver for businesses and public sector organisations.
Video conferencing could be used in a variety of different settings for business benefits in remote working, as a one-on-one talks, interviews, group meetings, lectures or even to keep in touch with distant family members. As picture quality improves and delays become less frequent, it’s possible that video conferencing could become the next big thing in telecoms. Here are a few examples of where and how it could be used in the future:
Military precision
In the armed forces, video conferencing could become useful for strategic purposes – different groups stationed in different parts of a warzone could communicate the night before a big attack, for example. Also, it could enable soldiers to contact relatives after training to reassure them that they’re fine.
Distance learning
Learning at home could become a reality for more and more students – especially those who want to gain a degree that live in remote areas. They could watch lectures, seminars or workshops beamed live onto their computer screen straight from their university, meaning they won’t feel like they’re missing out just because of travel issues.
“Distance learning, with the help of video conferencing, will become possible for thousands, if not millions of students in higher education. However, it could also help to make learning a little more interactive, something that school students in particular could lap up as they see the world from their computer screen”, said the international finance specialists at financial-chaos.com.
Law and order
In the legal world, video conferencing could play a big role in reducing postponed trials. How this is possible is that judges, jurors, defendants/plaintiffs and solicitors could ‘attend’ trials via video, which could save courts plenty of time and money in the long run, especially if travel issues cause absence from the court itself.
Telemedicine
Hospitals could find video conferencing useful in furthering the education of medical students as they watch live operations from a classroom, as well as by allowing for communication with experts from other hospitals in case of complex operations. Doctors could use it for helping remote patients who need advice but can’t make it to them.
Personal use
For keeping in touch with friends and family who are miles away from home, video conferencing could be the most effective possible tool. It allows for visual communication which a phone call, text message or instant messaging don’t provide.
