Who Uses Video Conferencing Software?
Most businesses: A variety of businesses and industries, regardless of size, can benefit from video conferencing tools. Client-facing businesses, such as consulting and advisory firms, legal firms, and other services providers, can leverage these tools as a means to reduce unnecessary travel and work with clients near and far. Video conferencing software is also used by growing businesses to expand their prospects and check in with employees, regardless of location. Even mid-market and enterprise-level businesses use video conferencing in their daily operations to connect with stakeholders and prospects.
Freelancers: Many free video conferencing options are available as well, making them an appealing tool for small businesses, freelancers, and other self-employed individuals. Free versions of video conferencing offerings usually provide less extensive functionality and limit the number of participants, making these plans more suitable for single users or small teams.
Schools: Video conferencing tools are sometimes built into online learning platforms or learning management systems as a medium to connect teachers with their students. These offerings are more specialized to the online learning environment, often providing additional collaboration tools such as file sharing, polling, and whiteboarding capability to effectively simulate a physical learning space.
Challenges with Video Conferencing Software
Video conferencing solutions can come with their own set of challenges, including:
Call quality: One of the most common issues with video conferencing software is call quality. While the software itself can be robust, the quality of the video or audio itself is highly dependent on the internet speed of the users involved. It’s critical to ensure that users have access to reliable internet when using video conferencing software to prevent potential frustration.
Security concerns: As with any software used for internal and confidential communication, buyers need to assess a product’s security protocol. While video conferencing tools have been the subject of security breaches in the past, vendors have taken steps to enhance meeting security, such as requiring passcodes to enter a meeting, implementing the use of waiting rooms, and strengthening administrative controls.
How to Buy Video Conferencing Software
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Video Conferencing Software
Whether a company is just starting to explore video conferencing software or looking for a more appropriate solution for its needs, G2.com can help inform buyers of the market and assist them in selecting the best software for their business.
The first step in deciding what kind of video conferencing software a buyer should look at is to assess the needs of the organization as a whole. Does the organization already use this kind of software? If so, what works and what doesn’t? Is this the first time the organization will be using video conferencing software? If that’s the case, buyers will need to determine how they plan to implement this software and whether or not their current systems are compatible. Some points to consider are:
Company size: Buyers will need to ensure that the products they are looking at will suit the size and need of the organization. When purchasing software, it’s important to ensure the product has the appropriate scalability to adapt to changing needs.
Integrations: Many companies need to leverage adaptable solutions that easily fit into an existing software ecosystem. To ensure that a new product is adopted and properly utilized by employees, it’s critical to ensure that the new tool is compatible with a company’s devices and applications, such as calendars, email software, CRM software, and project management software. Additionally, buyers must confirm that the new conferencing system is compatible with existing technology such as room systems, mobile devices (iOS and Android), operating systems such as PC and Mac, as well as common web browsers such as Safari and Chrome. This will help to reduce any potential friction users frequently face when implementing new technology.
Compare Video Conferencing Software Products
Create a long list
The first step to finding the perfect video conferencing software is to create a preliminary list of products that fit the buyer’s general needs. The next step is to narrow down the list by selecting specific features that are must haves or requirements for the buyer. G2.com provides information about the best video conferencing software, allowing buyers to filter options as well as user reviews to help narrow down the product list to a more relevant selection.
Create a short list
Creating a short list of products is an important step in the buying process. While it may be daunting to filter through various products, users can get help by utilizing G2’s compare feature. This feature will take products of choice and display them side by side so the buyer can easily determine which software ticks the important boxes on the list.
Conduct demos
Once the buyer has narrowed down the product list, the next step is to conduct a demo. Demos allow buyers to see a product and its features in more detail. To ensure a buyer gets the most out of a demo, it’s important to go in prepared. Buyers should have a business scenario ready that will fully test each product in consideration. Additionally, buyers should inquire about cost, vendor support, and any concerns they have about the product. Adequate preparation will make it easier for a buyer to compare products after the demos are completed.
Selection of Video Conferencing Software
Choose a selection team
Video conferencing software is very practical and widely used in many businesses. With that in mind, a good starting point would be to select three to five team members from various departments and seniority levels (such as IT, upper management, and associates) to be part of the selection team. The more varied the selection team is, the better a company can assess how well a product will meet its needs.
Negotiation
Once the selection team has narrowed down their software picks, it’s time to discuss customization options, pricing, and the type of support needed from the vendor. It’s always important to address pricing options, even when they are listed on a vendor’s website. Many software vendors will provide discounts and custom pricing options based on what the buyer is looking to purchase.
Final decision
Once a buyer has made the final decision on a product and is ready to move forward with a purchase, it is recommended that they conduct a final demo, inquire about a trial run, and determine what the next steps are if the product doesn’t ultimately fit their needs. It's also important to look into the kind of support the vendor provides following implementation. Most vendors will provide customer support services, such as video chat, to ensure ease of use as well as a pleasant customer experience. These steps can provide a buyer with an additional sense of security and confidence when making a final decision.
Video Conferencing Software Trends
Focus on security and privacy
Due to remote work and hybrid teams becoming more common, companies will begin to permanently rely on video conferencing software for everyday communications. As a result, privacy and security are becoming increasingly important to businesses. Following some well-known security concerns in 2020, such as the infamous FBI warning about hackers and the hijacking of online meetings, software vendors are continuing to implement changes to ensure customers are protected from outside threats. Features such as end-to-end encryption, passcodes, and multi-factor authentication are becoming more common across various video conferencing tools.
Enhanced user experience
Vendors are utilizing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to enhance audio and video functionality and quality, which is vital now that so many people are working from home who rely on these tools daily. For example, natural language processing, a subset of AI, can automatically detect unwanted sounds, toning down the background noise for those who are not on mute and enhancing the speaker’s voice. Visually, computer vision is used to blur the user’s background or add a virtual backdrop, adjust color and lighting, and even touch up the user’s appearance. These advanced features take HD video conferencing solutions to a new level.
