It's not only the summer temps that are hot ... so is Video Conferencing!

When you are inside a business and market, and that's all you talk about, it's sometimes easy to feel like everyone is talking the same thing, over and over again.  Happens to me with Video Conferencing - it's our business, and it's the technology and products we talk about all day long - with our customers, partners, and inside the company. 

So it's always interesting to do a quick "news" search on Google to see what's being said about it outside the normal channels of tech websites.  Today, I found a couple articles, written by leading (online) publications talking about video conferencing - and how it's time to start (if you've not already started) switching from voice-only to video + voice.

From Harvard Business Revenue

"Stop Scheduling Conference Calls and Finally Commit to Videoconferencing"

(https://hbr.org/2018/06/stop-scheduling-conference-calls-and-finally-commit-to-videoconferencing)

"If you knew about a technology that would help you improve organizational alignment, cut meeting times, and increase engagement in discussions, surely you’d use it all the time, right? You may be surprised to learn this powerful tool is already at your disposal. It’s videoconferencing, a technology that has been around for years and is available in many forms, from corporate systems such as telepresence to built-in cameras on desktop computers and mobile phones. Thanks to free services including Skype and Zoom, videoconferencing can be easily accessed by anyone with a computer or smartphone. And yet we default to using email or the phone to communicate."

The first paragraph sets the tone of the article.  And actually, we couldn't agree more. There was a reason Microsoft spent $11.2 billion to acquire Skype in 2011.  The vision of integrating a full-fledged video + voice application within the already jam-packed Microsoft Office suite was just too much for them to walk away from at the time. Today, Microsoft has continued to tinker the integration and this year came the announcement that Skype for Business would be a key technology within Microsoft Teams.  And we all know Zoom is quickly becoming the market leader.

The best part of the article is that it's not a technology piece - it's a business oriented article, hitting the highlights of "why video conferencing" is better.  This is a great article.

From INC. 

Best Video Conferencing Services for Small Business - 2018

(https://www.inc.com/operations/best-video-conferencing-services-for-small-business.html)

These types of articles are the backbone of INC magazine (either online or printed). This particular article helps set the stage for helping a small business select the best video conferencing services for them.  Although they didn't include Zoom (which is an oversight on their part, considering from other market research, Zoom is one of the top Video Conferencing services for small business) - they did have RingCentral included (which uses Zoom technology) in the list, and it came in at #2. 

One of the great things about these articles, it provides a breakdown of major categories of comparison.  Most of us don't have time to create that level of detail, especially in our small businesses.  So why not stand on their shoulders and use those categories to create your own evaluation of video conferencing service providers.  Just make sure to understand cost of the service is only one aspect of your total "cost" - additional or upgraded hardware, along with support for the new technology should also be factored in.  The list is on the first page and includes nine (9) criteria.  Check out the article to see the results.

From Seeking Alpha

Trouble Ahead For The Shotgun Wedding Of Polycom To Plantronics

(https://seekingalpha.com/article/4188068-trouble-ahead-shotgun-wedding-polycom-plantronics)

Seeking Alpha is one of the better financial websites with information about business "deals" (mergers, acquisitions, funding, etc.).  This specific article concerns the announcement back in March from Plantronics to acquire Polycom for approximately $2 billion.  This is not one of the market moving acquisitions, but it is interesting if only from a historical perspective of Polycom, which was one of more recognizable products in conference and meeting rooms around the world.  The Polycom conference room speakerphone was almost as common as paper and pens. 

To really enjoy this article, you need to be interested in financial market moves.  If you are, this is a great breakdown of the transaction, and who Seeking Alpha believes the real winners and loser are going to be.

This wasn't a typical post/article for us, but we do have to recognize there is a bigger "market" and video conferencing is just part of it.  If you liked it, then please share it out.  If you have any question about Video Conferencing, let us know, we are here to help.