Assess Your Business’ Video Conferencing Needs to Find the Right Solution If your business deals with confidential information, then a videoconferencing system using an HTTPS connection and encryption options is highly recommended. Security is one of the primary underlying mandatory requirements in business and without it many IT initiatives are DOA (Dead on Arrival). Skype relies on user access passwords for security, and although the computer-to-computer voice calls are said to be encrypted, Skype’s technology is proprietary and there are concerns that have surfaced – for example.
Skype is not as secure as other software for video conferencing solutions. And Vidyo can manage bandwidth much better than Skype. Business grade videoconferencing systems like Cisco’s Movi, Polycom’s new solutions or Vidyo, do a great job of providing consistent call quality. I don’t mind telling a colleague to drop the video conference session and call my cell but I hate when this happens with clients or partners. This is may be good enough if you are dealing with internal colleagues, but not for you clients or business partners. The quality of Skype video calls can be unreliable due to poor sound or video.
The quality of Skype in the business environment is a concern. Quality of Audio and Video for Video Conferencing with VIPs So for several hundred dollars clear audio can be achieved. There are USB based audio devices available from Vaddio and Clear One, which can be used in boardrooms. At least one or more sophisticated microphones with echo cancellation is required.
To properly capture the sound of a room full of people you need Audio equipment to support multiple speakers. Clear Audio for Multiple People in Audio Conferencing There are USB cameras available that will give you these features, see Vaddio’s EasyUSB tools, but they cost several thousand dollars. Most USB webcams are great for one or two people, but not at all suitable for a meeting room. You should be using a PTZ camera with a wide-angle lens and a large focal length. You should not be using Skype to view several people in a meeting room. More Than 2 People in a Meeting Room for Video Conferencing Skype works well for the remote end but trying to use Skype (or any other desktop videoconferencing client) in a meeting room, with more than a couple of people in it, doesn’t work very well. My clients are often looking to connect a remote desktop user to a video conferencing enabled meeting room. Skype is not easy to connect to a meeting room AV system. It is costing them a lot of money to manage the technology and Skype is actually getting in the way of doing business. Then it dawns on them that Skype isn’t really free. Skype works well person-to-person but once they start to add more parties into either an audio or video call the reliability goes way down and they spend a significant part of the meeting time managing the call. This is the #1 complaint I hear from Skype users. Skype does not work well for multi-party calling. Multi-Party Audio / Visual Conference Calling Reliability Skype has a few limitations in the business environment which may mean it is not the right fit for your business’ video conferencing requirements: 1. So, if grandma can use it, it must be simple, which can’t always be said for all desktop video clients.Ħ Reasons Skype May Not be the Right Solution for Your Business Video Conferencing Needs It is user friendly everyone has heard stories of grandma using it to connect with their grand-kids.It is almost ubiquitous (over 600 million subscribers) and it’s easy to deploy (assuming your IT policy doesn’t prohibit it) you can be up and running within minutes.
Skype definitely has some really attractive benefits:
They are both free and Google Hangouts has better quality video.īut, once they start to bump their heads against some of the limitations of Skype then I know they are ready for the next conversation. Or, if someone has no experience with video conferencing and doesn’t know what type of video conferencing solution they might want, I tell them to try Skype or Google Hangouts. In fact, I usually turn the tables on them and tell them that if Skype is working for them they should keep using it.
Why Pay for Video Conferencing when Skype is Free?Ĭustomers often ask me why they should spend money on commercial grade video conferencing solutions when Skype is free.