Communication in business is absolutely key. Without proper communication, individual departments function as just that, individuals – the lack of cohesion will tear your business apart under the heavy weight of delays, paperwork and misunderstandings.
However, aside from great leadership, what truly matters in keeping a large enterprise together in the day and age of the Internet and globalization is access to a fundamental technological basis that makes conferencing, meetings and more possible on an international scale.
To do all that on a day-to-day basis, you will need more than your average free VOIP software solution. You’ll need a top-of-the-line business conferencing platform. But what makes a quality business conferencing platform different from the rest of the rabble? How can you choose the best video conferencing solution for your company among thousands of providers?
The answer lies in the features that different conferencing platforms provide. If you’re planning on choosing among the many quality business video conferencing solutions such as BlueJeans and more, you’ll want to ensure that you’re covered on the following bases:
Real-time Screen Sharing
While in no particular order, one important component that separates a casual, personal and family-use VOIP software with a premium business conferencing platform is the focus on quality screen sharing. Real-time screen sharing needs to be a staple among businesses, especially for the purposes of client meetings and staff training sessions.
Alternatively, the screen sharing feature can be the ultimate help desk tool, instantly clearing up what would usually result in a misunderstanding in text-based help sessions, saving both you and your customer a good amount of time.
Device Interoperability
Another absolutely critical feature in the modern age is universal device interoperability. While for free VOIP applications this is possible through application installation, a premium service should be able to take this to the next level by offering interoperability and communication between desktop applications, web-based calling sessions, dedicated video conferencing technology and the most basic of smartphones.
Nowadays, a large portion of customers spend their time browsing for services and products through mobile devices, such as phones and tablets. As per Statista, the mobile share of organic search engine visits has gone from 27 percent in 2013 to 46 percent in 2016.
In the meantime, many users don’t want to bloat their computers with more applications than they already have, opting instead for the attractive alternative of web-based Software-as-a-Service solutions. Your potential business conferencing solution should grant you the ability to begin a call between any and all devices, regardless of whether they join the call through a local application or their web browsers.
Cloud-based File Sharing
As per a simple definition from ReCode, through the cloud, devices can access files stored on the remote server or data center for the sake of convenience, or they can use the same application across multiple devices and computers, saving and syncing settings through user accounts rather than the identity of the device used for access.
Through the cloud, your business can store and share files without relying on the power of each individual device, allowing you to work from your phone, laptop, workstation or personal computer. Despite such ease of use, the cloud also allows for another crucial feature especially among enterprise-level service providers.
Encrypted Security
Encrypted security means that unless proper authorization has been given, anyone intercepting a file transfer from an outside device cannot find out what the file is. Encryption occurs whenever a file is moved, and it is decrypted by virtue of authorization from an authorized user account.
This way, your company’s file sharing and video calling activities are kept secure and safe from prying eyes, allowing you to ensure your client’s data safety, and offer better security. The dangers of hacking are always acute in large enterprises, however, which is why top-of-the-line business conference platform providers ensure that their software remains on the cutting edge of cyber security and encryption.
Recording Capabilities
Minutes of a meeting are still important for company record keeping purposes, and nowadays, they’re easier to produce than ever. This is especially true with premium video conferencing solutions, which help you record client meetings and other key conferences to ensure that you’ll have important details on file for whenever they may be necessary.
Multi-Party Meetings
Perhaps the biggest feature setting the top-of-the-line apart from other platforms is the number of people a video conferencing platform can support in a single call. Sometimes, you’ll have to call meetings not with a dozen or four dozen people, but as many as 400.
The best platforms go so far as to let you start calls with as many as 3,000 members, creating a new kind of webinar or online press conference where viewers can interact more than just through text.
While ultimately the choice for the best video conferencing platform is entirely up to your own needs and preferences within your industry, each one of these features is necessary for the performance of a large enterprise in the Internet age.
