Factors to consider for efficient videoconferencing

By Everett Belville, Regional Product Manager, Communication Services

Videoconferencing is now a fundamental tool to ensure productivity and collaboration between teams in companies worldwide. In the past, most videoconferencing systems were only used by large companies, due to their high cost and complexity of installation and maintenance. Things have changed. Now they are simple to install, manage and maintain, making them accessible to companies of all sizes.

What factors should you consider to have effective videoconferencing that connects with your teams? Before opting to use a specific technology, certain aspects must be taken into account:

Number of participants

Consider the number of people who are likely to attend your meetings on a regular basis. Some solutions allow you to connect with a small number of people for free. So, if you don't need to communicate with many people at the same time, you may not spend much (or anything).

Other services focus on connecting large groups of people. Because the range is so wide, knowing what you're looking for before you start can save you a lot of time.

Video streams

While many manufacturers of videoconferencing technology claim that their remote meeting systems can handle hundreds, if not thousands, of people at a time, they generally restrict the number of cameras on at a time. Find out how they handle video quality so that it is always excellent.

Ease of use

Don't let a complicated user interface slow down your company's productivity. Otherwise, you'll start presentations and fewer and fewer people will be present, or you'll experience a long delay and interruptions every time someone turns their cameras on or off.

Types of meetings

Are you going to hold a question-and-answer session with an open forum where anyone can participate and give feedback, or are you going to hold a presentation or conference and would like the audience to be silent? Imagine what types of meetings you are going to hold in the future so you don't have technical barriers that can't meet your requirements.

Mobile experience

The idea of videoconferencing is to interact with people remotely, and that may occasionally involve connecting via mobile devices. Test that the interactive display or videoconferencing system works on tablets and smartphones to ensure that participants on these devices have the same good experience as those using laptops.

Share the screen and encourage participation and brainstorming.

We are used to screen sharing to introduce, detail, highlight or clarify aspects of a presentation. However, collaboration with remote teams can go beyond that. There are interactive screens that not only allow screen sharing, but everyone can participate in the document and make annotations, for example. The document or image can then be saved on the device, either the whiteboard or in the cloud.

Intelligent collaboration rooms with compatible systems and excellent service

A growing number of companies are choosing to install dedicated videoconferencing rooms. Check whether the system and technology you want to implement are compatible with the configuration of your collaboration rooms. It may be necessary to enlist the help of an external provider to equip the space with the necessary technology.

Look at the type of service, support and maintenance provided by technology providers. When something goes wrong, you need a technical hotline that responds quickly and correctly to solve any technical issues related to the smart room.

For more information about Ricoh Latin America's interactive displays, visit:
Interactive whiteboard| Ricoh América Latina (ricoh-americalatina.com)

For more information about Ricoh Latin America's intelligent collaboration rooms, visit: