Online conferencing has done much more than simply providing a new way for businesses to hold meetings, it has played a huge part in transforming those businesses completely. Almost all industries and sectors have been affected by this trend by allowing employees to work from home, opening up connections with remote colleagues, and significantly cutting down on transport and equipment costs. If you are still unsure of whether it can work for your company, have a look at these four industries which have been revolutionized thanks to video meetings and how it could work for you too:
- Healthcare
Pulone has reported how teleconferencing has greatly aided the healthcare field and made affordable healthcare more accessible in areas where it wasn�t before, and even allowed doctors to conference each other and share ideas. People in remote areas in particular can benefit from a video conference and diagnosis from their doctor. This is especially important for mental health therapy, as people living in isolated communities are much more likely to develop mental health issues with little to no support available to them. Many people with mental health disorders also find it difficult to leave their homes or feel too uncomfortable to visit a health centre. It can be particularly helpful for urgent treatment, such as suicide prevention. Physical illnesses can also benefit from this tele-diagnosis technique, cutting down on the amount of home visits a doctor has to make and freeing up their time a lot more. While physical diagnosis and treatment will always be essential, remote communication has aided both doctors and their patients immensely.
- Government
ZDNet predicted that the government would be one of the areas which would be revolutionized by the IT revolution, and in many ways that prediction is already coming true. Video conferencing is an ideal way for government employees and departments to communicate and share sensitive information, perhaps even public safety information, as it is much more secure than a phone call or e-mail. Many recent news reports of major government officials, and even presidential candidates and major world leaders, having their private conversations hacked and leaked to the public have been cropping up over the past few years, making the need for secure communication all the more important. The wrong conversation leaked at the wrong time can ruin a politician�s career, and even their personal relationships. Not only that, but the day-to-day improvements that video conferencing brings helps regular civil servants do their jobs better too, and cuts down expenses (and taxes) for departments who have already felt their budgets becoming stretched.
- Creative Industries
Artists and creative people have a reputation for working in isolation, becoming withdrawn, socially outcast, and strange as a result. It is true that while creative people are more likely to be introverted or prefer to work alone without distraction, online chats have opened up their channels of communication with other creatives a lot more, with numerous benefits. They can network with other creatives, attend or teach classes on their discipline, seek feedback on their work, collaborate on projects, or run a business to make a living out of their art. Hosting an online seminar, class, or launch event, for example, is a unique way to build an audience and spread a message. Even just keeping in touch with friends and colleagues during long, lonely hours of isolation can greatly boost the creative�s mood, allowing them to produce better quality work and improving their mental health. Video conferencing solutions for business such as BlueJeans have been a great tool for not only fostering creativity and bringing the creative community closer together but also allowing creatives to share their work with the world and generating an income from it.
- Education
Every level of education from kindergarten to postgraduate has benefitted from video broadcasts in the classroom. It has also opened up new opportunities in adult education and hobbyist learning as well. Some classrooms, for instance, have held online chats with professionals in order to answer student�s questions and create a memorable lesson. Language students have connected with native speakers of the language they are learning in order to practise their skills on each other. Many people who didn�t have access to education before have found tutors online to help broaden their skills. This is especially important in remote communities, countries which still put some restrictions on access to education, or for people who can�t wouldn�t otherwise be able to afford classes.
These are just a few examples of sectors which have been aided by video conferencing in some way. There are many more who have felt the benefits, transformed their daily work operations, and reached more customers than was possible before. If you haven�t already, try it out for yourself and you will most likely feel the benefits in your office too, and you will never want to turn back.
