Social networking’s undeniable increase in popularity in recent years has resulted in a trend of video conferencing stepping away from a corporate setting and moving towards mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, an industry expert has claimed.
Polycom Thailand’s regional manager, Thep Ritrangkla, spoke to the Bangkok Post to discuss the success that such websites as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linked have had. He went on to talk about the high volume of sales being produced by smart devices, saying how it had resulted in a different way of engaging with conferences.
The firm is benefiting from these changes thanks to its own real-presence cloud programme, which enables the inclusion of social media contacts and company email in a single video call.
Ritrangkla said that conferencing previously would have been used solely with an internal system but it has become possible for the service to be expanded to any IP telephony connection to call into customers, partners and suppliers.
He referred to a recent Wainhouse Research survey, in which 75 per cent of respondents said that a laptop or PC was used for video conferences, with the rest choosing to use a tablet or smartphone.
Smartphones and tablets are expected to take more of the share in the following 12 months, with mobile video conferencing now feasible at train stations, hotels and airports and every bit as popular as its conventional face-to-face equivalent.
Video conferencing could further be utilised in the recruitment industry, with interviews being conducted by consultants over specialist software. Such websites as Facebook, Twitter and, of course, LinkedIn, are seeing its members promote job vacancies. Mr Ritrangkla said that it is this particular use of video conferencing which could result in permanent changes in the sector.
Customer service teams may also employ video calls in the future in replying to customer queries, as well as performing product demos online.
