What are the types of video conferencing?

Video conferencing has become an essential business tool. The global remote workforce has grown by over 150% since 2005 with more than half of companies now supporting remote work, and an additional 77% increase is expected by 2022. In an environment where so many workforces are physically dispersed but still have to coordinate teams and connect with clients or prospects, remote meetings have naturally grown more prevalent. There's a good chance that your company has used one or several types of video conferencing in the past few years.

Although previous experience doesn't necessarily make someone fully familiar with the best solutions for different uses, it's a knowledge gap that's well worth bridging. Understanding the specific types of video conferencing and the best tools for each can make a big difference in your productivity.

The major types of video conferencing

Video conferencing comes in several major forms:

  • Large company-wide meetings
  • External meetings with clients, prospects or vendors
  • Internal team or department meetings
  • One-on-one conversations and interviews

Each of these types of meetings might require different conferencing solutions.

The company-wide meeting

From time to time, companies need to check in with all of their departments, teams and employees to bring forward their goals, assess progress and recognize challenges, achievements and opportunities. All-hands meetings, sometimes called "town halls," have traditionally been held in large physical spaces like auditoriums. Now, it's increasingly possible to move these kinds of meetings either partially or entirely online with access to the right conferencing software.

The external meeting

Putting your best foot forward is crucial when conducting external client meetings or conferences with prospects or vendors. Building face-to-face relationships makes it easier to engage, build trust, understand the nuances of customer needs and shore up productive partnerships. For this type of video conferencing, you need an all-in-one solution that supports high-quality video calls and makes it easy to invite participants, stream and share content, and it should function equally well on desktop and mobile devices.

The internal meeting

Keeping your teams organized, motivated and in the loop on all their current tasks is the most common purpose of internal meetings. These team meetings build a collaborative environment for your workforce by making sure that everyone can pull together to resolve any questions or concerns on how best to carry out and prioritize action items. The emphasis for internal video conferencing tools is likely to be on functionality more than frills, and this is one type of conferencing where you might be able to leverage a free conferencing app.

The one-on-one conversation

One-on-one video calls are widely used for employee interviews, performance reviews and various other private chats. This kind of conferencing was once reserved for first-round employee interviews, but its uses have broadened throughout the recruitment process as remote work becomes more normalized. To get the full benefits of face-to-face conversation and the nonverbal cues that enrich it, you need an app that supports HD video conferencing. Consider options for mobile devices if you need to have a conversation on the go or a desktop application for more formal occasions like job interviews.

Contact 8x8 to learn more

The trusted experts at 8x8 are on a mission to modernize business communications. Contact us today to find the best conferencing software for your business.