Video Conferencing And The Government --the Wave Of The Future

Video conferencing has been used in private industries for some time

, but it is now increasingly becoming a tool of choice for government agencies. Video conferencing has a tremendous number of advantages over other forms of long distance communication, and is likely to continue to grow in importance for large organizations.

Unlike email or hard copy mail, video conferencing allows for immediate, real time discussion between all participants. This allows for the type of free form meeting that can be most productive. All participants can view expressions and listen to vocal tones, communicating more effectively than they could via email or even telephone calls.

Equally, video conferencing permits meetings to be conducted by individuals who are widely separated from each other. In the past, face-to-face meetings demanded that all participants arrive at the same location at the same time. From the time and expense of booking airline flights and hotel rooms, to the scheduling difficulties of arranging a meeting, such face to face meetings often brought work shuddering to a halt.

For federal agencies that are involved in COOP, disaster or law enforcement roles, the issues are even more demanding. Calling field managers and agents into the office for a meeting might deprive their subordinates of vital leadership exactly when it is needed most. This is especially important during major disasters, where it is vital to be able to keep up to date on all events and any changes in plans. Video conferencing can quite literally be a matter of life and death in such cases.

Even for departments that do not often deal in time critical activities, video conferencing can be very useful. Many rural school districts cover very large areas, making it inconvenient for teachers or administrators to report to the central office at all times. Video conferencing allows them to hold meetings with their superiors and even allows student evaluations to be handled by district officials, all without leaving the local school.

Security standards within the video conferencing industry go beyond the scope of this article but nevertheless Video conferencing has benefits tied to security issues. Where emails can fall into the hands of hackers with the attendant risk of confidential data being released, a video conference has all the benefits of face-to-face communication, without a trail of physical or email information that must be secured. For discussions involving sensitive legal or personal information, this is a tremendous advantage over more traditional methods of long distance communication.

Finally, the increasing cost of gas insures that while the cost of video conferencing will remain static, moving people to a single physical location where they can all talk will continue to increase in price. In addition to being inconvenient, physical meetings will stretch already strained budgets. This can be an especially important issue for departments seeking to show the public that they are doing their best to reduce costs in these difficult economic times.

by: Jamie Simpson

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