Virtual conference is increasingly used to bring people in various locations together so they can conduct business with the development of advanced technology. Virtual conferences have become a more and more popular and acceptable medium to develop and reach large audience. Businesses in various kinds of industries have realized that online virtual conferences are far cheaper than face-to-face interaction.

What is a Virtual Conference?

Virtual Conferences are revolutionizing the way companies interact with audiences by taking traditional conferences and holding them online.Virtual conferences are highly engaging and include a series of large sessions run by supposed leaders in the industry who present to and interact with attendees very similar to conventional conferences.

If the company already runs a physical conference, then hosting a virtual conference is the next natural progression to extend your reach even further. But, if companies don’t currently offer any kind of conference, then opting for an online conference, rather than its more traditional counterpart, may be a more effective way of attracting new customers, increasing brand awareness and generating revenue. Virtual conference allows remote participants to access live onsite meetings and events from their laptops even on the other side of the planet. Virtual conference is held entirely over the Internet; participants have no need to get together in a conference room. Through a conference website or video conferencing tools designed specifically for the virtual experience, participants can join in virtual meetings with ease using the participant code. In addition to the live events, virtual conference also includes discussion forums, networking opportunities, a conference resource center, the ability to search for and chat with other conference participants, and other features. All of these are specially designed to give virtual participants the same opportunity to get the same meeting experience as onsite attendees.

Types of Virtual Conference

1.Video conference

A video conference allows participants to not only hear but also see each other during a meeting with a laptop video camera and microphone or the built-in camera of mobile device. There are various kinds of video conference providers in the current market, such as Skype, Zoom, and Microsoft teams. People who want to join a video conference need video conferencing software, a computer with webcam and microphone or a mobile device and a fast Internet connection. This type of virtual conferences is often used for interviewing job candidates in distant locations or delivering group online meetings for business. It is also used for meeting with employees who work at home as well as to connect to long-distance clients. Video conference is additionally used for online training, for holding brainstorming sessions or for project-planning sessions.Business companies or organizations need to set up a profiling conferencing software and hardware solutions for rooms, PCs, mobile devices, and browsers for effective video conferencing. Video conferencing consists of an endpoint (ranging from a simple PC or a laptop to a (telepresence system), video conferencing server (to run group videoconferencing), peripherals (webcam, microphone, speakerphone, headset, etc.) and software infrastructure (video processing, content transmission, integrations). Video conferencing is a modern high-tech communication tool for increasing efficiency for businesses, optimizing and accelerating decision-making processes or brainstorming sessions, and cutting customer’s and company staff travel costs.

2.Teleconference

A teleconference connects meeting participants via phone lines. This can be accomplished through landlines or mobile devices, which allows numerous people to connect simultaneously from multiple locations via telephone conferencing, phone conferencing and audio conferencing, etc.
The downside of teleconference is that there is no visual reference for meeting participants, and people fail to identify who is speaking and cannot see each other. This format can be more effective if all teleconference participants are introduced beforehand or know each other, and if each person identifies himself before commenting. It is basically a telephone meeting among two or more participants involving technology more sophisticated than a simple two-way phone connection. In simple words, a teleconference can be an audio conference with one or both ends of the conference sharing a speaker phone. With considerably more equipment arrangement, a teleconference can be a conference, called a video conference, in which the participants can see still or motion video images of each other. Because of the high bandwidth of video and the opportunity for larger and multiple display screens, a video conference requires special telecommunication arrangements at each end. As equipment and high-bandwidth wiring become more commonplace, it’s possible that video conferences can be held from your own computer or even in a mobile setting. One of the special projects of Internet is to explore the possibility of having teleconferences in which all participants appear to be in the same room together. Today’s audio teleconferences are sometimes arranged over dial-up phone lines using bridging services that provide the required equipment for the call.

3.Web Conference

The term “web conferencing” involves collaboration technologies that enable users to place calls via an application over the internet, through software downloaded locally to a computer or device, or in an on-premises environment. Web conferencing incorporates popular real-time collaboration solutions like video conferencing, screen share, document sharing, and online meetings.
Web conference is an umbrella term used to describe the process of using the Internet and a web browser to connect individuals or groups together from separate geographic locations for educational or training webinars, collaborative online meetings, video conferencing, or live presentations in real time.
Web conference permits real-time point-to-point communications as well as multi communications from one sender to many receivers. It allows data streams of text-based messages, voice, and video chat to be shared simultaneously, across geographically locations.

Benefits of Virtual Conference

Saves time- You can run video meetings with remote participants on the run right from your desktop or meeting room. With video meeting solution you don’t waste your time on business vacations, travel time, etc.

Easy-to-use- You just need to schedule your video meeting, invite your colleagues and start virtual conferencing right away! Your conferencing software also sends you a notification to remind participants of the meeting. Additionally, video conferencing system interface is extremely user-friendly and does not need any training.

Collaboration tools- For efficient workflow virtual conferencing system often features collaboration tools, such as content and screen sharing, slideshow, instant messaging. Collaboration tools allow multiple users to work on a joint project, planning sessions and brainstorm ideas.

Real-life impressions- Video conferencing is much closer to real life as it features visual contact. During a video meeting you can see user’s emotions and expression and establish eye contact, which is crucial for social communication and business interactions. Additionally, video conferencing systems do not allow users to distract, making it easier to focus on the communications as during a real meeting.

Security. Modern video conferencing systems are based on specialized codecs, proprietary protocols and actively using encryption, which is why security risks can only be caused by a human factor.

Online meetings are more cost effective compared to physical meeting- The service only requires a laptop or mobile device with internet connection. On the other hand, a physical meeting time requires time and money to travel, hotel accommodation expenses, other meeting amenities, and so on. Continual use of online meeting software to hold virtual meetings could saves organization a lot.

Virtual meetings allow sharing of a broad variety of information in real time with all participants- Connecting to the meeting only requires you to click on a specific URL, enter your username and passwords or a participant code. The participants can then share information; whether text, video or audio without the need for costly telephone bridge connections. Virtual meeting software enables easy recording of your webinars for future reference and sharing with those unable to attend the actual real time session.

Increased opportunities- It is not always possible to attend every meeting you receive an invitation for. For instance, when hosting online meetings for potential clients, the number of participants is mostly likely to increase if the event is conducted online as compared to the complicated traditional meetings. Virtual meetings give people the opportunity to attend from their location. They are also a quicker and more efficient way to coordinate and conduct urgent meetings with various employees or departments in an organization.

Contribution to environmental protection-Virtual meetings systems work on green technology, organizations and businesses reduce the increasing the amount of carbon in the environment. This environment-friendly communication method reduces travel and paper printing which can be incorporated by both small and medium sized businesses. With the availability of these tools that support the production of live video footages from anywhere in the world employees, Organizations get a chance of contributing to the environmental conservation initiative.

Webcam enabled real time views of the speaker establish a much stronger personal “in the same room” feeling among all the participants. Using desktop sharing software, the audience can follow along with virtually any operation you are conducting on your screen which is great for training and review of documents.

References:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en_in/solutions/collaboration/what-is-web-conferencing.html

https://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/definition/teleconference

https://trueconf.com/what-is-video-conferencing.html

https://www.eztalks.com/video-meeting/benefits-of-virtual-meetings.html