Although video conferencing is becoming pervasive within enterprises worldwide, many CIOs find that the technology does not always reach its full potential, according to Ovum.
Older infrastructure, complicated client software, limited integration with business applications, and ineffectual end user training are among the issues that can prevent a company deriving maximum value from its investments in video conferencing technology.
An Ovum white paper, 'CIO Guide to Video Conferencing', provides insight into how CIOs can combat these issues.
Specifically, CIOs need to provide a seamless and easy user experience that is available on all devices and networks; deliver an engagement plan that solicits end-user input; establish an internal marketing programme to promote the use of video conferencing; document best practices around the effective use of video conferencing and encourage top management to embrace video conferencing.
"In the end, employees, not the technology they use, need to be at the center of the experience," said Brian Riggs, Principal Analyst in Ovum's Enterprise Services practice and author of the white paper. "They need to have easy-to-use video communications tools that let them call any device, on any network, and from any location."
In addition, enterprises are leveraging cloud services to get the most out of video conferencing with minimal capital expense. With cloud-based video conferencing, CIOs can avoid many of the capital expenses traditionally associated with video conferencing, turning it instead into an operational expense.
This not only lowers the barrier of entry for enterprises looking to invest in video conferencing for the first time, but can also reduce the cost of introducing improvements to an existing video implementation.
"Tapping into the many benefits of video conferencing can be a daunting proposition for CIOs. But using cloud-based services enterprises can experiment with many of the different ways video communications can be delivered to employees," added Riggs.