Save on Meeting Hardware

The reason why you don’t need expensive hardware for video conferencing

In the past, many enterprises purchased meeting hardware and systems like Polycom and other telephonic equipment built for business purpose to facilitate remote connection and conferencing. However, do these meeting hardware and systems that run into the tens and even hundreds of thousands in terms of cost, really fulfill the needs and provide benefit to enterprises of today?

Enterprises spending money on conferencing equipment and systems that does not meet the needs of conferencing in this day and age.

Many enterprises spend tens or even hundreds of thousands in setting up conferencing equipment and systems, but with the development of audiovisual technology, business needs, and reforms of corporate structures and cultures, the frequency of employees using large conference space is becoming lower and lower. These equipment and system are often left idle in the conference space, and are far from meeting the needs or effects previously expected in the initial setup. Furthermore, such equipment and systems requires manpower to maintain, as well as costs in terms of hard/software maintenance and updates. If a company does not use these conference equipment on a regular basis, this leads to expenditure that does not meet the cost effectiveness.

The Age of Huddle Room has arrived, and small-scale video conferencing allows communication in conferences to become even more instantaneous.

With the development of audiovisual technology, business needs, and reforms of corporate structures and cultures, compared to the past where employees often carry out conferences involving ten or more people in a large conference area, these days it is more likely for online video conferences to be held in a small conference space for three to five people, or even carried out on a small table, or at the individuals’own desk. Emphasis is placed on the flexibility for communication, where any small space can be used to carried any real-time discussion or collaboration, thus lowering the cost of communication between employees to a minimum. Even if their colleagues or collaborators are not in the office, they can still use their mobile devices to easily join in on the conference. Thus the discussion space is no longer restricted to the conference space in an office, allowing for more flexible, adroit environment where discussion and collaboration can occur in real time.

	Traditional large-scale conferencing	Huddle Room-styled small scale video conferencing
Venue requirements	Large conference space for more than 15 people	Conference space for 3-5 people, or individual conferencing space
Equipment limitations	Required fixed conference equipment and devices	Able to hold a conference using computers, cell phones, or tablets
Flexibility	Low. Only able to hold the conference in the designated conference space	High. The conference can be held at the employee’s desk or even when away from the office
Maintenance cost	High. Conference equipment needs to be maintained.	None. There is no conference equipment, and therefore no maintenance costs.
Degree of ease for external personnel participation	High. Participation requires the same conference equipment, or attendance in person at the conference venue.	Low. Just click on the link to join in on the conference

Google Hangouts Meet is most suited for small-scale conferencing, and you can join an online video conference with a press of a button no matter where you are.

If an enterprise wants to carry out Huddle-Room style, small sale video conferencing, they can use the Hangout Meet from Google that is provided specifically for corporations that uses G Suite. It can rapidly connect with online conferences, so that participants can quickly join a video conference. It can also be used on mobile devices like cell phones and tablets, which lowers the cost of communication between members to a minimum, and allow video conferencing to be carried out anywhere at any time.

Ten features of Google Hangouts Meet