What Is Video Conferencing?

Video conferencing allows people in different locations to communicate via video and audio. Today, teams use video conferencing—with its ability to capture nonverbal, visual cues—to make communication more interactive.

Video conferencing solutions include standalone video-capable phones, web cameras, and full-scale video conferencing applications. Video conferencing solutions are also available using dedicated cameras, control panels, and video teleconference rooms.

Why use video conferencing?

Video conferencing has grown in popularity in recent years for a few reasons:

  • Video conferencing removes distance barriers and improves communications between people
  • Video conferencing gives workers the flexibility to work from anywhere
  • Video quality has improved with better video compression and faster networks

What are challenges with video conferencing?

The challenge with video conferencing solutions is that the hardware can be unintuitive to use.  You might have to follow several steps to start a video conference, and it can result in a frustrating experience. Often, a technical expert is required to help.

In addition, traditional video conferencing systems are expensive to acquire, proprietary in nature, and may involve ongoing hardware maintenance and support costs.

Effective video conferencing solutions should be easy to use and easy to control. Attendees should be able to join video conferences from anywhere.

How can AWS help with video conferencing?

Amazon Chime is a modern, fully-managed communications service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that delivers frustration-free video conferencing.

With Amazon Chime, you can join video conferences from an in-room video system, mobile phone, or your desktop—both inside and outside your organization. Amazon Chime allows you to conduct video conferences with an HD video experience that makes meetings more engaging and productive.

Here are other benefits of Amazon Chime:

  • Billing is simple. Amazon Chime is a pay-as-you-go service.
  • No contracts are necessary. There are no upfront investments and no minimum fees. You pay only for what you use, and you can cancel the service at any time.
  • Scaling is easy in the AWS Cloud. You can increase or decrease the number of users at any time, without penalty.

Get started with Amazon Chime by creating an AWS account today.

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