Date: August 28, 2011
To: Pat Caring, Chairperson of the Board of Directors
From: Sharie Evans, Director of Communications
Subject: Video Conferencing and our Expanding Business

Video conferencing is becoming the norm for business communication. Our technology systems are advanced and our need for communication is great. As we expand our business, we become aware of the need to improve our communications systems. We have all used tele-conferencing for communicating when immediate access to a particular person(s) is needed but have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to see and speak at the same time to that individual? Instead of trying to explain a complicated matter verbally over the phone, what would the reality of showing them be like instead? Incorporating a video conferencing system into our daily business endeavours would bring all our offices throughout Canada as close as humanly possible without ever having to leave the comfort of the office (Tredent, 2011). Here is an overview highlighting the benefits of introducing video conferencing into our corporation.

Benefits of video conferencing
There are many benefits of video conferencing that affect the business and the employee/employer relationship. The norm for young families now is the increased desire for family time, and as we hire fresh associates we must take into consideration the effect of excessive travel required in our job. Travel is expensive and time consuming; car rentals, business flights and hotels do not come cheap and the amount of time and salary lost by our associates in travel time is large. Associates who commute to work endure long trips on the road to come into and home from the office. It can be exhausting and has a negative effect on the environment. This is of great concern to the public as businesses are often scrutinized for the ‘carbon footprint’ they leave behind. Video conferencing will help us to erase or at least significantly reduce the effect travel has on our environment (The Top 5, 2010). The capability of having our associates work from home on a part-time basis would also be advantageous. The geographic locations of our associates and our offices would no longer be considered a disadvantage. We would be able to maintain, and possibly improve the level of quality in our work performance.
Our offices are widespread across Canada. Video conferencing would enable us to communicate easier with associates in all our offices. Short notice meetings can be arranged with greater ease and less cost (21st Century, 2011), decisions can be made faster, and projects can be completed sooner. These are all factors that will help maintain a competitive advantage (The Top 5, 2010), which is paramount to our business. Video conferencing would enable us to visualize each other’s work with the use of whiteboards for drawings or formulae, showing spreadsheets or other such documents necessary to assist explaining and prevent misunderstandings when necessary (eHow.com, 2011). It will improve our ability to communicate effectively with our partners, fellow associates, and our customers. Our ‘one to one relationship’ we have with our customers will be unspoiled even if they aren’t physically in the same room as us.
To Rent or To Own
There are two different ways of incorporating video conferencing into our business. One option is to invest in the equipment and the required staff to adapt the system into our work environment. The advantages are significant regarding privacy and the high level of confidentiality that would be upheld because of owning the equipment and the network needed to run the system. It would be for internal use only and the costs would be well known and constant. The disadvantages to owning our own equipment and network are; the initial capital expenditure required for start-up, the expense of the skilled technicians needed at each end point to ensure a high level of up time, and the possibility of the technology being underutilized and not used to its fullest potential.
The other option for utilizing video conferencing is to “rent” the service from an outside third party who specializes in such technologies. One of the advantages of this method is no capital expenditure required. We simply call a reputable ‘room broker’ to book a room and show up for our scheduled meeting time (TKO, 2011). The significant advantages to renting the service are; support is readily available the entire duration of the meeting, the equipment will always have the newest of technologies and the most recent upgrades, and no infrastructure, personnel or training issues for our company to deal with. The disadvantages of renting are the low level of convenience and the lack of total confidentiality (TKO, 2011). Third party associates will be in the same room to monitor the equipment and its functions to ensure quality performance for the meeting. Scheduling, locating and travelling to the meeting can be inconvenient to the participants, and ‘room brokers’ typically schedule meetings back to back leaving no room for error (TKO, 2011). Rescheduling would be necessary in the event any issues developed causing a significant time delay.
Problems
As with all types of communications, there will always be problems encountered along the way. Nothing can or will ever replace the effect of an actual face to face conversation. The visual cues picked up during these conversations ensure the proper impressions from the intended communication (The Top 5, 2010). Eye contact and movements associated to a person’s reactions are visual aids you may not see and participants may appear distorted or unnatural via video conferencing (21st Century, 2011). Interpretation of any cues will depend of the quality and strength of signal latency and may impair the intended communication. An increase in personal anxiety levels is related to the knowledge of appearing on a screen, however, in time they can learn to overcome these issues. In the meantime this may have an effect on the outcome of the meeting. I am recommending setting up a video conferencing meeting with our associates at one of our locations in British Columbia. We can utilize the most up to date technology while testing the virtual reality of ‘live communication’ to give us an impression of the advantages video conferencing has to offer us. The benefits of video conferencing far outweigh any problems associated with this type of communication. The advancement of technology and the speed at which it is improving will erase many of the physical problems known to exist. The psychological problems will be overcome in time as experience takes over and video conferencing becomes as simple as talking on the telephone. Our company is in the midst of expansion into many more cities throughout out Canada, so now is the time to incorporate the technology we need to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our business with our associates, our partners, and our clients.

References
21st Century Improvements, Video Conferencing, Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://wikipedia.org/wiki/videoconferencing

Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Conferencing, eHow.com, from http://www.ehow.com/facts
Tredent Data Systems, Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://www.tredent.com/video_conferencing/
The Top 5 Benefits of Video Conferencing, Retrieved Nov 10, 2010, from http://www.polycom.com
Video Conference Outsourcing, TKO Video Communications, Retrieved Aug 27, 2011 from www.tkoworks.com