Question

Technological solutions, while meeting real business needs, do come at a cost: money, training, corporate culture, privacy, etc.

• Choose an application service (e.g., fax services, videoconferencing, web services, e-mail).
• Discuss the benefits and the "costs".
• Teach us something new by using the internet to research new trends and applications.

Answer 1

Video Conferencing

Benefits:

It doesn't require travelling therefore cuts travel time and cost. A laptop, high speed internet connection and a software like Skype is all that is required.

All members of a team can be a part of the conference from any location and if someone misses the meeting, then can get the meeting minutes via recording.

It is better than telecommunication as meeting participants can see each others facial expressions and behavioural changes.

It also helps in training exercises from remote locations or taking on multiple locations at a time for training purposes.

Costs:

If setting up on a large scale, that too an advanced system, costs can be high

Technical problem may occur during a meeting like hardware, software, network failure resulting in delay of process.

Lag may be experienced in audio video due to low bandwidth connection.

It requires high bandwidth and fully dedicated internet connection.