Audio and video conferencing enables effective communication and online business meetings from any place without the need to be physically present at the meeting. Conference call is basically a phone call where the calling party can have more than one party to participate in the call. Business organizations can opt for audio conferencing or video conferencing, or both according to their needs.

1. Conferencing Solutions
Audio and video conferencing enables effective communication and online business
meetings from any place without the need to be physically present at the meeting.
Conference call is basically a phone call where the calling party can have more than
one party to participate in the call. Business organizations can opt for audio
conferencing or video conferencing, or both according to their needs.
Audio Conferencing
An audio conference can be referred to as a conference call where more than two
parties participate. This is a versatile feature in communication technology and can be
set up in a way that all parties are able to participate or listen to calls. Audio
conferencing is a highly used tool in business organizations and its demand is very high
because of its cost-effective and user-friendly benefits.
Audio conferencing using IP network works almost similar to the traditional analog
telephone conference calls. With IP audio conferencing, the callers are connected to a
conference bridge and a server with the help of phones or computers. With traditional
phone systems, circuit switching is used. The telephone system routes the calls through
a series of interconnected switches until it reaches the Conference Bridge. Packet
switching is used for IP audio conferencing, instead of circuit switching, which opens up
a brief connection and is enough for sending a packet data from one system to another.
The data is sent over the Internet through the most efficient path. If a business is using
an IP network for its telephone system, users can connect to the conference bridge
either through external lines or via a VoIP network.
Uses of Audio Conferencing
In business, situations may arise where a group of people from different locations or
departments need to discuss a topic, issue, or to reach a decision. A manager can
make a meaningful decision after taking input from all involved participants in the
conference call. Conferences like these can be facilitated without any travelling.

2. Video Conferencing
Another type of conferencing technique commonly used nowadays is video
conferencing technology. In video conferencing, a set of communication technologies
allows more than one location to communicate simultaneously with two way video and
audio signal transmissions. Real time digital compression of video and audio streams is
the core technology in video conferencing system.
With the advent of Internet Protocol, packed based communication system came to
light. Video conferencing using IP network not only enabled a cost effective solution, but
also delivered video communication to the desktop. These were obvious benefits that
encouraged more businesses switch to IP network. Video conferencing systems using
IP also delivered a huge benefit to the end users.
In business, it is a must to meet business partners and to attend both company and
client meetings. This requires travelling, which imposes a travel cost. IP-based video
conferencing enables face-to-face communication without moving from the workspace.
This eliminates travelling as well as the cost involved in it. IP-based video
communication systems are less expensive and do not have the need for any extra
circuitry. Again, video conferencing using IP networks do not require dedicated lines
and can share the allocated bandwidth.
Uses of Video Conferencing
Video Conferencing has a huge number of uses, and some are listed below:
 In the education field, video conferencing can bring students from various
communities and disciplines to communicate with each other. Even in distance
learning programs, video conferencing is a key communication tool where
lectures can be delivered to students at far away distances.
 In business, company meetings and client meetings take place frequently.
Travelling involves both time and costs. Under these circumstances, video
conferencing is the best solution. This also enables management to
communicate with employees working in distance locations quickly and
effectively. Business trainings are also possible. In addition, companies can also
conduct interviews using video conferencing technology.

3.  In the medical industry, the same technology is useful. It might happen that a
patient needs medical advice but is unable to visit the physician. With video
conferencing, one can have an online conference with the physician and get
necessary guidelines. This cannot replace the physical visits, but, sometimes,
this may be the only way to meet a particular doctor.