Regardless of whether you want to have a conference with five people or a hundred, video conferencing can make meetings an absolute breeze. Sharing computer desktops and virtual whiteboards mean that video conferences can be as effective as face to face ones. The possibilities for training are also excellent using the latest technology.

Here are some of the main advantages of video conferencing over face to face conferencing:

* Video conferencing are far cheaper to run than their real world equivalents. If you were to gather a team from around your country for a meeting, the costs involved can be astronomical. The travel itself (both ways) can cost a lot of money, but for those that travel the furthest distances, there is the additional costs of hotels and meals to contend with. Those people travelling the greatest distances could lose a couple of days in work time as well. Just count that up in terms of unproductive salary payments, and you will soon see cost benefits to video conferences.

* People tend to keep all their work on their home computer when based away from the office. Working in a video conference from home means that all of your important files are on hand when you want them. There is less likelihood of anything going wrong.

* Another major advantage of a video conference is the ease with which people outside of an organisation can join in. Say for example you are involved in building projects, the chances are that a different architect would be used for each project. If your meeting requires the presence of a non employed expert, it is far easier to organise if you are running a video conference rather than a meeting in the flesh.

* There are side benefits such as ongoing staff training with video conferences. It is possible to record meetings and use them to help staff improve their skills. You can also train new staff more quickly with this kind of material.

* Things can happen much more quickly with video conferences. What I mean by this is that you can action things quickly and save project time by doing things with video conferences.

If you compare the experience of a telephone conference to a video conference, then video conferencing wins hands down again. Seeing your fellow delegates on video is a major advantage to the experience gained of shared call meetings.

With the improvements in technology come reductions in costs as well as better technical facilities. The longer time goes on, the better value for money that video conferencing becomes.