There’s no denying the necessity of video conferencing. Ever since the pandemic began, the need for video communications has continued to grow, with many platforms becoming household names.
As technology continues to advance, it can be hard to predict what new trends will emerge. But by looking at how the marketplace has grown over the past few years, we can spot some key trends and see why they’re only going to get bigger in 2023.
1. Video calls for hybrid work environments
Video conferencing was a necessity when everyone was working from home, but now that people are starting to return to the office, will it remain just as important?
Yes, absolutely.
Many employees will continue to work from home, and others may return to the office, but hybrid work isn’t going anywhere. Video conferencing remains essential for businesses with remote and hybrid employees (those who split their time between the office and working remotely), so even those who are back to working in the office still need video conferencing solutions to meet with employees who are remote.
That also means that video conferencing needs features to support workers on-the-go, so all the meeting functionalities should work just as well on mobile devices as they do on computers and laptops.
2. Ease of use
Do you remember the old days of video meetings? Just joining a meeting required everyone to download the conferencing software, set up an account, and of course, make sure that the person they’re conferencing with had also done the same. If one participant used a different platform, or it wasn’t compatible with their devices, then they’d need to find another solution. Then once the meeting started, you’d need to enter a meeting code, sometimes enter a PIN as well, and then wait to be allowed in.
It’s a good thing those days are behind us.
Most modern video conferencing solutions are designed for ease of use, and vendors whose aren’t are quickly learning that they need to catch up. Functionality to improve ease of use includes:
- Accessibility across devices, including computers, mobile devices (iOS and Android), and tablets,
- One-click meetings that can be launched from a calendar link,
- The ability to join meetings from a web browser without needing to download or install any software.
If joining a conferencing isn’t quick and convenient, users will move to a platform that is. In fact, many video conferencing vendors are working on making their platforms more interoperable with other vendors’ platforms. Enabling meeting attendees to join a meeting from their platform of choice improves the user experience.
3. Gamification and interactive features
“Video fatigue” is real. While video conferences are great for helping employees, managers, and teams meet and connect from anywhere, it can be draining to spend multiple hours a week in video meetings and constantly on-camera. On top of that, meetings can quickly get monotonous, and it’s easy to zone out.
Gamification helps address these concerns by adding immersive and interactive elements to video meetings.
Interactivity can be as simple as adding emoji reactions, enabling attendees to send a quick thumbs-up or smiley face when someone presents good news. However, gamification takes this a step further by adding in activities that require attendees to pay attention, while keeping things interesting, and even fun.
This can include little things like quizzes and polls, or even “bingo” games based on buzzwords or phrases brought up during calls. Meeting attendees will have to pay attention to the meeting if they want to “win,” but it creates more active engagement for everyone involved. And it’s easier to remember the latest announcements brought up at the end of the meeting if they help you score a bingo.
