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:

* Cost. The overheads when running video conferencing are miniscule compared to the actual cost of physically delivering people from all sorts of locations to a specific destination. Taking into account the cost of travel itself, accommodation for those from out of town, meals etc should be enough to convince you. When you actually include the cost of lost man hours travelling then there is no contest in my mind.

* 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.

* Should you need to call upon people outside of your organisation; experts in various matters for example, it is far easier (and cheaper) to organise as a video conference than in a face to face meeting. Especially if the people involved have to travel any distance.

* 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.

Communication via video conferencing is certainly better than shared telephone calls for example. Watching and studying other people in the same meeting can be quite an eye opener. It is certainly something that is not possible via a phone conference.

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.