The Future of Video in the Workplace

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When our co-founders created BlueJeans over a decade ago, they did so with the mindset that video would someday be ubiquitous in the workplace. In 2020, that idea was realized. The future of work, one in which an organization's digital transformation status is seen as a key indicator of future performance success, was thrust into the spotlight last year—with the pandemic kicking digital initiatives into overdrive. Video conferencing quickly became the key medium for which we conduct business and personal matters, with everything from team scrum meetings to doctor visits to our very own acquisition being conducted over video. So where do we go from here? BlueJeans by Verizon leaders share their thoughts for what the future of video conferencing holds.

• Video Will Raise Events to the Next Level: Marketers will start to push their video technology skills past the traditional meetings and slide presentations to focus on more production quality, interactive experiences. We’ll see a shift from dull screen-share webinars to immersive video events—mixing live keynotes and panel discussions, pre-recorded videos, and audience engagement including polls, Q&A and even on-camera interactions with attendees. This new style of virtual events on video will become the preferred way marketers will deliver more polished launches, kickoffs, user conferences and brand campaign activations to leave lasting impressions with key audiences.
• Beyond Just Conference Calls: The usage of video conferencing platforms for large groups of people to gather together to experience entertainment, sports and musical performances will become commonplace as more interactive features are introduced and a level of familiarity and convenience is accepted with these mediums. In 2020, entertainment vendors, marketing and event planners began to realize the potential for global expansion through the use of interactive livestreaming platforms. In 2021, a mix of in-person and virtual components for nearly every event will become the norm as organizers look to expand their reach and audiences value interactive experiences that are independent of physical location.
• Leaders Will Use Video to Lead Better: In 2021, connecting teams and maintaining a strong company culture will be more important than ever. Whether during the work-from-home mandate, or even after, as a hybrid remote/office work style becomes mainstream, connecting visually over video will help executives maintain company culture and productivity. We’ll start to see a fluid approach to company-wide and departmental meetings that provide an open forum to share news and actively respond to inquiries from the greater organization. We’ll start to see more Town Halls, Ask Your Boss, even Happy Hour and Trivia Nights happening on video events platforms.

• Mobile: Transforming the way we work and live, the improvements being made to 5G over the next year will give users the ability to instantly and seamlessly collaborate over video on the go to make ‘being there’ in some instances superfluous—enabling the ‘work from anywhere’ revolution to gain momentum.
• Security: With the use of video conferencing skyrocketing this year, the need for a higher level of security became paramount. In 2021 and the coming years, we’ll continue to see more emphasis on enabling users to fine-tune security based on the types of interactions and information being shared. Not all meetings are the same. As such, we’ll start to see a mix of different measures being put into place to support each meeting and attendees’ needs, with choice and accessibility taking center stage.

• Integration of AR/VR: Today, presentations are two dimensional (screen sharing and PowerPoint) and little has changed the way we use them in meetings since the 1990s. In the next few years we’ll be able to see things in 3D through AR/VR while also interacting over video. For example, rather than simply presenting a slide I can invite my audience to join me in touring the content virtually while we discuss what we’re experiencing. This will be impactful for training purposes in such industries as automotive, research and design, healthcare, and the military.
• Video Will Be Integrated Into More Products: In 2021, we’ll see an influx of companies integrating video conferencing into their products. Video conferencing vendors increasingly offer SDKs and APIs to integrate rich video experiences into a wide array of products, and this type of innovation will be critical going forward both from a customer support standpoint, as well as a way to forge loyalty and build community for advocates.
• AI Will Take Center Stage: In the next few years, AI will be common in meetings assisting with collaboration tasks like polling the team, managing roll calls, and issuing action items.

Video conferencing has come a long way, but the future will be even more pervasive. To learn more about how you can use video conferencing to transform your business, check out these use cases and download your free trial of BlueJeans today.