So, once a business decides to invest in video conferencing, the next step is weeding through the many options for the best solution. Your first reaction may be to go with the free service, but that might not be a good fit for your business and its unique needs.

Before you fire up the webcam, here are five things to look for in a video conferencing service:

1. 24-hour technical support. If you have an important call with a large perspective client scheduled for 6 p.m. and have a technical question, the last thing you want to see is that customer service closed at 5 p.m.
2. Similarly, find out if local support is available. You may need an actual person to come by your office and assist with setup or solve a problem.
3. Look for the ability to add multiple people to the video call – and confirm the quality of the call will be consistent whether you have three people or 30.
4. Can you share documents and computer screens? It’s great to see people face to face and it’s even better to see the website or strategy document they are referencing during the call.
5. Possibly the most important consideration is security. Can the provider guarantee a secure, encrypted connection or is your call floating on the public Internet for any hacker to see?

Skype is a good solution for letting the kids talk to grandma or for chatting with your best friend in another state, but when it comes to professional business meetings, free isn’t always the best. One of the most important benefits of Spirit on Demand is the ability to conference with multiple people. Free services tend to work best for one-on-one conversations. Typically, a business meeting includes a larger group.

Also, business quality video conferencing services are just that: business quality. They don’t have the lag time, grainy picture quality or glitches a free service might. The last thing you want when pitching to potential investors is a lag in your presentation that makes you look unprofessional.

Here’s a video from one of our technical consultants giving more details on the benefits of business quality video conferencing services:

In the last week, we’ve also learned, there’s no such thing as a volcanic ash day. With travel halted because of the ash clouds over Europe, businesses are turning to video conferencing to keep work flowing and meetings moving.

A Reuters news article this week highlighted the way businesses are looking anew at video conferencing as a key way to do business.

According to the article:

Videoworks (a Norwegian tech startup) Chief Executive Even Zimmer said the volcano will make business people think about the benefits of videoconferencing.

“The timing is very good. The market’s growing and the consequences of the ash cloud won’t be forgotten very soon,” Zimmer said.

The videoconferencing sector has seen a flurry of acquisitions and, analysts say, is a key growth area as companies seek to cut business travel costs.

Whether it’s cutting travel expenses, working from home with a fever or trapped by a volcanic ash cloud, businesses are quickly finding video conferencing is an effective and less expensive way to do business. Does your business use video conferencing? Is it something you’re considering?

Fortunately today’s technology offers more options for keeping up with the workload (well, unless you’ve lost electricity for several days of course). Using digital phone technology like Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP allows you to forward your calls to your cell phone so business contacts can still reach you even if you’re home under 4 feet of snow.

Video conferencing allows you to conduct face-to-face meetings in case you can’t get out of your driveway. If your employees are set up with video conferencing, you can still have your weekly staff meeting. It’s also beneficial if you have clients or customers in other cities or states. You may be stuck with the snow but they’re operating normally and setting up a video conference call or having your calls forwarded to your cell or home phone allows you to keep up with client concerns despite your snow day at home.

Making good use of technology is a great way to keep business on track when faced with situations beyond your control – such as a record snowfall. And it allows employees to stay home and off dangerous roads. You wouldn’t want employees risking their safety to get to the office and meet a deadline – yet you want them to be able to stay on track with projects and contracts. Oh, and make the occasional snow angel.

Here are few “don’t” for when you’re on a video conference with colleagues, supervisors and certainly clients.

1. Don’t adjust your clothing. In fact, just fold your hands in your lap and only move them to take notes on the meeting.
2. Don’t blow your nose – or make any other bodily noises.
3. Don’t primp. Because you can see yourself on the video conference, it’s tempting to straighten your tie, comb your hair or put on a little lipstick. Go to the restroom before the conference and do all your combing, brushing and applying in private.
4. Don’t eat anything. Put down the granola bar, the crackers, the salad and most certainly the banana.
5. Don’t pick your teeth. Abide by Rule #4 and this won’t be a problem.
6. Don’t put anything in front of the camera except your face. This means don’t stand up in front of the camera lens for all your co-workers and associates to see your stomach and chest. And for heaven’s sake, don’t turn around.
7. Don’t be a monkey. Don’t scratch, itch or clean your ears.

Your best rule of thumb is to think about a video conference as an in-person meeting. Particularly if you’re conferencing with clients or potential clients, now is not the time to eat and put on lipstick.

Check out this video for a humorous look at these tips. And please share your “dos and don’ts” for video conferencing.

1. A good camera. We suggest the Logitech Pro 9000 or the Logitech Pro for Notebooks if you plan to use a laptop. These cameras have lens made of glass rather than plastic, so the optical quality is better.
2. Clear audio. We recommend the ClearOne CHAT 50, a personal USB speakerphone that works with PC, Macs and laptop computers. You also can opt to use a headset rather than a speakerphone; select a USB dual stereo headset with a transparent microphone (that way the people you’re video conferencing with don’t have to stare at a huge mic in front of your mouth).
3. Horsepower. When you’re video conferencing, your computer has a lot of work to do, so you’ll need the power to keep your conference up and running at peak performance. Be sure your computer has a Pentium dual-core processor for maximum power.
4. Bandwidth. To ensure your business video conference is provided in high quality, you will need a T-1. For very large conferences with multiple participants, you’ll need something closer to 4 megs.

What are you favorite tools for video conferencing?

Video conferencing is Spirit Telecom’s newest addition to its audio and Web conferencing services. It may seem video conferencing could be too expensive for most businesses, particularly if they are trying to cut costs in the current economy, but video conferencing offers a number of benefits – and savings!

• Quality – Spirit On- Demand is business-quality video. It has better definition and resolution than say a free video service like Skype. Also many systems usually only allow for one-to-one communication, whereas the Spirit On-Demand service can accommodate up to 50 people.
• Cost Savings – Video conferencing can save businesses money. Here’s an example: If an employee is traveling from Columbia, S.C., to Charleston, S.C., with an overnight stay in a hotel, the company has about $300 tied up in that trip based on travel expenses and the travel time of a $45,000-a-year employee. The Spirit Telecom video conferencing package is about $70 a month.
• Personal – Video conferencing allows for the subtleties in communication, such as eye movement and body language, which are lost in standard audio conferences. Studies have shown people retain more information while watching a video conference than listening to the same information over the phone. We all multi-task while talking on the phone, but suddenly when your boss is watching you on video, she’s got your full attention!

As your business grows and expands, video conferencing allows for impromptu meetings, higher quality communication and a more professional impression, particularly when dealing with prospective customers or potential investors – and that’s certainly worth checking it out.