There was a time when the only way for companies with international offices could get all of their executives together was to host an annual conference, and at quite an expense. While these commercial gatherings still occur, they are no longer sufficient for the demands of modern business. More regular contact is now expected, and with the development in online technology, contact has changed in meaning from a simple update to a detailed, graphically presented report. Such an expectation has meant that audio visual systems are an integral part of the boardroom meeting.

Annual conferences are still major events, where complex audio visual systems play a key role in making them a successful event, and a memorable experience in their own right. These conferences are not still arranged to provide delegates with a chance to report, but to provide a rare opportunity for delegates from far flung offices to interact physically with their company colleagues. Their reports can be delivered to the board through video conferencing over the internet. And for this too, companies who are expert in audio visual installation are hired to make such meetings possible.

Of course, the type of services requested from a modern av company extends beyond the simple supply of screens and speakers. Today, there is a need for audio and visual standards of the highest order when executives sit together to discuss business issues and strategies through video conferencing. With the international nature of modern business, it is not easy to get all of the necessary people together in one place. It depends on the specific focus of a company, but it is no longer unusual that marketing personnel are in Paris, business consultants are in New York and product designers are in Beijing, for example.

A video conference gets everyone around a virtual table but, despite the physical distances involved, quality in presentation is just as essential as it is in an orthodox boardroom meeting. It is always possible to carry out a conference online from a pc in a single office when a specific project is being discussed, but more is needed when a report is being presented to a number of board members or executives at the same time. In this situation, the need for screens that are clear, reliable and capable of dealing with the highest levels of communication technology is paramount.

Increasingly, av companies are catching onto the needs of the larger companies and corporations, providing a range of services that can make any meeting possible. Hardware that is specifically developed by video conferencing companies, such as Polycom and Tandberg for example, make the conferencing process much more reliable for a business. The hardware is essentially management units that bring all of the elements of a video conference together, and allows collaboration and interaction between users.

In truth, this type of video conference occurs only occasionally, with individuals conducting meetings more regularly on their office pc, and yet the cost for the hardware can be significant. For this reason, most companies prefer to turn to an av company to hire the necessary technology from, which is a far more cost effective option. In this way, the hardware is installed and run, ideally in the company boardroom, at the time when it is needed most.

AV companies are adapting to the demands of modern business techniques just as quickly as they develop and, in fact, the business world is looking to them. Where once the only audio visual element of a boardroom meeting was a video presentation played on the company vcr, now a mesh of separate technologies converge to create one impressive event. They involve detailed interactive reports on touch screens, with colourful graphics, video clips and live video and sound feeds from a variety of different places in the world.

However, audio visual services provided by the leading av companies can provide a solution to the challenges set by such demands. By providing the necessary expertise in audio visual installation, as well as the latest communication technology hardware, cutting edge video conferencing is made easily accessible to practically every range of business, from the international to the regional. Those vital meetings are now so much more simple to conduct and communication so much more immediate, than before.