5 things you need to know about videoconferencing

2. One window shows all your applications. Companies are using unified communications platforms like Microsoft Lync and Avaya Flare as videoconferencing catchalls. These platforms consolidate all the windows workers have on their computer screens at any time, including videoconferences. They as well integrate social media, so employees can video chat with anyone from their social networks. The trade-off, experts say, is that users must abandon preferred chat customers and adapt to using UC for everything.

3. You can access video on the go. FaceTime on the iPhone 4 offers only one-on-one chat, and you may have to sacrifice quality with other free options, like Tango. Skype Mobile, which works with Wi-Fi and 3G, can handle multiple parties then and there, however the connection can be unreliable and not all smartphones support video calls. Until more sophisticated networks are introduced, such services are best suited for informal calls.

4. Free options offer limited quality. Free solutions like Skype and Google are not always suitable for the enterprise-you don't want to be fussing with the connection at an important board meeting. Many chat customers have video options, so for one-on-one conversations, free video chat may work fine. Nevertheless a recent Forrester report by analyst TJ Keitt says 72 per cent of workers however don't want desktop videoconferencing, adding that companies need a clear idea of what they will use video for: "Businesses distribute it with no sense of how it should be used."