Dramatic developments in the video conference phone industry have led to huge changes in the way businesses and employees communicate and manage business relationships.

The video conferencing phones of the 21st century are far more than just "talking heads" on the screen. Today, information can be shared fast, simply and inexpensively, time is saved and client/employee relationships enhanced through better communication.

The benefits of video conferencing system are many, with the most obvious ones being it saves time, increases productivity, and saves money through a reduced need to travel.

The video conference phone today is accepted as a telephone and travel enhancement - a way to strengthen bonds with colleagues in remote locations and customers between personal visits and telephone calls.

When choosing a video conferencing phone system, there are a number of issues to consider, from the basics of whether you want an appliance, a PC-based multi-purpose video system, with or without streaming video capabilities, to the more advanced decisions, like choices in networks that can connect all of your company's locations that are video-enabled.

These can vary from the use of Digital Telephone lines known as ISDN, or use of an IP (Internet Protocol) network.

It can be as simple as adding software and a USB camera to your desktop PC, and allowing you to access the corporate LAN so you can incorporate any presentations and files to into your videoconference, to being so elaborate you can conduct a major company-wide presentation to anywhere in the world.

There are also IP telephones for video conferencing which have boomed in recent years and are rapidly becoming the gateway of choice for many networks.

The Different Types of Video Conferencing Phones