So what’s the difference between the two? Often, people tend to mix these two up and quickly forget that they are not the same application. But to learn the differences between the two, we need to first look at the similarities to understand why they get mixed up in the first place. First of all, they are both used to improve communication among businesses, employees, and its clients. When you simply speak to another person over the phone or even through email, only a small percentage of the message is being received by the end receiver(s). Through a phone call, you miss the body language, and through email, you miss that plus the tone of what they are saying. So, web conferences and video conferences were created and are becoming more and more adopted into businesses because they both are meant to create a more engaging experience which will eventually lead to more productivity among the parties involved. So now you know how they’re similar. But what are the differences?

Web Conference: This is traditionally used in a one-to-many situations where one party is sharing files, documents, &/or a presentation to a group of people who are assimilated in another location entirely. Some web conferences even offer its users the capability to have conversation between the parties involved in various ways such as chat, desktop sharing, and video chat. It’s great for when you want to quickly share and spread information, whether it’s to a small or a large meeting room. 

Video Conference:  Video conferencing is just that – a conference held through video. Rather than a one-to-many interface, it gives everyone involved in the conference a seat in the conversation. It is the ultimate form of collaboration because it can bring together people from various locations regardless of factors that would typically limit collaboration (language barriers, type of device being used, difficult user interface, etc.). Also, when even when you want to participate in a video conference but can’t access your camera, you can still share your screen with all parties involved while simultaneously dialing in through an audio bridge in order to participate in the conference. And let’s not forget that with video conferencing, like the one you can get from Lifesize, you have the luxury of using HD picture quality as well as unlimited guest invites for people outside your business, and the capability to have up to 25-way calls at a time!

Of course, as technology develops, the lines between web conferencing and video conferencing start to blur. Just like we stated above, some web conference applications can allow video chat, while some video conference applications allows for desktop sharing. So the capabilities are starting to crossover slightly. But all in all what really matters is what you find most valuable for your business. If you want basic collaboration and file sharing capabilities, a simple web conference application would be good enough for you. But if you are looking for the highest quality of audio and video, quick file sharing and desk sharing capabilities, unlimited guest invites, as well as overall reliable communications, then video conferencing is for you. 
If you would like more information on video conferencing, or are interested in the best out there offering it (we’re referring to Lifesize, of course), then contact us!