The conference call and its evolution

The development of society and civilization took place through the improvement of technology, thanks to inventions and discoveries. Every year, from century to century, progress not only gave impetus to the introduction of innovations, but also created enormous information flows.

In the Middle Ages progressive scientists had only to exchange letters once or twice a year to keep abreast of all innovations and inventions. An Old Russian merchant opened a store in the taiga wilderness and planted a steward there who handed in the proceeds once a year, with the onset of summer. The Demidov breeder traveled once a month to the Urals enterprises, and learned about the state of affairs of his foreign manufactories from the reports transmitted "with an opportunity."

All this testified to the fact that the speed of decision-making, the level of technology and reactions to changes in those times allowed to exchange information in a slow mode with low frequency.

The growth in geometric progression of the volume of information over the past hundred years, the universalization of production and the need for instantaneous response have created the need for a rapid communication system between decision-makers.

In the middle of the last century there was already a telephone, a telegraph and a radio, but there was no conference system, the prototype of which was a selector connection. The selector system was named because of the "principle of selectivity" of the participants. That is, there was the initiator of the meeting and the main control panel, which allowed in real time mode to connect or disconnect the necessary subscribers. Selectivity allowed to make meetings more focused, without the participation of people not involved in a specific topic.

The conference call came into use in large part thanks to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. A rigid hierarchy implied the presence of one chief with a number of deputies and responsible in the directions. Initially, the "analysis of flights" in the party environment and at large enterprises was conducted through meetings, "flyers" and telegrams.

When the equipment for the meetings was created, it created a furore in the "ruling elite". Each major boss considered it his first duty to hold a conference call at any time and on any issue.

Of course, apart from party whims, such equipment has brought and continues to bring undeniable benefits. Large enterprises and companies with disparate units remote geographically, use selector communication for the operational management of people and resources without the need for travel and business trips. Moreover, the key factor in the development of modern companies is the speed of decision-making.

Modern conference calls are not exactly like those that were even twenty years ago. If before the intercom was a direct wired connection between individual intercoms, now everything is much simpler.

The conference call can now be organized, regardless of the distance of participants, time of day and time zone. Mobile phones, the Internet and wireless technologies allow you to hold a briefing at any convenient time. In this case, the participant in the conference call does not have to be in a suit. If problems and circumstances allow, he can fully participate in it, watering, for example, cucumbers in the garden.

Also, a modern conference call can be conducted using video conferencing. Availability of the Internet and minimal requirements for equipment make the creation of conferences a simple task accessible to any manager. Even without special skills, by several keystrokes.