Ways to Boost Engagement in Large Web Conferences

Getting every participant engaged throughout the duration of your web conference can seem like a tall task, especially when you’re dealing with a large group of people. Studies have shown that the larger the group, the more likely it is that your participants will try and multi-task throughout your meeting. Just think back to your school days; the larger the class, the more likely it was that students would write notes or talk, while smaller, more intimate classes would drive all students to participate more often and provide the satisfaction of feeling like you actually made a contribution. While the ages of the participants might be different when it comes to conducting a web conference, there are many similarities.

A method frequently used by veteran meeting hosts is to begin by asking participants a question or conducting a poll in order to transfer their focus attention away from other activities and devices, such as smartphones. It’s not uncommon for conference participants to multi-task, i.e. chatting with other employees via Instant Messaging, answering emails, etc. (and to be brutally honest, I’ve don’t it myself), so your best bet is to get them engaged early and often. Remember that it’s important to keep your questions and polls relevant to the material you’re presenting because they will eventually become part of the discussion when you reveal the results later on in the meeting.

If you haven’t already chosen a web conferencing provider, we highly suggest one such as InterCall – the largest conferencing provider in the world – that offers real-time Q&A sessions and polling.

So, now that your web conference got off to a great start and you’ve seen that the polls you’ve conducted and questions that you’ve asked kept everyone engaged, you’ve gone through your materials – now what? Finish strong! Consider an exit Q&A, poll, or survey at the conclusion of your meeting to collect feedback instantly. While follow up emails are a great idea to cover the major points you discussed throughout the meeting, most questions or surveys included in them often go unanswered. Furthermore, by announcing that you will be conducting a poll, Q&A or survey at the end of the meeting, you’re giving participants one more reason to stay engaged.

Additional Information

See anything we might have missed? Let us know! Interested in learning more about how audio and/or web conferencing services can improve your business or finding the right solution for you? Give one of our professional account managers a call today!

Source: Web Conferences

How to Select the Ideal Web Conferencing Service

Just as no two businesses are identical, web conferencing providers vary in not just the services they offer, but the features that come with them. If you’re searching for the ideal conferencing solution that will meet your business’s current and future needs, then you’re in luck – as this blog is meant for you! (Of course, you could always give one of our professional account managers a call today to discuss your options as well).
While many providers offer web conferencing services that address the needs of many businesses, there is no “one size fits all” web conferencing solution. The first step to finding the best conferencing solution to meet your business’s unique needs is to understand your needs. Consider the following:

• The size of your audience – web conferencing services that are subscription-based limit the number of participants allowed in each meeting. Of course the number of participants will vary depending on the meetings you conduct, so make sure you choose a solution that will support the maximum number of participants you plan on having – whether it be with 2, 200, or 2,000
• Software requirements – what (if any) software is needed to conduct a web conference? While some require simply a web browser and connection to the Internet, others require specific plug-ins or additional installations
• Attendee management – many providers offer ways to help you organize your conferences, including automated reminders and follow-ups, invitation and registration management, and email templates
• Multiple hosts/presenters – do you plan on sharing the hosting or presenting role with a partner or co-worker? Look for a solution that allows you to pass control to and from one or more participant(s) throughout the duration of your conference

Now that we have covered the big topics, it’s time to get down to the fun stuff. While they might seem small, the features that come with your web conferencing service play a big part in how effectively you can communicate your message. Here are a few things to take into account when evaluating your next potential web conferencing solution:

• Sharing – this plays a major role in your ability to communicate with your participants. While simple file sharing is standard for most web conferencing services, you may also want to consider solutions that offer whiteboard and desktop sharing for enhanced collaboration
• Recording – whether you’d like to record your meetings for personal improvement, to aid in employee information retention or training, or to simply let anyone who missed it catch up, the ability to record and store your meetings offers many advantages
• Chat and private sub chat – allow your participants to ask you or other attendees a question or send a comment either publicly to the whole group, or privately to one or two participants during the conference
• Surveys and polls – provide instant feedback both during and after your conferences
• Reports ad stats – offer concise yet in-depth look into the results of your meetings

Source : Conferencing Services

How to Select the Best Web Conferencing Service for Your Business

Today’s conferencing market is flooded with not only thousands of web conferencing providers, but an even greater number of web conferencing services, making it difficult to sift through the masses to find the best pick for your unique business needs. Luckily, our team at ConferenceShopper.com came up with a few steps to take in order to ensure you find the correct provider and service(s) for your business.

To start, you should understand your options. Web conferencing solutions are diverse – most offer the same general features, however some offer specialized features exclusive to that provider. For example, typical features most web conference providers offer include:

• Desktop and file sharing – essential to any successful web conference, desktop and file sharing help ensure all of your participants are on the same page and viewing relevant information while you present
• Management options – include automatic reminders, email templates, and follow-ups to take the stress out of planning and assembling a conference; some providers even offer integration with Microsoft Outlook to simplify scheduling meetings and distributing invites
• Conference recording – for participants unable to attend due to illness, time differences, or any other reason, you can record your live meeting and make it available for playback at a future date
• Whiteboarding – allows participants to collaborate in real-time with one another by drawing or writing on a virtual whiteboard
• Private sub-conferences – let you speak privately with only the attendees you choose (for example, if you are hosting a web conference with one of your business’s satellite offices and a prospective client, you can privately speak with your satellite branch in real-time without disrupting the presentation
• Instant feedback – surveys, polling, and question and answer sessions provide you with quick feedback, at the conclusion of your conference, some providers also offer reports and individualized statistics

Where conferencing providers and their services differ most is in regards to the maximum number of participants allowed during a conference; often subscription based services limit the maximum number of participants allowed in each meeting. Services like InterCall Unified Meeting provide web conferencing for small groups from 2 to 125, while WebEx Event Center, for example, accommodates up to 3,000 participants.

It is also important to find out what software each provider and their services require. Ideally you should look for something that works with what you already have. If you’re starting from scratch then you should determine what software you prefer to use daily, and find a service that can support it.

When it comes time to make the big decision, go over everything you’ve discovered about your prospective web conferencing candidates and narrow down the list as much as possible. Once you get down to a handful of services/providers look for reviews – there’s no shortage of opinions out in the market, and while you should take each with a grain of salt, they can offer some very interesting and informative points that could be pertinent to you and your needs.

Source: Conferencing Services

Making Long-Distance and Time-Constrained Meet-ups Possible through Web Conferencing

Web conferencing is a term used to describe when people meet virtually through the Internet to discuss ideas or share information. Web conferencing providers create services or software that contain tools for online collaboration.

Many of the leading web conferencing service providers offer the ability to share applications and desktops, permit file transferring, and allow you to view information (such as an Excel Spreadsheet, PowerPoint Presentation, Word Document, etc.). The video conferencing services are also integrated to provide realistic face-to-face meeting quality. In addition to added features, web conferencing providers often offer technical support and training available 24/7.

What are Web Conferencing Services intended for?

Organizations and companies can employ web conferencing services to train mobile team members and employees in-house or in remote locations around the globe without the high costs related to time and travel. Schools can conduct training for online courses. Huge companies can hold scheduled or spur-of-the-moment meetings, presentations, demonstrations and reviews whenever the need arises. In short, web conferencing as a service offers partners, clients, employees – even family and friends – a way to reach each other despite time and location barriers.

Web conferences take your meetings to a new level.

Web Conferencing Features

Each web conferencing provider offers features with their services that may vary from the next, but they generally share a few commonalities. Common features include:

• Alert tone or buzz to indicate a participant has entered the meeting
• Mute/un-mute one or multiple lines
• Private sub-conferences
• Dial-in and/or dial-out to participants
• File, desktop and application sharing
• White-boarding, polling, and question and answer sessions
• The ability to record your conference for future playback

Leading Web Conferencing Service Providers

• InterCall
• PGi
• WebEx
• Microsoft Office Live Meeting
• Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro
• XO Communications
• Mega Meeting
• Web Con Central
• Go To Meeting

 

Simply put, web conferencing adds a dynamic visual element to any audio conference. Web conferencing gives you the power to collaborate, conduct presentations, and enhance the understanding of your subject matter with partners, colleagues, and clients anywhere in the world at any time.

Additional Information

For more information on web conferencing providers and web conferencing services than can help increase your businesses productivity while cutting back on expenses and shrinking your carbon footprint, contact one of our professional account managers today!

Source: Conferencing Services

Conference Call Benefits: Doing More Wherever You Are, Whenever You Need To

Today's work environment has become all the more demanding. This is especially true for executives, managers and coordinators who require constant communication and need to be in touch with employees, clients, and shareholders. For this reason, the ability to conduct a conference call has become an essential aspect of day-to-day business operations. However, not all companies believe they are able to tap into this powerful technology because of financial concerns. They shy away from the idea thinking that the price might be too excessive.

Business executives and managers are always on the go. They to not only need to manage the business, but they also need to be available and visible in company events that can bring in opportunities to network with other business leaders and potential clients. As a result, they are often required to travel to different destinations while maintaining their in-office responsibilities. Unfortunately that's easier said than done, and every now and then they end up sacrificing one responsibility over the other. Doing so can mean a loss of opportunity or a decrease in the aptitude to coordinate and control certain business operations.

Modern conference call services benefit not only executives and managers, but also the rest of your staff, teachers and students, and even doctors who employ these services for practicing telemedicine. Conference events can be held by any organization to gather and present information, promote products or services, discuss shareholder issues, etc. from the comfort and convenience of your desk (or depending upon the provider you choose, even on your smartphone). Premiere Global Services (PGi) ReadyCast is just one of the many options available to select from for web conferencing.

A Conference call saves the time, money, and effort of the people involved in the conference while keeping your entire staff in-house to handle any ad-hoc mission critical issues. Simply put, conferencing calling allows you to, more or less, be in two places at the same time. That goes to show that with the right technology, there is always that opportunity to hit two birds with one stone.

Businesses and organizations can actually gain more money through conference calling technology than they can save by neglecting it. Conference calling lets you not only eliminate your business traveling expenses, but retain the opportunity to do complete in-house tasks from your business's home base, and ensure your business is no longer geographically limited.

When you get down to it, conference calling advantages and benefits more than outweigh the costs, making it unquestionably worth the investment.

Source: Conferencing Services

The Do's and Don'ts of Web and Audio Conferences

If you've never done it before, hosting a web conference can seem like a potentially intimidating experience. Thankfully, the leading audio conferencing providers and web conferencing providers have reliable services and years of experience under their belts to help make your web and audio conferences seamless and rewarding both for you and your participants.

There are, however, steps you can take to ensure you present the best conference possible regardless of the topic:

DO's

• First – DO choose your conference topic and presenter wisely; lack-luster presenters and content not relevant to your discussion can destroy even the most carefully planned meeting
• Second – DO be your own best promoter and marketer. Increase your likely rate of participants by getting the word out via email blasts, blogs, and posting on social media websites that relate to your topic. The more diligent you are when it comes to spreading the word about your conference, the better chance you have of a high turn-out
• Third – DO try and keep your presentation under an hour if possible, this includes polling and Q&A sessions. While you want to be sure you cover all points of your topic, a conference that lasts too long will have participants mentally checking out (and losing major points) before you're through wrapping it up
• Fourth – DO be sure you start and end your conference exactly when you said you would – no sooner, no later – in order to appear as professional as possible and as a courtesy to your participants

DON'Ts

• First – DON'T forget to practice, practice, practice! Just like the saying, ‘practice makes perfect', while  you can't foresee every issue that might occur, holding a couple dry-runs of your conference will help iron out any kinks you may encounter along the way – especially if you're new to holding conferences
• Second – DON'T forget to be enthusiastic during your presentation, speak clearly, and stick to the point. Keeping your participants actively engaged will keep them focused on the topic at hand, and increase the chances they'll be a return participant for your future conferences
• Third – DON'T underestimate the value of an experienced moderator, they know what they're doing and can help keep you on track much more than going at it alone
• Fourth – DON'T forget to follow up! Collect as much feedback from your participants as possible and follow-up with the no-shows to see why they couldn't attend. Their input can prove invaluable for your future conferences

Source: Conferencing Services

Why You Might Not Want to View Web Conferences from Your Mobile Phone

As web conferencing technology evolves, so do the expectations to view them on the go. Many businessmen and women today shell out lots of money for smartphones intended to make their life easier by letting them do everything from making a call to paying your bills or watching a movie. Mobile web conference viewing is the latest demand for these devices.

Sure, people want to view a webinar on a mobile phone, but do they need to?
The consumption rate for mobile devices increases every year around the world. According to comScore (the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence and global leader in measuring the digital world), in December of 2010 almost 47% of US mobile subscribers used media – i.e. accessed the Internet, used applications, or browsed the web – which was an increase of 17% from 2009.

While the ability to watch movies and TV shows are standard features on smartphones and users have come to expect the best of everything – battery life, speeds, and graphics included – however, it is vastly different than viewing rich media, like web conferences. Furthermore, the mobile phone market has been flooded with new smartphones – each with their own technologies inside. This makes it difficult for web conferencing providers accommodate the various requirements needed to develop applications that work with each device, although there are existing applications for the iPhone and BlackBerry offered by PGi, and both InterCall and WebEx have applications available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android users.

One of the biggest issues users seem to experience when viewing a web conference on a mobile phone is not being able to see everything on such a small screen. Conventional web conferences incorporate visual aids, such as PowerPoint slides with graphics, text and/or video that can be difficult to read on small screens. In addition, more engaging web conferences regularly involve collecting feedback from participants via Q&A or polling sessions; this can be difficult or even impossible with some mobile applications, forcing you to be a passive participant as opposed to active.

Another issue users experience is that when they are participating in a web conference on a mobile phone they are often multitasking (driving, walking, etc.). These environments tend to have poor reception depending upon the carrier and are frequently noisy.

In short, trying to participate in a web conference from your mobile phone can lead to complications, so you should plan accordingly. If you choose to employ a mobile application, make sure you have a web conference provider that is proven to be reliable, allows you to be an active participant rather than passive, and that you can allot your full, undivided attention to the conference.

Source: Conferencing Services

Top 5 Web Conferencing Mistakes Hosts Make

Web Conferencing is one of the most cost-efficient and effective marketing tools businesses currently have at their disposal. However, there are steps you can take to make your web conferences a more productive and enriching experience for your participants, and likewise, there are certain things that can be damaging to your success as well. In this article I’m going to discuss a few of the main mistakes web conferencing hosts make.

Failing to prepare and rehearse
Ever heard the saying 'failing to prepare is preparing to fail’? This holds true to web conferences. Not being prepared is one of the biggest mistakes that hosts make, and a big reason their web conferences tend to go downhill fast. Rehearsing is just as important. Just like any other performance, doing a few dry-runs in advance will help you avoid any potential mishaps and increase your chances of conducting an effective presentation with confidence. It is important to keep in mind that during your conference you’re immersing your participants into your world and engaging their ears, eyes, and mind. If any component – audio, visual, or collaboration/interaction – fails, your participants suffer.

Not trying it before you buy it
It’s a common rookie mistake; a new or first time host buys a conferencing service only to find out that the technology doesn’t actually meet his/her needs or requirements. Both web conferencing and audio conferencing providers offer features with their services. These features aid in keeping your participants actively engaged in your meeting, and allow you to receive instant feedback. For example, PGi GlobalMeet lets you share your desktop, presentations, and videos in hi-def with your audience. In order to be sure all of your needs are met speak with a professional that is familiar with the service or products you are interested in prior to making any purchases. Know what you are getting ahead of time will increase your chances for future success.

Not providing sufficient materials in advance
This goes hand-in-hand with prior preparation and rehearsal. Not providing sufficient materials in advance can slow your meeting down dramatically. Having your materials distributed prior to your meeting, and ready to go once it starts will ensure a streamlined conference from start to finish.

Not knowing how to handle mistakes properly
Everyone makes mistakes; it’s how you cope with those mistakes that really count. Whenever a slip-up arises, generally it’s best to just make light of it and move forward.

And there you have it! By avoiding these 4 common mistakes, you will considerably increase the effectiveness of your meetings. For more information on conferencing services and products contact one of our professional account managers today!

Source: Conferencing Services

The 5 Most Essential Features for Any Web Conference

Web conferencing has become a crucial element to the exchange of data, promotions and marketing for businesses of all types and sizes. By providing users a way to meet and collaborate – with the effectiveness of in-person meetings – at minimal cost, web conferencing is a tool that every modern business can benefit from and should employ.

With that being said, every web conferencing service offers features to help make your meetings more productive and engaging. While some providers offer a more robust list than others, there are 5 must-have features that are essential to conducting any web conference. They include:

1. Outlook integration – when your web conference supports Outlook, scheduling meetings and sending announcements and invitations to your attendees is as simple and easy as the click of your mouse
2. Desktop and application sharing – being able to share your desktop and applications with your attendees helps keep your audience engaged in your meeting, and everyone on the same page. Moreover, by allowing your attendees to take control of your desktop and applications, you keep them actively involved in your presentations and increase their information retention
3. Presentation and document sharing – just like with desktop and application sharing, presentation and document sharing helps you interact with your attendees by giving them easy access to your materials and more incentive to give you valuable feedback quickly
4. Chat – having a chat feature included in your web conferencing service streamlines your written communication and increases the ability for your team to collaborate in real-time more effectively, and therefore, be more productive. A number of providers also offer private chat and sub-conferencing features with their web conferencing service which can be especially beneficial for companies with multiple branches when presenting products or marketing ideas to customers
5. Download-free option – chances are your customers are not as tech-savvy as your IT department. By offering a download-free way to hold or enter your web conferences, your attendees can access meetings with the least amount of trouble, and chances are they will be more inclined to stick it out

By employing these 5 features in your web conferences you will experience a more rewarding and enriching conference that opens up countless opportunities for communication and collaboration not only for your partners and employees, but your customers as well.

To learn more about web conferencing and web conferencing features, contact one of our professional account managers today!

Video Phones in the Office?

The rise and fall of video phone providers and manufacturers have left today's companies with little to choose from the in way of reasonably priced solutions. And despite provider's pitches, company uptake has never approached vendor's prediction casts. This begs the question: will video phones ever make sense for business users?

Video Conferencing offers countless benefits, such as:

• Enhanced productivity and reduced costs – eliminating the need for business travel keeps your staff in-house, allowing  for more time to be spent on mission-critical issues, and less money spent on travel
• Better business relationships – the convenience of video conferencing allows you to meet with your customers, partners, and employees more frequently and effectively, with quality that rivals in-person meetings
• Instant feedback – meet and collaborate with your international branches and customers in remote areas

Thanks to vendor's aggressive marketing, video conferencing technology has made considerable headway into the corporate conference room over the past ten years. That being said however, the average employee's desktop continues to be devoid of this collaborative tool.

Despite multiple reports that show desktop video technology enhances employee productivity and offers a noteworthy return on investment, many companies today still seem apprehensive about utilize desktop video conferencing technologies. Perhaps it is due to misconceptions – either about bandwidth use or dependability – but more than likely the main concern that keeps customers from employing video phone technology is its cost.

In an attempt to ease customer apprehension and make video phones a more viable alternative to deskbound phones, providers are looking for ways to bring costs down, so they average similar to what you would pay for a VoIP handset. Unfortunately, compromises have to be made to make that a possibility. For instance, one cost-efficient video phone might be built to work only with a specific vendor's hosted VoIP service, while another uses public video conferencing services (like Skype). Others, still, work with a majority of the leading VoIP and video conferencing standards and provide comprehensive features, like H.323.  Skeptical vendors are opting to go for the more conventional video phone system that blends single-user video conferencing ability with multiline VoIP/SIP phones.

Here at ConferenceShopper.com, our partnership with the industry's leading providers allows us to offer you the most comprehensive and cost-efficient conferencing solutions available on the market.

Now we want to know what you think about video conferencing. Have you had any good/bad experiences with video conferencing? Do you think it'll become a 'thing of the past'?

Source: Conferencing Services

InterCall's Acquisition of Unisfair

InterCall's Acquisition of Unisfair – Keeping Pace with the Continuously Evolving Face of Domestic and International Business Communication Needs

In this day and age, it's a given that technology is constantly evolving. Businesses are looking to expand their reach and effectiveness while cutting costs – and conferencing services have the power to do just that. Not long ago, the ability for a business to host any virtual event was considered a luxury. Now however, conferencing services are quickly becoming a must-have tool as more and more businesses are looking to host large, engaging virtual events.

InterCall is the largest web conferencing service provider in the world and offers the broadest range of services to support the unique and changing needs of all businesses. That being said, much has changed during InterCall's 20+ years of existence. Back in 1991, operator assisted conferencing was the wave of the future; then came reservationless conferencing. Today, as a growing number of workers around the world are going mobile, InterCall continues to evolve as well offering the broadest range of services to support the shifting requirements of small and large businesses.

A little over a month ago, InterCall acquired one of the leading worldwide providers of business environments and virtual events, Unisfair, and has been working toward incorporating their services into InterCall's suite of event products. For over a decade, Unisfair has led the virtual events space and provided cloud applications to enable businesses to create interactive and branded virtual environments. Their environments are engaging, user-friendly, and permit a highly interactive experience via exhibition floors, networking areas, and speaking sessions. Furthermore, Unisfair delivers extraordinary marketing intelligence by tracking every participant's activities.

This acquisition is expected to mean great things for businesses that are already hosting remote, online events as well as those looking to employ those services. Both InterCall and Unisfair share a vision of providing top-quality technology to improve worldwide virtual collaboration and communication. As a result, InterCall is excited to now offer complete end-to-end solutions on a proprietary platform – from simple webcasts to immersive and comprehensive virtual presentations.

Here at ConferenceShopper.com, our close partnership with InterCall allows us to provide you with the top industry-leading conferencing services currently in the market for the best available price.

Now it's time to tell us what you think. What are your thoughts on InterCall's acquisition of Unisfair? How do you think it will impact the communications industry as a whole?

Source: Conferencing Services

March Madness Aftermath – How did your Business Fare?

Employers listen up: do you know where your staff was this March? Now, my intention of asking that question is not simply to sound like one of those old school commercials that calls-out bad parents for not knowing where their child is. The fact of the matter is this – decrease in employee productivity every March is a real issue for companies in all industries; so much so, that Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement consulting firm, conducts a yearly survey to assess the financial impact due to lost productivity. The survey, known as the Challenger March Madness Productivity Report, estimated the financial impact as a result of lost employee productivity to surpass a shocking $192 million.

To combat this, PGi and iMeet have created their own "final four" tips to help keep productivity high in the midst of March Madness:

1. Be on time – sounds pretty obvious, right? Every office seems to always have at least one person (Tom, Dick, Harry, or whatever other name you’ve chosen for him) who's habitually late. This can pose a problem when meeting with important or potential clients. If you need Tom in that meeting on time, shoot him a reminder email, text, or IM a few minutes before the start of the meeting to make sure he gets there on time.
2. Spice up your meetings – adding user friendly features to your meetings keeps participants actively engaged. Bland, boring meetings are easily tuned out, and seem to slow to a snail's pace. Implementing content such as videos, polling, and Q&A sessions and other unexpected content keeps your meetings moving forward and participants interested.
3. Be where you are – with the technology that’s out there today, it's easy to physically be in one place while your thoughts are somewhere else. Being actively present in your meetings is important; and you can start by putting the smartphone down (unless you're using it to access your meeting, of course). Yes that YouTube video of a squirrel waterskiing is out-of-this-world adorable, but save it for after-work hours.
4. Skip the strip search – avoid the hassle and invasion of privacy the TSA is famous for and hold virtual meetings as opposed to in-person ones. Sure, you might have participants watching NCAA games in another window, but on the bright side, at least you’ll be able to get updates as you wrap-up your calls.

PGi hopes these tips will help you beat the buzzer so you can get back to what matters this March: gloating about the status of your bracket to your coworkers and friends.

Source: Conferencing Services

One Reason to Look Forward to Summer – Microsoft Office 365

Rain, rain go away,

I wish it was a summer day!

Yet another reason to start looking forward to summer: InterCall will take one more leap into the cloud by launching Microsoft Office 365. As part of the next generation of cloud services, Microsoft Office 365 streamlines the way your business gains insight, shares expertise, finds information, communicates, and enables your employees to deliver effective experiences across numerous devices – anytime, anywhere, and from any device.

Microsoft Office 365 lets you access your information wherever you go with the guaranteed reliability and proven security expected from Microsoft. Designed to meet your unique IT needs for reliability, user productivity, and security, Microsoft Office 365 combines Office applications you’re more than likely already familiar with, such as Exchange, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint Online, Word, and Lync Online. Moreover, since Microsoft Office 365 is part of the cloud, there’s no need for a dedicated IT staff or worry about upgrading your equipment or applications.

Microsoft Office 365 provides:

• Best-of-breed data centers with ISO 27001 and SAS 70 certification
• A virtual office – whether on the go on in the office your employees have secure access to their contacts, email, calendars, and documents with the latest anti-spam and virus protection
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) – guarantee 99.9 percent uptime with a financial backing
• New productive ways to communicate – work together in real-time with the advantages and tools of cloud services blended with Microsoft Office
• Server upgrading, updating, and patching – eliminate your need to worry about purchasing or maintaining the latest version, hardware, or software your business requires and focus on mission-critical issues that matter to you most
• Cost-effective flexibility and predictability – pricing plan options that include the ability to pay-as-you-go, allowing you to more accurately forecast your predictable annual expenses and IT costs
• Powerful privacy standards, controls, and security; business grade, geo-redundant disaster recovery and dependability with automatic failovers and multiple data centers to safeguard your data

For over 20 years, InterCall has been a part of the cloud, dependably and safely delivering their conferencing services over their network. InterCall understands how important security is whether you’re in or out of the cloud, and has created Microsoft Office 365 from the ground up for enhanced performance, dependability, and availability; it was built to work with the devices, browsers, software, and phones you’re already accustomed to.

Source: Conferencing Services

One More Reason to Employ Conferencing Services

As if you didn’t have enough reasons to start using conferencing services already, I’ll give you one more – germs.

An estimated one of every five working businessmen and women travel for work roughly five times a year, with trip lengths averaging three nights. While there is nothing wrong with business travel, (aside from the fact that it is time-consuming, expensive, and at times quite inconvenient) the hotels that employees find themselves in can often be a greater magnet for germs than you are led to believe.

Hear me out, there is no reason to panic – but there are some things you should know and remember the next time you find yourself in a hotel room. For instance, hotel maids launder bed sheets regularly, but the bedspread is generally not washed unless requested by a guest. Doctor and TV daytime show host Dr. Oz suggests removing the bedspread immediately upon entering the room. According to him, it is “full of bacteria from prior clients,” and that removing the bedspread is a practical decision to make with no downside.

Next on the list of harmless looking germ traps is the remote control. That’s right, the number one tool many people make a beeline for once they find a little free time. Arguably the most used item in a hotel room, your remote control has likely never been cleaned. Fortunately, there is a quick and simple solution to this problem: a plastic bag. Slip your remote into a small sandwich bag, such as Ziploc, and it’s good to go (so long as you don’t go and rest it on the bedspread).

Moving on to the ice bucket. Unfortunate as it may be that those tiny in-room refrigerators usually do not have their own ice makers, it might not be worth the trip down the hall to the ice machine. Ice buckets have been known to be used as ash trays, and the even less appealing barf bucket. If ice is something you really can’t live without, ask the staff if they have a plastic bag – or five – to line the inside of the bucket.

Which leads us to our next item: the drinking glasses in the bar or bathroom. If the glasses you were provided are made of glass, chances are they have only been wiped clean with a towel as they are not often sent down to the dishwasher. If you don’t bring your own drinking container with you, you’re better off with individually wrapped plastic cups, or asking for a fresh one to be brought to your room.

Obviously audio and web conferencing eliminate all of these issues because they do away with the need for business traveling. But for those times when meeting in-person is a must, your choices are few and far between. You can take the above suggestions to heart, or you can opt to fork out more cash for a pricier hotel with the hopes that it will be cleaner – but that’s not always the case. As many of my OCD friends will tell you, antibacterial/disinfectant wipes are an absolute must have, and should be used on any surface you come into contact with (but keep in mind how they may react to some clothing, jewelry, and wood furniture. It’s best to read the manufacturer’s label before using). Good luck and stay clean!

Source: Conferencing Services

Conferencing Services

Modern Internet Protocol technologies have drastically revolutionized the audio conferencing industry. The increasing affordability and accessibility of modern audio conferencing services due to advances in IP technology has caused the widespread availability of audio conferencing for a wide range of users worldwide. Nowadays, users can enjoy the efficiency and convenience of modern day audio conferencing services to cater to their unique conferencing needs.

Select the Perfect Conferencing Solution for Your Business

Today, audio conferencing services are mostly marketed online by the leading communications providers. Unfortunately, consumers have a fairly difficult time keeping up with the latest in audio conferencing technologies, not to mention the different conferencing services of various conferencing service providers. Typical audio conferencing packages range from free standard conference hosting to massive conference applications capable of supporting hundreds of participants at any particular time. Prospective audio conferencing consumers have the option to select their own unique conferencing solution from a wide range of conferencing packages – not to mention choosing from the plethora of conferencing service providers proliferating in the market today.

Sustain Business Competitiveness with Modern Conferencing Technology

Internet-based audio conferencing applying modern day IP conferencing technologies has greatly modified current competitive business practices. Businesses are now capable of conducting highly interactive, online conference session at a moment's notice. Conference sessions can be instantly set up from any computer console, at any time of the day, with session participants coming from all over the world.

There are many benefits and advantages to using audio conference services – from real-time collaboration with colleagues, employees, and customers to instant information sharing with corresponding instant feedback. Audio conferencing increases savings for businesses by allowing you to conduct business meetings, group projects, and business status updates without the corresponding travel expenses. Multi-national companies in particular are saved from hefty international travel expenses by conducting business meetings with participants from different continents all from the comfort of an office desktop.

Needs Assessment Assistance

The majority of communications service providers offer a wide range of audio conference services. Most include Reservationless Conferencing services for instant, on-demand conferences. Operator-Assisted Conferencing services are also available for massive conference sessions requiring third-party assistance for facilitation and management. Most Audio Conferencing Services also offer user-friendly features for convenient conference management and moderation such as line muting, session recording, as well as participant dial-out options.

Consumers should effectively assess their unique conferencing requirements before proceeding to avail of any of the various conferencing packages offered by service provides. Consumers should always consider latest audio conferencing technologies as well as the option of operator assistance.

Source: Conferencing Services

Out with the Old and In with the New

Gone are the old days of expensive, time consuming business travel to meet prospects and partners face-to-face.

Since their debut, conferencing services have continued to grow and flourish. Today’s workers are under more pressure now than ever before with employers trying to squeeze out as much as possible from them, so the more time spent focused on mission-critical issues the more productive that employee will be. Much to the delight of travel-weary executives, conferencing services eliminate the need for business travel which, in turn, increases productivity by keeping staff in-house.

Conferencing services are finding a home with companies in all areas of industry, especially with the rise of remote and satellite offices are acquiring broadband. According to a worldwide survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, 81 percent of executives believe providing remote access is a crucial network goal. In addition to increased productivity and reduced overhead, conferencing services also offer a more diverse hiring pool, as employers are able to reach out beyond their previous geographic limitations.

In a survey sponsored by Global IP Solutions and conducted by Research Now, professional businessmen and women across multiple industries indicated that they already utilize or plan employ conferencing services in an effort to collaborate and communicate more clearly and effectively within the next 24 months.

Conferencing services are not limited to large businesses alone; small and medium sized companies are commonly restricted in their ability to travel or provide space for boardrooms, and therefore can benefit greatly from employing conferencing services. Providers understand that the key is access to information, and they aim to put the power back into the customers’ hands in the most straightforward way possible, and are continuously on the hunt for more user-friendly, advanced features.

Web portal, so customers can look at billing details by department, date or moderator … it’s a dashboard, and you can also log in by PIN number and to see who is dialed into an audio call.”

The productivity gains attained through conducting online PowerPoint presentations, whiteboarding, Visio-graphs, etc. are hard to argue with. Additionally, conferencing services are typically integrated with other business applications, and features such as instant passcodes and online management further streamline the process.

At ConferenceShopper.com, we have partnered with the finest conference call services providers in the industry. Our providers have passed through a strict selection process of network stability, financial strength, and excellence in customer service to ensure that our customers have the best audio conferencing and web conferencing experience possible.

Gone are the old days of expensive, time consuming business travel to meet prospects and partners face-to-face.

Since their debut, conferencing services have continued to grow and flourish. Today’s workers are under more pressure now than ever before with employers trying to squeeze out as much as possible from them, so the more time spent focused on mission-critical issues the more productive that employee will be. Much to the delight of travel-weary executives, conferencing services eliminate the need for business travel which, in turn, increases productivity by keeping staff in-house.

Conferencing services are finding a home with companies in all areas of industry, especially with the rise of remote and satellite offices are acquiring broadband. According to a worldwide survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, 81 percent of executives believe providing remote access is a crucial network goal. In addition to increased productivity and reduced overhead, conferencing services also offer a more diverse hiring pool, as employers are able to reach out beyond their previous geographic limitations.

In a survey sponsored by Global IP Solutions and conducted by Research Now, professional businessmen and women across multiple industries indicated that they already utilize or plan employ conferencing services in an effort to collaborate and communicate more clearly and effectively within the next 24 months.

Conferencing services are not limited to large businesses alone; small and medium sized companies are commonly restricted in their ability to travel or provide space for boardrooms, and therefore can benefit greatly from employing conferencing services. Providers understand that the key is access to information, and they aim to put the power back into the customers’ hands in the most straightforward way possible, and are continuously on the hunt for more user-friendly, advanced features.

Web portal, so customers can look at billing details by department, date or moderator … it’s a dashboard, and you can also log in by PIN number and to see who is dialed into an audio call.”

The productivity gains attained through conducting online PowerPoint presentations, whiteboarding, Visio-graphs, etc. are hard to argue with. Additionally, conferencing services are typically integrated with other business applications, and features such as instant passcodes and online management further streamline the process.

At ConferenceShopper.com, we have partnered with the finest conference call services providers in the industry. Our providers have passed through a strict selection process of network stability, financial strength, and excellence in customer service to ensure that our customers have the best audio conferencing and web conferencing experience possible.

Source: Web Conferencing

US Government 'Going Green' with Web Conferencing

The US Government has taken another ‘green’ step forward by agreeing to employ web conferencing services as an alternative to some of their in-person business meetings. In a 2010 FederTimes.com article on tele-working, the US government vowed to cut employee green house gas emission by 13% before the end of 2020. The author, Tim Kauffman, states that along with other tactics, “agencies will need to expand the use of Web-based video conferences” to curb emissions.

While it can’t be denied that web conferencing decreases the carbon footprint of your business by reducing your need to travel, web conferencing also increases efficiency and productivity – while saving you money.  From the comfort and convenience of your own desk you can instantly meet with customers, colleagues, and employees around the globe. Less business travel also means you can keep your team in-house; and keeping your team in-house saves you from the expensive and troublesome time and costs associated with business travel. Moreover, the quality and effectiveness of modern web conferencing technology rivals that of face-to-face meetings.

Today, web conferencing features often include the ability to record your meeting for future playback, operator video conferenceassistance, security passcodes, participant mute/un-mute, have customized greetings, sub-conferences, conduct polls, Q&A sessions, roll call, and post conference reporting.

Contact the team at ConferenceShopper.com today to find the ideal eco-friendly web conferencing solution for your business!

Source: Web conferencing

Top 7 Web Conferencing Platform Essentials

To make sure your web conferences go off without a hitch, make sure your web conferencing platform includes:

Sharing – application and screen sharing provides clarity throughout a presentation or meeting by allowing attendees to view web sites, documents, slide shows, etc. File transferring allows users to download and upload documents to their computer as well as share with other participants.


Conference Recording and Playback – recording and playback lets participants re-visit a prior conference. It is a must have for attendees in remote locations with different time zones, as well as those who might have just missed part of a conversation and wish to listen to it again.

Webcam – body language can say a lot. A huge advantage that web conferencing has over audio conferencing is that video integration via webcam allows the host to view his or her audience, and the audience to view their host.

Security – encryption, firewalls, and password protection are vital to protecting your virtual meeting from outside attackers.


Surveys, Chat and Polls – surveys, chat and polls offer immediate participant feedback. They allow the host to chat via instant message and ask multiple choice questions to the audience for private or public response.


White-boarding and Annotation –white-boarding provides a way for attendees to collaborate without sacrificing hands-on participation, letting them add notes or make changes to slides.

VoIP – voice over IP utilizes the Internet as an alternative to traditional telephone lines. VoIP is essential to web conferencing because it allows attendees to speak with each other in real-time with only their computer speakers and a headset, streamlining the conference and freeing up all phone lines.

Source:  Web Conferencing