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