How to Make Web Conferencing your Business Standard

Articles on Conferencing | Topics: conferencing, conference

by Bryson Lynch

The previous years have been unkind to the global economy in general; even economic superpowers such as the United States and Japan have been experiencing recession. The September 11 attacks have shown the world that terrorist organizations have attained a level of financial and technical independence akin to multinational companies; they can be found in all parts of the world; and they do not need the support of any country to successfully accomplish their goals. SARS, Hurricane Katrina, and the December tsunami have proven that hell hath no fury like Mother Nature's. With the onslaught of man-made disasters and natural calamities, more and more companies found themselves taking advantage of the technological Swiss knife known as web conferencing to cut down costs without compromising their competitive edge.

Web conferencing brings down or eliminates travel time and cost; the time and money which have been previously devoted to airfare and hotel fees can now be allocated for more productive tasks, resulting in an increase in productivity. Travel safety, which has been greatly compromised by the likes of SARS and terrorism, becomes a non-issue. Web conferencing makes it possible to address issues within and outside the company in real time; information in various formats such as video, audio or text can be shared instantaneously or archived for storage.

Currently, there are no set standards for web conferencing; what businesses have are a myriad of vendors that offer web conferencing solutions. Company needs and goals vary; and most of these vendors offer plans or services that are flexible enough to be tweaked to meet these varying needs and goals. But there are general considerations that apply to companies who are looking for the perfect web conferencing solution.

The first consideration is the nature and extent of the use; will web conferencing be integrated into the general communications infrastructure of the company, with every desktop capable of being a participant in future web conferences; or will the participants be limited to certain departments or certain individuals; and how often will these web conferences be held. The main activities for web conferencing must also be clarified; will web conferencing be used mostly for sales and other kinds of presentations; will it be used for training or higher education; or will its use be limited to typical meetings between department heads and management.

The second consideration is the technology infrastructure of the company; does the company have its own server; does it have its own tech department and a resource of highly skilled technical personnel; do all the computers have internet access; what is the internet speed of the company; do the existing computers have enough processing power to take advantage of a high speed internet connection and the features of a web conferencing software.

The third consideration is the target participants; how tech savvy the potential participants are, and the extent of support they need; do the participants have to be trained or can they immediately use the system. The number or volume of the participants must also be clarified; and if these participants will be constant or new participants will be introduced on a regular basis.

Quote of the Day

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The degree of participation is also important; will most participants be sharing the screen, while only a handful can access the information of the presenters and give feedback; or do all participants have access to all the available information, and the information they is also available to the other participants.

The volume and format of information must also be taken into consideration; multimedia information will require greater computing power over documents.

The last, but definitely not the least, consideration is security; security pertains to firewalls, antivirus software, antispyware, encryption software, password maker, and security suites that offer a combination of two or more of these softwares. A hack-proof security system ensures that the proceedings of the meeting; and the information that are shared remain among the intended recipients; it also means that the information will not be corrupted; and that the other data the company wishes to remain outside public knowledge will remain private.

Given today's highly competitive markets, unpredictable weather disturbances, and the presence of several imminent and grave threats to global, every business needs to seek ways to improve its profit margins, cut down its costs and be more responsive to the demands of the times. Web conferencing, a tool that is readily available and inexpensive, can help any business achieve these goals.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "How to Make Web Conferencing your Business Standard" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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