Surefire Tips on How to Choose the Best Web Conference System

Articles on Conferencing | Topics: conferencing, conference

by Lilah Underwood

These days video conferencing (or web conferencing) is a popular tool for communication on the web. Any organization, whether large or small, can benefit from this tool because a team can be organized to discuss salient business points and communicate from anywhere in the world.

When considering this tool to help your enterprise, certain guidelines have to first meet your needs. A way for determining what your needs are, is to outline them and then check if there are any web conferencing tools available in the market.

Some of the things to consider are:

Budget

While online video conferencing might cost a lot, compare this with the costs of doing the conference offline, their advantages and disadvantages. Choose a package that will provide good service and maximize all your needs, as well as bring a good return of investment.

Importance of video conferencing

Consider how necessary video is to you. Some web conferencing meetings may not at all need web cameras but it may be of great help in the future. Select a communication system that will allow for web camera hook-ups and see if this is compatible with your needs.

Make sure to test the service first and study the quality of the images of the videos received by the viewers. Some systems may sacrifice quality for speed and this may subtly give a poor impression to its viewers, possibly your clients.

Location

Determine if there is a need to communicate originating from one specific location or from various locations, when conferencing. There are systems designed to connect to only certain numbers of specific locations, like a head office to a branch office (fixed system). There are also systems that will allow connections from anywhere. This is the better type since convenience is one of the advantages of web conferencing against offline meetings.

Technical capabilities

Determine if there is a need for a browser-based system, rather than specific software. Based on your company's technical capabilities, some web conferencing systems let you install specific hardware and come in a wide variety of features. But it is also possible to choose one system that will run for all types of operating system, where a specific installation is not necessary anymore.

Aside from that, select a system where it is easy for you to keep things organized, as more and more people join your conferences. Choose one that is easy to use and configure.

Do a test to check if connection is good and that it is user-friendly. Often, one test is not enough to determine quality. There may be conferences where a connection might fail. Determine what to do about it and study whether fixing it is not complicated process, one that can be easily taught to any of your participants. Failure to connect can be frustrating, particularly from clients who may be at the other end of conferencing.

Usually, internet speed affects connectivity. Check the bandwidth package of your chosen conferencing service or choose a provider who can provide the speed upgrade you need.

Historical Quote

For 350 years we have been taught that reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. Football’s place is to add a patina of character, a deference to the rules and a respect for authority.

—Walter Wellesley (Red)

Firewall limitations

Most offices have firewall security installed in their computers as a protection from computer viruses and hackers. These firewalls may potentially also block some conferencing systems. Select a system that will be able to handle firewall protections and not limit your video conferencing options.

Other features and add-ons

Determine if your conferences have the need for polls in the future. Or whether or not your participants will likely share online applications or possibly even show PowerPoint presentations. Some web conferencing systems offer these for a fair price.

Prepare a list of what features you might possibly be using in your conferences and shop for a system that can give you all of these, or can adequately configure these into the system.

Remember that there are three essential web conferencing functions that presenters may use:

application sharing where the meeting's host could share his or her desktop to the rest of the attendees

PowerPoint presentations or slide annotations

the ability to pass the floor to someone else, in another geographic location, when there is a collaboration of projects and documents or spreadsheets

In choosing a web conferencing system, remember that no tool is excellent at everything. There is a variety of options available; some of it may be of use to you while the others aren't. Using these guides above will help you trim down your options and choices.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Surefire Tips on How to Choose the Best Web Conference System" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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