Choosing Between Web and Audio Conferencing For Large Audiences

Outside of sitting around a conference table with a whiteboard, there are three alternative ways to conduct Conference meetings: Web Conferences, Webcasts and Audio Conferencing. During the past ten years there has been a significant movement towards Web Conferencing in particular. A change in the economic landscape, along with numerous new product offerings such as Webinars and Podcasts, has produced a reduction in face-to-face meetings worldwide. As a result, companies have been benefiting through a reduction in travel expenses and a more convenient method of communicating with clients, stockholders and employees.

As products mature, prices tend to decline. This holds true for the Web Conference industry. Along with advancements in ease of use and the addition of new tools, we have seen an increase in affordability. Today, it is possible to conduct online video/audio interactive meetings to train staff, launch new products and/or announce software enhancements, for an all-in fee of $49.00/month. The combination of visual and audio conferencing is powerful for small groups and is revolutionizing the effectiveness of group interaction. Web Conferencing however, can have limited functionality and the number of manageable participants is relatively small. Webcast technology has also come of age to provide live or on-demand presentations that are streamed via the Web with audio or audio/video combination. In contrast to Web Conferencing tools, Webcast's are typically professionally produced programs of broadcast quality. They are streamed live and have almost any combination of interactive features from chat, to surveys and Q&A tools. Web conferencing and Webcast tools are great as long as the participants are computer savvy and/or are motivated to join online for a presentation. In other words, sometimes, a Web based conference does not meet the needs of your intended target audience. For example,

  • Elderly clients may use email on a regular basis but are not likely to jump through perceived hoops to join a Web conference
  • People who use computers at work tend to not use them for business needs during their free time and may resist joining a Web conference
  • Many people simply lack the technical skills and may find the computer just too tedious.
  • Many who commit to join Web meetings drop out at the last minute.
  • While a visual presentation might be nice to have, it is not always necessary to get the point across.
  • Most web service providers lack scalability which limits attendance size.

Audio Conferencing (teleconferencing) continues to be a viable low cost alternative to Web conferences, however, most audio conference service providers have limitations on the number of attendees and it can be difficult to carry on a conversation with a large audience (attendees can speak out at will and confuse the organizer's direction). Background noise can also be a problem. Additionally, if the service provider does allow large audiences, the per user/per minute charge can impact the overall cost effectiveness of the Audio Conference ($0.79/minute/user adds up fast)

A new 21st century technological solution for reaching very large audiences such as 20,000 Bank customers, or 40,000 insurance agents, recently emerged and has been proven amazingly effective in the political arena. Over 200 Politicians used this flexible technology extensively during the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign.

This technology can be best described as a "talk radio show over the phone". By combining the power of a desktop computer, the Internet and telephone, it is possible to carry on a controlled interactive dialogue (just like the big time talk radio show hosts). Imagine communicating your message regarding the safety and soundness of your company to hundreds of thousands of people at one time and you know exactly who they are, how long they listened in and their opinion of your message."

In contrast to Web Conferencing and Webcast tools, this technology brings your audience to you. To join a meeting, the participant simply answers his/her telephone. No computer, password, or dial in number is required. The participants can ask questions (through a screener), be connected to the speaker live, participate in polls and transfer out to live operators. The band width of this technology is so enormous you can bring thousands of people into your forum, such as shareholders, customers or employees with a few key strokes. And, guess what? There are:

  • No upfront costs
  • No maintenance costs
  • No added IT costs

No minimum usage requirements

And, best of all the price is a fraction of that of a Webcast. If you have an interest in gaining more information, please visit our Website: www.GlobalBizSo.com or call Lucy 303-520-4513

Lucy Dean, Principal at Global Business Solutions, LLC in Colorado has twenty-five + years Banking experience specializing in Global Cash Management and has been an independent Consultant for the last 10 years helping banks and corporations improve product management techniques and sales and marketing strategies.
She specializes in:
- Sales Force Automation Administration and Design
- Trade Finance and Cash Management
- Marketing and Promotional Development
- Process and Operations Workflow Improvement and Revenue Enhancement
- Financial Institution Consulting
Website: http://www.globalbizso.com

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All You Need to Know About Free Conference Call Services

If you are willing to be able to talk with other people inexpensively, free conference call service will be the excellent choice for you. This is the most beneficial tool that you can use to maintain your relationship with your family or your friends all over the country or even all around the world. Additionally, you can also use this type of service to make a virtual reunion with your friends or families.

In today's day and age, free phone conference calls are well liked as they are generally used by many people as well as companies. Certainly, there are many people that are now able to spread out and still communicate each other. With this type of services, you can communicate any time you want as long as and as often as you want.

Where to Get Free Conference Call Services

A quick internet search should offer you with a list of this services. Be sure you check to see if this type of services apply for international calls as well as domestic, if this uses to your case. Just imagine if you have friends in China, Korea, Japan, Ireland and England, and even a few here in the states.

Through Your Computer

You can also obtain services that allow you to make free conference calls through your computer. There is also wonderful thing that that you can do with your computer for this type of service. Surely, you can also make use of a web cam to talk while seeing the person you're talking to at the same time.

With free conference call service, you will be able to talk as long as you want or call as often as you need without worrying about the cost that you need to pay for.

If you liked this article and would like to know more about conference calling. Visit our site on Conference Calling Now.

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Information About Video Conferencing - What You Need To Know

Video conferencing is the technique of meeting in a group over a network employing video and audio transmission technology and equipment. Armed with information about video conferencing businessmen, technologists, scientists and government heads started to explore ways to bring the world closer together and enable meetings of many people located in different parts of the globe. Video conferencing is the process of being able to see and interact with a group of people located at any point of the world at the same time.

Increased information about video conferencing has enabled even small businesses and organizations to communicate virtually face to face and not being in the same room at the same time. Businesses find this the most convenient way to interact with partners across the globe. Medical service providers such as surgeons have been known to use their information about video conferencing to provide invaluable advise to doctors treating patients half way across the globe. Doctors can view the patients and advise their colleagues about the treatment that must be administered to the patient. Surgeons have been known to conduct operations in distant countries through video conferencing; they observe the operation being conducted by a surgeon and advise him through the conferencing. This would not have been possible in the early 1990’s as the video quality was very low and the connectivity of the video conferencing was not too good either.

Today the general man-in-the-street can use video conferencing software like any professional. Desktop video conferencing has brought the world closer and bridged the divide of the oceans for many a family. Information about video conferencing has given expansion opportunities for education and communication like no one ever expected. Someone somewhere has availed of the benefits that information about video conferencing has provided to the world. This is a technology that has achieved a lot in a few years and still has a very long way to go. Video conferencing enables scientists on the earth to communicate with astronauts in space, Generals to observe the activities on the frontlines, Doctors to monitor the progress of patients from distant lands, scientists to take part in crucial experiments from different countries at the same time and the old grand parents to have a look at the newborn grandchild just a few minutes after birth.

The information about video conferencing that you need is available all over the Internet. You need to know what video conferencing is, what you can use it for, what is the technology available to you and what is the equipment you need to set up video conferencing. In the past there was just the ISDN line linking the Internet across the world. Then there was the limited video compressing technology that could enable video transmission across the Internet. Businesses and organizations were unable to put video conferencing to its greatest use as they were bound to the limited technology at the time. The more their information about video conferencing technology advanced the better equipped they became to put it to wider use.

Shakir A. is writer an independent writer on Internet marketing, Online Video Advertising, Video Conferencing and it's happenings in Internet industry. More Details for Video Conferencing at http://www.tandberg.com

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Making the Best Out of Audio Conferencing Services to Boost Business

As the demand for time and cost efficient means of conducting business processes is increasing, technological advancements have been made to support the same. With passing days, many shifts and readjustments have been made in several arenas of business. For instance, the way meetings are held have evolved drastically in the wake of making them more effective and at the same time cost efficient.

The sight of a populated conference room with distinguished men and women spending hours together in discussing a well planned and scheduled meeting agenda is a thing of the past. Somewhere in the late nineties, audio conferencing companies emerged offering affordable audio conferencing services to the world. Small and medium sized companies immediately took advantage of this and started organizing meetings through teleconferences. They found that meetings had become crisp, efficient and cost effective. This method of organizing meeting was soon adopted by many businesses and within a matter of months conference meetings through telephone became a large success.

When the trend of offshore outsourcing began, audio conferencing had much to offer. All the travel expenses that were to be made by following traditional meeting methods were completely eliminated. As the demand for these services grew, the sound quality was improved and enhanced features like web conferencing was introduced.

In order to ensure technology is implemented properly, certain things should be taken note of. Choose a service that suits your business requirements best. The sound quality and the user friendliness are two features which you must check in any audio conferencing service. The features of the devices vary. The most expensive is not always the best choice. Your business may not utilize all the features that are available in a high end model. Go in for something that is good enough to accomplish your audio conference goals. It is also possible to archive meetings.

In today's day and age, a save on time is the biggest perk your business could get. It is important that every business understands and adopts the facility of audio conferencing to cope with the demanding business needs.

I am an employee of a reputed software firm. I love the use of audio conferencing in meetings and having seen the benefits of audio conferencing services, I decided to write an article about it.

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Make Meetings Cost Effective With Video Conferencing Services

Gone are the days when meetings meant a room full of men and women seating on a conference table to discuss a business agenda for hours. With globalization and new technological advancements, meetings too have become tech savvy. In an era of multinational companies and offshore business outsourcing, meetings involve people from various nations and traveling for the cause of a meeting is simply impractical. Corporate meetings extensively use of audio and video conferencing services, video conferencing being the most effective.

A video conference meeting barely has any disadvantages, but sure has a lot of advantages. It is simply a virtual meet among employees and employers who work across different geographical boundaries. By making use of video and audio aids, members involved in the video conference can see and talk to each other just as they would in a formal conference setting.

This method is definitely a save on cost. Travel costs, cost of arranging an event and hosting costs are all cut out. All it takes is a webcam, a computer, an internet broadband connection, microphone and a projector. Video conference meetings are suited for elaborate as well as short spanned ones. Since it hardly bears any additional cost, it is highly cost effective.

Of late, video conference rooms are designed and equipped to accommodate formal meetings. They can either be a part of your office infrastructure or can be rented too. Businesses across the world are now using these rooms for a variety of purposes. They use the facility to hold training programs for employees conduct product demonstrations for clients and even conduct interviews across different countries. Sure it saves a lot of bucks.

Be it a small business or a multinational corporation, video conferencing is the order of the day. It saves cost, time and also keeps you on par with businesses who are using a service like this.

Video conferencing service and audio conferencing services enable any organization to tap into cost effective internet channel to carry their day to day activities.

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