How does a SOHO entrepreneur or small business owner go about making web conferencing comparisons? We know web conferencing can help us save time and money, but what do we look for?
Web conferencing is ideal for small, collaborative meetings where participants communicate with one another. Web conferencing solutions aren’t all equal. There are a myriad of options available for web conferencing.
You should understand this article meticulously, the issue and the suggestions have a lot of distinctions. I recommend you choose a web conferencing service hosted on a web server controlled by the vendor. This alleviates the need for you to install and maintain an expensive in-house solution. The choices for a hosted solution vary among vendors, but most provide these plans to choose from:
Saba Centra Web Conferencing Overview: Saba Centra is a web conferencing and online learning solution that combines a highly interactive virtual training classroom, online meeting, and webinar pla…
Cost per user per minute monthly flat fee cost-per-participant The first thing, then, is to determine your meeting “style.” How many conference calls, or meetings, planned or impromptu, do you have per day, week or month? Remember that one of the biggest advantages of web conferencing is that it can turn a simple phone call into a collaborative meeting “on the fly.” If you want that option, make sure the vendor you select offers it!
Next, decide what tools are essential for your meetings. If you’ve used web conferencing before you probably already know what you need in terms of collaboration tools. If you have not, here are some tools I find useful:
Desktop Sharing: Let others “look over your shoulder” as you demonstrate. Desktop Sound & Video Capture: Essential for keeping track of what went on. Integrated VoIP Conferencing: you will want to check whether the vendor provides this. Private Chat: Allows you to talk privately to individual meeting participants. Grant Control to Others: You can designate another participant as the “leader” and let them show their desktop. White Board: Virtual whiteboards are a great tool. Your group works together to draw out a new concept, just as if they were in the same room. Annotation Tools: Do you want to read and edit documents together? Number and Size of Meetings: I prefer a plan that allows unlimited meetings. Some vendors will limit the number of participants per meeting, but how often do you need more than fifteen people on a call anyway?
We small business owners have to be clever. We need to invest in growing our business, but not waste a cent. Web conferencing can help, if you understand what to look for.
Confused about web conferencing comparison? If this is new technology to you, or even if it’sn’t, take advantage of the top vendors’ free trials to see which features make the most sense for your business. Start your web conferencing comparison at the Online Meeting Review Site.