| |
| |
|
Video Conferencing Information |
|
|
|
Web Conferencing: A Boon to Businesss
It is Sunday evening and you are preparing again to go on a business trip. Monday morning the alarm goes off at 4:00 am, you drag your body and your briefcase to your car, drive to the airport, wait in a long line, get on a plane, get off a plane, and find your way to your client's office. When you finally get home Monday night, you have spent more time traveling than meeting and you have dozens of emails and several important phone calls to return. According to leading web conferencing service providers, the typical sales cycle can be cut two to three weeks with web conferencing. Providing a virtual conference room environment, web conferencing eliminates the need to travel, linking geographically disperse workgroups and telecommuters. The return on investment for web conferencing can be measured not only in dollars and cents, but also in personnel efficiency, knowledge distribution and increased sales opportunities. The ability to virtually link workgroups and project teams enables real-time collaboration, a task that once required lengthy email threads or face-to-face meetings. Web conferencing enables businesses to:
Since its inception, web conferencing usage has expanded to a number of business applications such as daily sales and marketing efforts, interaction with co-workers and customers, corporate presentations and training initiatives. Financial corporations use web conferencing for internal meetings, customer briefings, employee training, client consultations and investment workshops. Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies use Web conferencing for product promotion and marketing, sales presentations and demonstrations, and product training and development. Educational institutions use web conferencing for project teams and student workshops. And, government agencies rely on web conferencing for training and inter-agency communication. Most organizations use outsourced web conferencing. Why? Because of the quickly changing technology, businesses opt not to invest in what could soon be obsolete. In addition, on a day-to-day basis, it is more cost effective to have web conferencing outsourced. Additional reasons include:
When beginning the search for a web conferencing solution, start with setting your objectives and determining the features you require. Here are a few basic questions that should be answered:
Once you have determined your requirements, screen a number of vendors. Visit their web site, review live demos, and seek client testimonials. Here are few suggestions for choosing a vendor: Select a pricing model. Determine whether you want to pay-per-use (you pay only for the time you and your attendees spend in web conferences) or pay-per-seat (you pay a flat monthly fee for a certain number of "seats"). Pay-per-use pricing is the better conservative choice for most companies learning to how to use web conferencing for their business. You avoid set up charges and you don't have to monitor the number of concurrent users in order to avoid overage charges. You can always start with a pay-per-use plan and switch to a pay-per-seat plan once there is a clear, long-term financial advantage. Get the features you need. Some web conferencing solutions only support online presentations while others offer full-featured packages that include polling, chatting, application-sharing, white boarding and group web surfing. Make sure that the product meets your needs. Check into customer support levels. Is training and ongoing support available? What hours? Is there an extra fee? Is there a telephone number available so that you can contact a support person or is only email support offered? What are their support hours? Call each vendor's customer service number and see if you get a live person vs. a menu or voice mail. You don't want to be in a situation where an attendee has technical problems joining a critical meeting and not be able to contact a live person immediately. Consider security requirements. Depending on the audience and the information being sharing, security may be a concern. Most solutions are secure enough and do not store meeting data any place except on the presenter's PC. Participants only see a graphical representation of the data through a standard web browser. Some services provide pass code authorization, basic encryption, and the ability to lock and unlock the meeting. So, the next time Sunday night comes around and you are faced with another week of travel, email trails, difficulty in scheduling training and long lead times in closing sales and negotiating contracts, do yourself a favor and look into web conferencing for your business. About The Author Denise Bridgens has more than 20 years experience in product marketing and product management for communications and is the founder of Argo Navis IT. Argo Navis IT is a value added reseller of Premiere Conferencing services and is their exclusive Minority Women Business Enterprise partner. Premiere Conferencing has consistently led the industry in developing the most advanced conferencing solutions, fulfilling today's business-critical communications needs and delivering the highest levels of security and reliability. Argo Navis IT is headquartered in Morristown, NJ and is opening an office in a HUB zone shortly. The company contributes 10% of profits annually to battered women's shelters. To learn more about Argo Navis IT, visit their web site at www.argonavisit.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Video-Conferencing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Web Conferencing: A Boon to Businesss It is Sunday evening and you are preparing again to go on a business trip. Monday morning the alarm goes off at 4:00 am, you drag your body and your briefcase to your car, drive to the airport, wait in a long line, get on a plane, get off a plane, and find your way to your client's office. Video Conferencing Basics This article will provide you a brief introduction about what actually video conferencing is. By video conferecing we can connect with some other identity and also can see the video online in real time. Webcams: Science-Fiction Becomes Reality One of the most incredible inventions I've ever come across is the web cam and its process of video conferencing. This is just so futuristic I can't believe they really exist and are readily available to anyone with the Internet, speakers, and the right software. Web Conferencing Services - Types You may already have recognized the need for web conferencing within your organization. You have heard all about the many benefits and have decided it is the way forward for your company. New Service Utilizes Videoconferencing for Easy Access to London Academic Expertise An innovative service, launched in March 2005 enables educational institutions and corporate organizations worldwide to access the immense pool of academic and professional expertise concentrated in London, UK via videoconferencing.Today, many US and European universities resort to opening and maintaining campuses in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to enable their students access to the wealth of experiences and teaching resources that the city offers. Web Conferencing - What is it? Web Conferencing is, very simply, a meeting, conference or seminar that is held over the World Wide Web. Web conferencing can refer to audio, video or text-based conversations and are conducted in real-time. Video Conferencing - An Affordable Medium Just like prices for computers and telephone systems have reduced, so too have prices for video conferencing systems. Video conferencing was once a hugely expensive technology, but is now available to almost any sized company, large or small. Redefining Distance to Market your Company The recent terrorist attacks here in the US have caused many companies and individuals to rethink how they want to market to and work with others. As a result, web-enabled presentations and or collaborations are finally coming of age - the technology works with a minimum of hassle, it's an efficient way to give marketing presentations, hold meetings, provide training and do product demonstrations. Web Conferencing Tool - Reduce Your Communication Costs For most people in business, meetings are a necessary evil. Stop for a moment and consider how much hosting or attending meetings cost your business and you may be in for a surprise; precious time spent traveling to and from the meeting location, travel expenses, and in some cases the hire of the meeting facility. Web Conferencing - the Virtual Global Office Enabler Online collaboration has begun to evolve from just being the Wow factor to something core that every business has to invest and have a plan for. Internet has changed the way we work and live, it has made virtual offices and work from homes possible. Benefits of Web-Based Conferencing I recently graduated from college, and instead of taking a corporate programming job, my friend and I started our own web development company. Everything was going great. How to Get Your Video Production Right the FIRST Time I'll cut to the chase. To make your video look right, you have to wear makeup. Web Conferencing 101 First, a small disclaimer: No matter how you slice up conferencing solutions, the categories you use to group them are mutable and subject to instant revision. Combinations of various elements make some applications basically impossible to categorize. Web Conferencing: Finding a Service Provider that Meets Your Needs With the vast amount of service providers that are available today, it's not always easy to find the one that best fills the bill for your particular web conferencing needs. Each one claims to be the biggest, best or least expensive, and all will try to convince you that their particular plan is the one that makes the most sense for your business. The Benefits of Using Conference Calling for the Psychotherapist Conference calling can save you time and money. For those who are psychotherapists, time is extremely important. Seven Steps to a Vital Videoconference When it's time for your fifteen minutes of fame will you be ready? With videoconferencing becoming common place in 21st century communication, executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders need to be media savvy. Here's how to put your best face forward: 1. Internet Conferencing - Advantages Nobody works in complete isolation. In virtually all lines of business, contact with other people will be required in some capacity. Science Learning from Nature We are sure seeing a lot of scientific research trying to copy nature. We see non-technology copying birds, insects, spyders, animals and MIT and AUVs-Underwater Autonomous Vehicles copying fish. The Future of Thought Swapping In the future we will be able to have small chips in our brains and which will work like cell phones, but without the inherent flaws. You will not have to carry them around or worry about dropping them into the toilet. How Video Conferencing Works - Multimedia, Interactive Communication Across the Miles You may think you understand video conferencing pretty well until someone who isn't at all familiar with it approaches you for a simple definition. When they ask, "What exactly is video conferencing?" you could suddenly realize you're at a loss for words.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
