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The Benefits of Online Meetings
The significant increase in fuel prices is driving business
to search for cheaper alternatives to executive travel.
The use of multi-media web conferencing applications is one
option that is becoming increasingly viable. Savings of
$2,000 per year per executive can be achieved according to
certain technology experts.
High speed broadband connections have enabled web
conferencing to move to a new level. Combining instant
messaging, realtime video, audio and application sharing
allows executives anywhere in the world to see one another
and hold conversations while working together on a common
document or file. All participants simply need a headset
with mouthpiece, and possibly a webcam.
Available services are becoming increasingly sophisticated,
with owners of 3G cell phones and laptops now able to
participate in online meetings.
In the past slow internet connections have given rise to
poor quality audio and video during web conferences. The
number of participants in online meetings was also often
restricted due to the heavy demand on limited bandwidth.
Security concerns were another disincentive to conducting
online conferences. Potential threats to confidentiality
existed when private meetings were held over an open
network. On top of this encryption also consumed more
bandwidth and slowed down the process even more.
The good news for business is that these problems have now
largely been sorted out, and a fiercely-competitive market
is growing rapidly attracting internet giants such as
Microsoft. Even better news is that prices are being driven
down by this competition, and fully managed online
conferencing services are now within the grasp of even
the smallest business.
However, tread carefully before you start booking that
first online conference. Establish which elements of these
services will really improve the efficiency of your
operation.
Services such as live video conferencing are simply not
required by most businesses. Many organizations will get
most benefit from using a service such as VoIP ("voice over
internet protocol") or an instant messaging facility.
Either could easily be combined with application sharing to
enhance the benefits.
Avoid the pitfall of using a service provider who requires
all participants to use the providers own proprietary
software, especially if your meetings include personnel
from outside your own organization.
You should also ensure that any encryption facilities being
utilized cover all media being used in the conference.
Author Mark Vandorone is the founder and CEO of Five Marketing, a
quality provider of highly targeted traffic for your online
advertising campaigns. Stop putting up with junk clicks and
poorly converting traffic from PPC search engines! go to
http://www.fivemarketing.com
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