Choosing Web Conference Software: A How-to Guide

It's always a challenge deciding where to invest our business dollars. We know we have to spend money to grow our business, but we can't afford to waste a cent. Web conference software can grow your business, if you understand how to select it.

Small business owners often hesitate when thinking about internet conferencing services. There's a fear it'll cost too much or that they'll get stuck paying too much for a bunch of useless features. This article will guide you through the types of plans available and the features you should consider.

Web conferencing software is much less expensive than you think. Webex's MeetMeNow prices out to as low as $35 a month for an unlimited number of meetings. The other companies (Cisco, Microsoft) have similar plans.

The trick to deciding whether the finances make sense is to figure out what you'll save. Are you traveling to meetings? Internet web conferencing will save travel dollars. Are you spending a lot on long distance phone calls or cellular minutes? Web conferencing provides a toll-free number for all the participants. When you calculate your savings you'll probably agree that web conferencing software is a good investment.

Now, of course, you have to figure out what features make sense for you. If you've used internet conferencing before you probably already know what you need. If this is new technology to you, I suggest you use one of the free trials to see which of these features make the most sense for you.

Audio Conferencing: Your vendor will provide a toll free number for meetings. They'll often offer VoIP calling (calling over the Internet) as an additional option.

Video Conferencing: I don't use webcams myself, but a few of my business friends do. If you have a webcam on your PC and are comfortable using it, you'll want a vendor that allows for video streaming.

White Board: A shared, online white board is one of my favorite web conferencing features. Meeting participants can work together on an idea, drawing and erasing, just as if they were in the same room.

Annotating Documents: Reading and edit documents together. Mark up that Proposal as you go, with everyone seeing the same results.

Meeting Quantity and Size: Plans vary here. Some give you unlimited meetings for a monthly fee. Some are priced per-meeting. Also, the number of participants allowed per meeting may vary. Take a look at the quantity and size of your current meetings to estimate what you'll need in the future.

Take a few minutes to review this list of features and think about how you'll use web conferencing software. The best way to decide is to sign up for a free trial and see if it meets your needs.

About the Author

Tyler Vaughn used web conference software while working in a virtual office. Find out more about getting web conference free trials at his website. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

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