What about Skype?

Skype has been, and continues to be, a wonderful communications application that has revolutionised the ability of people to keep in touch from wherever they might be in the world. Families can talk and see one another whenever suits and basic business communications can be enhanced too.

However, the requirements of business communications normally benefit from something a little more capable and indeed Web Conferencing offers so much more than Skype:

• more participant videos online simultaneously (as many as 16)
• virtually unlimited audio participation & users online concurrently
• sharing of user's PC/MAC contents with all other participants, using ShowMyDesktop
• user support through facility to control other user's computers (permission based)
• session recording for later website viewing & training purposes
• on-screen whiteboard & notepad capability
• indication of need to speak in a busy meeting by "raising hand"
• private keyboard chats between individual participants in the background

The above features can add so much more to online business communications. There will always be the need for face to face meetings but Web Conferencing enables meetings to be held with much greater convenience. Indeed the inclusion of participant videos ensures the availability of body and facial language which is so much a part of the meeting culture.

Cut Travel Costs

In these harsh economic times you have to consider realistic measures to cut costs and the cost effectiveness of Travel offers just such consideration.

Business culture has traditionally involved travel; whether to meetings, seminars, exhibitions or training sessions....... but there is a way to moderate that culture dramatically. There will always be the need for face to face meetings but Web Conferencing offers a credible alternative for many of these meetings that will bring major savings in cost efficiency..... and if you don't look seriously at this developing technology your competitors probably will.

Consider a situation where people gather together in a meeting room but where some from more remote locations who should be there aren't, unable to commit to travelling there, but whose input to the meeting is valued and needed. By running a web conference these remote users can be brought into the meeting and allowed to fully participate thereby achieving a much more valued experience all round. They have saved on the cost & time involved had they indeed travelled and they are able to concentrate on other important issues right up until the meeting starts and able to resume again straight after.

Then there is the situation where people need to meet up from geographically dispersed locations and where the overall cost of travel and possible accomodation is considerable, maybe even prohibitive. Again, by running the alternative web conference a very cost effective meeting can be arranged. Audio & video capability assures complete communication by users able to pick up on the normality of facial expression needed to ensure a quality experience. And of course users will have the ability to share desktop resources, applications & browsers with each other to achieve full collaboration capability.

So not only does the online web conference offer a quality and cost effective alternative to the traditional meeting but a measurable saving of your carbon footprint is achieved to ably promote your green credentials.

Bear in mind too that Web Conferencing can help bring a valuable stability to costs control when compared against the ever consistent instabilities of traditional fuel based economies.

Best Practice

A Web Conference application featuring both audio & video presentation will ensure total flexibility of operation. Broadband too (512k and above) is the basic level of Internet access you should consider for successful operation with a Quality of Service (QoS) rating above 85% desirable. Click here to test your broadband.

To ensure the smoothest possible meeting experience you are recommended to consider the following:

1) Audio
Headsets with intergrated microphone & earpiece should be used by all meeting participants to ensure against the unpleasant experience of echo and feedback effects. Check that headsets are connected to PCs prior to joining the meeting and that they are not in use with other applications such as Skype. USB models provide the highest quality audio but those with analogue "jack" type connectors are normally adequate too. Tabletop microphone/speaker sets with echo cancellation might also be used and are particularly useful in situations where several users together are participating from a physical room location, such as in a boardroom

Allternatively, audio Teleconferening might be used but tends to be an expensive substitute. This however can be a useful option where participants have no access to the internet and need to take part verbally from a landline or portable phone.

2) Video
Web Cameras might be considered optional but seeing the other people you are online with will be useful in ensuring a good quality experience. Simple web cameras do the job and those rated at 1.3Megapixels or above offer great quality. Video cameras on the other hand are more expensive but offer high quality & flexibility in multiple person locations such as board rooms. Avoid IP cameras used in web-based monitoring & remote security applications which are not normally suitable.

Ensure software drivers provided with the web camera are installed before joining your first meeting and that the camera is free from use by other applications. Most crucially, ensure that the device is connected to the PC (amazing how often this gets forgotten about).

3) Internet Connection
Where possible your PC should be cable-connected to the broadband router or network. Wireless works but better quality can be assured by hard wiring.

4) Operating Platform
Ensure the web conferencing solution you work with is truly multi-platform and available to users of any operating system, browser, & PC or Apple Mac.