How to Select the Best Web Conferencing Service for Your Business

Today's conferencing market is flooded with not only thousands of web conferencing providers, but an even greater number of web conferencing services, making it difficult to sift through the masses to find the best pick for your unique business needs. Luckily, our team came up with a few steps to take in order to ensure you find the correct provider and service(s) for your business.

To start, you should understand your options. Web conferencing solutions are diverse - most offer the same general features, however some offer specialized features exclusive to that provider. For example, typical features most web conference providers offer include:

• Desktop and file sharing - essential to any successful web conference, desktop and file sharing help ensure all of your participants are on the same page and viewing relevant information while you present


• Management options - include automatic reminders, email templates, and follow-ups to take the stress out of planning and assembling a conference; some providers even offer integration with Microsoft Outlook to simplify scheduling meetings and distributing invites


• Conference recording - for participants unable to attend due to illness, time differences, or any other reason, you can record your live meeting and make it available for playback at a future date


• Whiteboarding - allows participants to collaborate in real-time with one another by drawing or writing on a virtual whiteboard


• Private sub-conferences - let you speak privately with only the attendees you choose (for example, if you are hosting a web conference with one of your business's satellite offices and a prospective client, you can privately speak with your satellite branch in real-time without disrupting the presentation


• Instant feedback - surveys, polling, and question and answer sessions provide you with quick feedback, at the conclusion of your conference, some providers also offer reports and individualized statistics

Where conferencing providers and their services differ most is in regards to the maximum number of participants allowed during a conference; often subscription based services limit the maximum number of participants allowed in each meeting. Services like InterCall Unified Meeting provide web conferencing for small groups from 2 to 125, while WebEx Event Center, for example, accommodates up to 3,000 participants.

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