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The five key factors to weigh your teleconferencing solution

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Choosing a conference call company is not easy. Just type the phrase "conference call" into Yahoo and you'll see lots of companies. Fortunately, most of them position their services on a small-group of factors. Understanding these elements, and thinking through their relative importance to the needs of your company, is the best way to make a good decision. Research in the industry indicates that there are five elements which typically enable a user to make a good decision. To help you make that choice, this article reviews these 5 areas.


1. The cost

All-conference calling services cost something to use. This is true even of the ones that brand themselves as "free." Why is that? Notwithstanding the possible exception of a purely VOIP system covering all users, all-conference calling services require participants to dial a bridge number. In the case of services that provide toll-free bridge numbers, a per minute charge is assessed. The lowest fee you can typically arrange is several cents per minute typically you'll be paying five to ten cents per minute. This charge is assessed cumulatively. In other words, if there are 5 participants on a 60 minute call, a 300 minute charge will be incurred. Some services still charge legacy rates and of 20 or 25 cents a minute and these plans are to be avoided! As mentioned earlier, some services are free with respect to the fact that there is no charge imposed by the provider. However, these services do not provide a toll-free number with their free services and as such users will incur normal long-distance charges to participate.

2. Scheduling capability

Services typically fall into one of two categories. Paid and high end corporate services frequently provide a scheduling interface which enables the organizer to arrange the call. For those services that have an Outlook integration or similar sort of functionality, a pin code and dial-in bridge can be allocated to the user when the user wishes to do her own call scheduling. The free conference calling systems typically provide only a pin code and dial-in bridge; the initiator of the conference call is responsible for sending individual e-mails and keeping track of individual follow-ups. At this point in time, the sole free conference calling service in the industry featuring both capabilities (scheduling and on-the-fly conferencing) as well as response tracking is Rondee.

3. Archiving or Recording

For a lot of organizations, the ability to retain information connected to the call or even the call itself can be very useful. Some services allow recording of the conference call in WAV format, GSM or both formats. Some companies provide this capability for free but generally it is found as included feature of paid teleconferencing services. The audio file is typically retrieved after the conference call is over through a link from the service provider 's web site or a link e-mailed to the users. It is generally not possible to email the audio itself because of capacity constraints. Some services provide the agenda for the call to be archived. This capability is obviously not possible with services that only offer a pin code and dial-in bridge but can be offered by services that offer scheduling capability because the scheduling template records the call specific information.

4. Sharing Your Desktop

Sometimes a conference call is not limited to the audio format. If your business necessitates visual sharing of information (e.g. PowerPoint presentations), desktop sharing is a critical aspect of a successful conference call. Some users choose a best-of-breed strategy and use different services for their desktop sharing and conferencing. Increasingly, however, conference calling providers are moving quickly to bundle desktop sharing functionality into their core product. In the case of well-known companies such as GoToMeeting, this is part of a goal to capture both segments of the market. In the case of conferencing calling companies, desktop sharing is being offered as a paid upsell to generate incremental revenue.

5. Personalization

A frequent complaint from users of conferencing systems is the need to remember random dial--in bridge numbers and pin-codes. In the last year, confluence of telecom and internet technologies is solving this problem. A couple conference call companies enable users to personalize their PIN codes to something more easily remembered. Some systems also offer access without a pin when users call from a known phone number. These systems, however, do require user registration to enable a matching of the number.

For most users, the ultimate choice of teleconferencing service will require weighting these (and perhaps other) factors according to your organization 's requirements. The good news is that the increase of competition in this market is expanding the offerings available to you.

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<h1>The five key factors to weigh your teleconferencing solution</h1><br />by bob.letterman<br />Choosing a conference call company is not easy. Just type the phrase "conference call" into Yahoo and you'll see lots of companies. Fortunately, most of them position their services on a small-group of factors. Understanding these elements, and thinking through their relative importance to the needs of your company, is the best way to make a good decision. Research in the industry indicates that there are five elements which typically enable a user to make a good decision. To help you make that choice, this article reviews these 5 areas.<br /><br /><br />1. The cost<br /><br />All-conference calling services cost something to use. This is true even of the ones that brand themselves as "free." Why is that? Notwithstanding the possible exception of a purely VOIP system covering all users, all-conference calling services require participants to dial a bridge number. In the case of services that provide toll-free bridge numbers, a per minute charge is assessed. The lowest fee you can typically arrange is several cents per minute typically you'll be paying five to ten cents per minute. This charge is assessed cumulatively. In other words, if there are 5 participants on a 60 minute call, a 300 minute charge will be incurred. Some services still charge legacy rates and of 20 or 25 cents a minute and these plans are to be avoided! As mentioned earlier, some services are free with respect to the fact that there is no charge imposed by the provider. However, these services do not provide a toll-free number with their free services and as such users will incur normal long-distance charges to participate.<br /><br />2. Scheduling capability<br /><br />Services typically fall into one of two categories. Paid and high end corporate services frequently provide a scheduling interface which enables the organizer to arrange the call. For those services that have an Outlook integration or similar sort of functionality, a pin code and dial-in bridge can be allocated to the user when the user wishes to do her own call scheduling. The free conference calling systems typically provide only a pin code and dial-in bridge; the initiator of the conference call is responsible for sending individual e-mails and keeping track of individual follow-ups. At this point in time, the sole free conference calling service in the industry featuring both capabilities (scheduling and on-the-fly conferencing) as well as response tracking is Rondee.<br /><br />3. Archiving or Recording<br /><br />For a lot of organizations, the ability to retain information connected to the call or even the call itself can be very useful. Some services allow recording of the conference call in WAV format, GSM or both formats. Some companies provide this capability for free but generally it is found as included feature of paid teleconferencing services. The audio file is typically retrieved after the conference call is over through a link from the service provider 's web site or a link e-mailed to the users. It is generally not possible to email the audio itself because of capacity constraints. Some services provide the agenda for the call to be archived. This capability is obviously not possible with services that only offer a pin code and dial-in bridge but can be offered by services that offer scheduling capability because the scheduling template records the call specific information.<br /><br />4. Sharing Your Desktop<br /><br />Sometimes a conference call is not limited to the audio format. If your business necessitates visual sharing of information (e.g. PowerPoint presentations), desktop sharing is a critical aspect of a successful conference call. Some users choose a best-of-breed strategy and use different services for their desktop sharing and conferencing. Increasingly, however, conference calling providers are moving quickly to bundle desktop sharing functionality into their core product. In the case of well-known companies such as GoToMeeting, this is part of a goal to capture both segments of the market. In the case of conferencing calling companies, desktop sharing is being offered as a paid upsell to generate incremental revenue.<br /><br />5. Personalization<br /><br />A frequent complaint from users of conferencing systems is the need to remember random dial--in bridge numbers and pin-codes. In the last year, confluence of telecom and internet technologies is solving this problem. A couple conference call companies enable users to personalize their PIN codes to something more easily remembered. Some systems also offer access without a pin when users call from a known phone number. These systems, however, do require user registration to enable a matching of the number.<br /><br />For most users, the ultimate choice of teleconferencing service will require weighting these (and perhaps other) factors according to your organization 's requirements. The good news is that the increase of competition in this market is expanding the offerings available to you.<br /><h2>About the Author</h2><p>A consultant to <a href="http://www.rondee.com">free conference calling</a> companies such as Rondee, Bob Letterman speaks frequently about technology issues. His writings appear in a number of publications relating to telecommunications.</p> <br /><h3><a href="http://www.content4reprint.com/business/communication/the-five-key-factors-to-weigh-your-teleconferencing-solution.htm" title="The five key factors to weigh your teleconferencing solution">Article Source:</a> <a href="http://www.content4reprint.com" title="Free high quality articles">Content for Reprint</a></h3>