Nowadays small or large companies all over the world use web conferencing tool for communication on the web. Web conferencing is used for live meetings by the company or to conduct presentations over the Internet and different users post messages in a forum. Web conferencing has been evolved with a passage of time and become online or synchronous, in the early days it was not online and discussions were based on text messages. In the beginning of 2001, it was not a well known technology because internet and computer technologies were not so advanced and in part to the unfamiliarity of the general public at that time.
In 2002 web conferencing became popular and used by the small, medium and large companies. In 2003 the web conferencing companies made twice more earning than the previous year. Benefits of Internet conferencing: Web conferencing brings many benefits to businesses: it reduces the cost of communication, employee productivity is improved, and time to develop products is reduced. It assists the companies in providing better customer support. Web conferencing helps in achieving goals and targets in big and small companies. It is reliable, secure, and easy to use while being.
This solution enables business people from all over the world to meet quickly, saving the cost of airplane ticket, traveling time, and saving people from pain of journey. The adoption rate for web based solution among the industry has risen tremendously and analyst projections are much more for the future. It has removed the price and complexity barriers and is as easy to use. It is effective, quick to implement and can be helpful in many ways. It can be used in sales presentation, for training different people, giving briefings to the customers, weekly or monthly team meeting, and discussions with remote participants.
Online meeting center is a robust solution for world wide business people and has lot of benefits for a business. Web conferencing is the fastest and largest growing solution for companies which are situated at different parts of the globe. The web conferencing market reached $2. 3B in the 2003and few years later it reached $767M and was project to reach more and more in the future. Web conferencing takes advantage of the latest technologies telecommunications can offer and it reduces other costs like lodging, food, and materials.
When an urgent issue arises and needs to be resolved quickly, web conferencing is the ultimate choice. Web conferencing offers efficient exchange of information in real time at a cheap cost. Getting most of Internet conferencing: Usually for web conferencing for hosts and participants some of the basic requirements are as follows: HTTP and HTTPS network connection with minimum connection speed of 56kbps, Microsoft Windows 98/NT/ME/2000/XP/Server2003 System, and any one of browsers: Internet Explorer 5. 5 or higher; Netscape 7. 0 or higher; Mozilla 1.
0 or higher. A computer or laptop, a camera, a headset with a microphone, software for web conferencing, and internet connection is required by the users participating in a web conference. The best way to take full benefit of web conferencing is to first check certain guidelines have to first meet the needs of your business. First outline the needs of your company and then check if there are any web conferencing tools available in the market that fulfills your requirements. To make the most of web conferencing following factors are essential for a company:
The most important factor is the budget; online Internet conferencing might cost a lot as compare with the offline conference. The company should choose a package that will fulfill the needs and also as bring a good return of investment. In many cases companies do not need video or web conferencing meetings may not at need web cameras. In this scenario the best choice will be to select a communication system that will allow for web camera hook-ups, if needed in the future. There are different systems for connecting a head office to a branch office or fixed location and allowing connections from any location.
The systems have advantages and disadvantages, therefore the company has to first identify the requirement and then select the suitable web conferencing system. Determine the companys technical capabilities before selecting a browser based system or a specific software based system. Some systems allows running all types of operating system, while some systems allowing specific hardware and gives you wide variety of features. The company should give preference to web conferencing system that is trouble-free in keep things organized and can be configured easily as more and more people join your conferences.
Web conferencing is usually affected by Internet connectivity speed and bandwidth, the company should select web service provider who can provide the speed upgrade. It is highly recommended to install firewall security on the computers used for web conferencing and to protect from computer viruses and hackers. Try to select web conferencing systems that have the need for polls or allow sharing online applications or possibly even show presentations developed in PowerPoint. Draw backs of Internet conferencing:
One of the major drawbacks of web conferencing is it is vulnerable to attacks by the invaders on the internet. Use of web conferencing is spreading day by day, there are new issues being developed everyday such as non repudiation that will need to be solved. Along with the convenience, speed of access to information and other benefits of web conferencing there are few risks. The risks are: the valuable information might be stolen, lost, corrupted, or misused. Many people feel that conferencing on web is more vulnerable than if the conferencing in a boardroom.
Intruders can steal or tamper the information without entering an office and may be from any part of the world. Security concerns are very important for the companies that run their business on web. A weak and vulnerable system may have following consequences: reduction in productivity, loss of money and reputation, loss of time in recovering from the mishap, and incomplete business. To make web conferencing secure, companies are beginning to set up their own server and have better and risk free conferencing environment.
However, disadvantage of having their own server is that the companies must have to use their own bandwidth for group meetings. But companies have to buy bandwidth at a high cost that makes the web conferencing too costly and unaffordable. Security policies are mostly bypassed by systems using web conferencing; that allows the unauthorized persons and access the information. Another major disadvantage is that a conferencing system bug can create security vulnerabilities. Bug can attack the companys valuable data with malicious software, intercept files passed during discussions.
Another drawback is the lack of human contact in web based systems, which greatly decreases learning and understanding capabilities of the user. Web conferencing is a new and evolving technology; there are no international standards for it. The technology is growing rapidly and upgrades, patches and new versions of web conferencing software are developed by the vendors almost on a monthly basis. Conclusion: Web conferencing has surpassed all the expectations and its future looks bright and promising.
In the prevalent era a document needs to be analyzed within 24 hours and meeting has to take place with in a short period of time. Every minute counts for businessmen, traveling to different locations of the world takes up too much time and costs. Now a company having offices all over the world can easily hold meetings without the need for the other members to be physically present in the boardrooms. But web conferencing has surely made a difference to help the companies by managing hectic schedule and enabling meetings. The participants of web conference meeting are scattered around the globe regardless of the time.
Nowadays web conferencing is based on a multimedia platform and it provides a virtual environment to the people from different parts of the world to exchange information and views in real time scenario without leaving their offices. Convenience, economy, and practicality are the highlighting features of web conferencing. Companies can arrange meetings and plan for trainings sessions without leaving their office or home.
References:
Articles on Internet conferencing, E-Learning Guru, retrieved from World Wide Web on 12th April, 2007, http://www. e-learningguru.com/articles/art1_9. htm The magic of Video conferencing, Ezine Artilces, retrieved from World Wide Web on 12th April, 2007, http://ezinearticles. com/? The-Magic-of-Video-Conferencing&id=128487 Advantages of meeting online, Kollabora, retrieved from World Wide Web on 13th April, 2007, http://www. kolabora. com/news/2005/01/27/advantages_of_meeting_online. htm How web conferencing can provide an advantage in International business, Ikaro Home page, retrieved from World Wide Web on 13th April, 2007, http://www. ikaro. com/weblog/web_conferencing_help_business. html