U.S. Small Businesses to Increase Spending on Web-Conferencing

Small businesses in the U.S. are increasingly using web-conferencing solutions, like GoToMeeting, LiveMeeting and WebEx.

According to a recent AMI-Partners report, nearly half of U.S. SBs are using web-conferencing solutions today, with penetration expected to grow to 80% in 2011. However, this trend also brings challenges to many web-conferencing providers. With increased use of these services, AMI is forecasting significant displacement to free web-conferencing offers.

“Over the last three years, U.S. SBs have seen additional benefits in using these solutions. Today, they no longer view web-conferencing as a cost-cutting measure, but rather as an effective, real-time collaboration tool.”

Web-conferencing as a viable, affordable alternative to travel

“The recent economic downturn heightened cost management among U.S. SBs, and they identified web-conferencing as a viable, affordable alternative to travel,” says Brian Galgay, Manager of Cloud Services for AMI’s Marketing Strategy Consulting Group. “Over the last three years, U.S. SBs have seen additional benefits in using these solutions. Today, they no longer view web-conferencing as a cost-cutting measure, but rather as an effective, real-time collaboration tool.”

With more conferencing solution providers competing for market share, free web-conferencing providers have started to differentiate their services by adding more robust features. As a result, the gap in features between free and paid solutions has narrowed significantly. This poses a direct challenge to the paid solution providers. As free solutions add more features like multiple user video-conferencing and desktop sharing, the paid solutions need to offer increasingly more enhanced web-conferencing solutions.

Small Businesses Save Money Using Audio Conferencing

Free Conference Calling Services Aren’t What You Bargained For!

In a recent blog post from InterCall, Look Bigger with the Best Conference Call Service Money Can Buy, Cambria Vaccaro writes how small businesses sometimes have to use free conference call services that can usually consist of dropped calls, background noise, static or even technical difficulties at times when you can’t reach support staff.  InterCall makes audio conferencing technology that simple, reliable and most of all  affordable for small business owners.

Ms. Vaccaro writes that small to medium size business (SMB) owners know it’s important to think big and look big in order to grow. As Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” What does your conference call service or video conference software say about your company’s attitude?

If you rely on a free conference call service, you may not be getting the best. You may have dropped calls, background noise, static or even technical difficulties at times when you can’t reach support staff. Whether you’re holding a free webinar for prospects or a conference call to brainstorm with existing clients, a cheap conference call service makes you look small. Clients may wonder, if you can’t organize an effective conference call, do you have the resources to meet their needs and deliver the best service?

You Get One Chance for a First Impression

Look Bigger with Audio Conference Calling Technology

It sounds harsh, but it’s true. After all, you only get one chance to make a first impression. On the other hand, imagine getting a phone call from a top prospect. You want to share some documents with him, get his feedback and bring your top people onto the call so they can make changes based on his recommendations.

You suggest an impromptu conference call through InterCall’s reservationless meeting room and, in seconds, you’re all logged in and your client is viewing your online desktop. He’s impressed with the best conference call service he’s seen. You know how to leverage today’s technology to get the job done. Not only does he like the delivery, but he likes your ideas. He makes a few minor edits … and then asks you about the web and video conference software—it’s the best he’s seen.

You hesitate to tell him the price; it’s so affordable, you don’t want him to think you’re “small.” You finally relent, spinning it as a cost-conscious solution to your online video conference and conference call needs. Saving money on such important services enhances productivity—and you can pass the savings on to your customers. Your client is sold—on everything!

Video Conferencing

Bringing Video Conferencing to Mobile Phones

In a detailed white paper on Bringing Video to the Mobile Hand Held Market , Dialogic demonstrates through infographics what all is encompassed to bring  video conferencing technology to the table.  Please click on the link to view the entire white paper.  Below are some highlights Dialogic explains how video conferencing can be used for businesses and pleasure.

Video Conferencing Usage Scenarios

The following are just a few examples of the wide variety of use case applications for mobile video, and most are the same as they would be for the desktop:

• Live News Feed : The web-related content is mostly stored (streaming) video; however, advancements in the technology could enable establishing a live video feed from news media for breaking events, conferences (webinars), and speeches, or, as in the previous example, from field personnel who are relaying video feeds from the handheld itself.

• View the Presentation: For a business environment, mobile collaborative communication would be highly desirable. A teleconference is often more likely to include a Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with background audio. Whether a webinar or a brain-storming session, it still involves a video feed of the presentation to the remote handheld device coupled with a real-time audio connection.

• How -To Videos for Emergencies: Outside of the business environment, collaborative communication could be used for services that could allow people to establish “how to” video sessions with a remote service (for example, to show drivers how to change an automobile tire or how to operate an automated kiosk in a foreign language).

• 3D Maps Navigation: Another interactive service could be 3D maps, especially for pedestrians who are navigating through a city, that provide landmark displays for areas that are difficult to map, such as theme parks. Historical or museum-related tours could also be given via such a service. Maps could be shown as actual video footage or as 3D renditions of the surrounding environment.

• Personalized Greetings: Video greetings, like personalized ring tones, could become an interesting market opportunity that could extend from web sites with video “welcome” advertisements to video on-hold or video port cards (essentially a video clip recorded by the handheld and forwarded to somebody with a voice-over or additional edits).

• Video Messaging: Video messaging can provide more content and meaning than simple audio or text messaging. Like a video postcard or even video mail, these kinds of videos may require editing to provide a smoother message that could include text overlays, clip insertion and removal, audio tracks, or special effects. Such editing could require a handheld interface that in turn would allow the user to make changes to the video that resides on a remote server in the network.

• Load Videos to Website from Handheld: Those desiring to do an image- or video-based search on the web could take a picture or video with their handheld and upload it to their favorite web search engine.

Some of these video conferencing scenarios are already taking form and it won’t be long until the 3G and 4G networks continue to push the technology further.  Interesting ideas that can spawn a whole category of business entrepreneurs; such as a company that develops the app to take your “out of office” video message and display it to a caller on their phone.  Cool!

Web Conferencing

New Age in Business Communications

The introduction of web conferencing has brought a new revolution in the communication mediums used by global business organizations. These solutions have now made it possible for companies to conduct live webinars for clients, associates and vendors located in different areas of the world.  All that is required for organizing an effective web conference is a computer, high speed internet and reputable, reliable web-based applications such as InterCall.

Many Ways in How We Virtually Communicate

Meeting goers can share power point presentations, multimedia applications, documents, blueprints, slideshare, and many more countless applications for managing client activities virtually with each other in real time.  During an online event, participants can communicate with each other through IMs (instant messages) and by making illustrations on the whiteboard.

The meeting organizer can also answer live questions and conduct question-answer sessions. This method of on-line virtual meeting is widely used in a teaching setting, where students can raise their hands to inquire and communicate with a teacher.  The leader can publish messages which can be viewed by all the attendees or send private messages to individuals.

Mobile Audio Conferencing Save Travel Costs

For people on the go, mobile audio conferencing is specifically for people not able to attend an audio conference from their desktops. Attendees can participate in the meeting by having a downloaded application on the computer systems or by accessing a URL to join the group.

For a complimentary review as to what services with features which are best suited for your  business company, contact Digital Meetup and subscribe with InterCall conferencing services.

Mobile Audio Conferencing – InterCall’s Mobile Assistant

Teleconferencing from Anywhere Just Got Easier – From InterCall’s Blog : April 26, 2010 @ 11:16 AM | Original Post By Cambria Vaccaro

Have you ever been in the situation where you had to hunt down access codes or call-in numbers for an important teleconference?

It’s a situation most of us have experienced—you need to attend a meeting when you are not able to be in a traditional ‘office’ setting. Whether you’re heading to another meeting, don’t have access to a land-line phone or are called out of the office unexpectedly, you need to join the meeting and need do it while you’re on the road. InterCall’s latest innovation allows you to access a conference call with the click of a single button on your mobile phone.

iPhone audio conference calls offer the convenience of attending meetings from anywhere—your home, your office or on the road through your cell phone. If you have a smartphone, including a Blackberry or Apple iPhone, not only can you attend conference calls, but you can enjoy full-featured teleconferencing through Mobile Assistant from InterCall.

Recently released for the iPhone and available for free download from the iTunes store, InterCall Mobile Assistant lets you manage your conferencing on the go.

How does mobile audio conferencing work?

After you install InterCall’s free Mobile Assistant application on your phone, every time you open the app you’ll see a user-friendly, intuitive screen. Join a call—as a participant or a leader—with one touch.

Once your conference information (up to 256 different profiles) is loaded into the phone, you can start or join your call every time with one click. No need to keep track of multiple dial-in numbers and conference codes or worry about booting up your computer to look up the number for that important mobile conference call while you’re on the go.

Have a weekly audio conference?

You can edit, add or delete your conference profiles easily at any time. Keep the information in your phone for easy access. A one-time presentation with a big client, but you know you’ll be on the road during the meeting? Set up a profile and then delete it when you’re done.

We’ve all been there—we had an important teleconference and left the information at our desk, in the hotel room or on our laptop—which, of course, was not with us at the moment.  InterCall Mobile Assistant makes mobile conferencing easy, convenient and as portable as our iPhone or Blackberry.

Want a simpler way to connect to meetings when you’re on the go? Or do you need an easier way to organize the dial-in numbers and passcodes for several different meetings? Now Mobile Assistant, a free* service from InterCall, gives you one-touch dialing into your conferences from your mobile phone.

InterCall’s Reservationless Video is the industry’s first truly reservationless video conferencing service. No reservations are necessary so you get quality service on our proven platform with a video-on-demand experience.

With the touch of a button on your video remote control, you have the ability to control basic conference commands which means you no longer need the assistance of an operator. And with InterCall Video Online, you can conveniently manage your account profile and Reservationless Video meeting room settings.

Use InterCall Reservationless Video to:

* Organize weekly status meetings
* Arrange face-to-face meetings with employees, vendors and prospects
* Link cross-functional teams from around the world via video
* Gather participants for a last-minute video meeting

With video conferencing you can:

* Keep your sales team connected to the latest product announcements without taking them out of the field.
* Visually showcase product releases to geographically dispersed business associates.
* Conduct focus groups and bring products to market faster without losing the face-to-face experience.
* Simplify your interviewing and new employee orientation process by conducting meetings via video conference.

Video Conferencing Ideal Uses

Whether you need to meet one-on-one with a client or potential employee or bring remote teams together, InterCall Video Conferencing lets you meet virtually to improve communication, strengthen relationships, make quick decisions or finalize a strategy.

* Company-wide announcements
* Virtual training sessions
* Interviews
* Customer and project team meetings