Posts Tagged ‘Advent Of The Internet’

Is an Online Conference Call a Good Thing?

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

The telephone conference call has been around for a long time, but now with the advent of the Internet and phone calls over the Internet what about the online conference call? There are services that promise to be able to give you cheap or even free conference call services online.  So, is an online conference call a good thing?  Here are some of the things you should consider if you are thinking about trying an online conference call.

  • Quality- The first thing you need to consider when thinking about an online conference call is the quality.  It used to be you would n0t even consider doing a phone call over the Internet let alone a conference call.  But the Internet network improved and then people started to get high speed access and the option started to make some sense to people.  VOIP (Voice Over IP) technology has come a long way but it is still not of the same quality as a regular telephone call.  There are traffic issues with the Internet and the connections to it that cause irregularities that you do not notice when surfing the Internet but will surely notice when you try to make a phone call over it.  And with an online conference call you don’t have just one call going on but you will have any number of participants on an online conference call and that uses even more bandwidth.
  • Reliability- Reliability of an online conference call is much the same as the quality in its issues.  Everyone has experienced hits on their Internet connection that cause loss of data and even outages altogether on their Internet connection.  It is bothersome if you are on your PC when this happens but if you are on an online conference call when this happens it can be disastrous.
  • Accessibility – Probably the biggest argument against an online conference call is the issue of accessibility.  When you do an online conference call all of the participants need to have access to a PC and an Internet connection.  This defeats the whole concept and convenience of a conference call.  With a regular conference call you can join the conference call from anywhere you have a telephone.  And with mobile phones that is virtually anywhere.  And even if everyone is sitting at their desk to attend your online conference call not everyone has the equipment on their PC to be able to participate because you also need a microphone or a headset.
  • I do believe that someday the network will be ubiquitous and we will be communicating through our PC or similar device but for now the best place for a conference call is on the plain old telephone network.

    Conference Calls for Small Businesses

    Thursday, October 29th, 2009

    According to a lot of the pundits out there, including President Obama, there is a surge in the number of new businesses that are getting started.  This is because people have been laid off from their existing jobs and are starting out on their own instead of trying to find a job which is difficult at best right now.  And with the start of all these businesses a lot of entrepreneurs are trying to figure out how to promote their businesses and stretch their precious capital.  This is just another reason why conference calls continue to grow, because they are a great way to reduce expenses but still get the job done.

    New small businesses need to get their ideas to new customers, investors and prospects without breaking the bank.  One of the ways to do this is with a conference call instead of the expense of traveling.  It has been well documented in this blog how companies are saving thousands of dollars by choosing to conduct a conference call or a web conference instead of travelling to an in-person meeting.  Nowhere is it more important to save money than in a new small business.  Most small businesses just don’t have the money to be travelling around the country.  But with a conference call and a web conference a small business owner can present their product or service to potential customers around the country without leaving their office.  And the cost of doing a conference call or web conference these days is very affordable to even the small business owner.  In fact, with the advent of the Internet which has allowed small businesses to sell their products and services globally, the need to present to customers in remote locations has increased even more.  The ability to present to people from great distances using conference calls has expanded the marketplace for small businesses.  No longer are their goods and services limited to a local area.  The technology now available has literally helped some small businesses survive where they otherwise would not.  A conference call and web conferencing can also make a small business look bigger in the eyes of the customer by allowing them to present to anyone, anywhere.  And their office is simply a PC and a telephone.

    If you have a small business and you are not taking advantage of conference calls and web conferencing in your business I urge you to examine your processes and try using the technology available to help expand your business and reduce your costs.  It may just make the difference in the life or death of your business.

    www.zipconferencing.com