Comparing Online Conferencing Options

As the world of online meetings and webinars becomes more and more common you might be searching for a solution. Wading through the various options can be very challenging. When choosing an online conferencing solution for you and your business there are several factors you will need to compare.

For example:

• Does the program require downloading and installing software
• Does the program include an audio VOIP solution or will you and your guests have to use traditional telephone conferencing
• Does the program include a Video Conferencing option
• Does the program provide a recording feature
• Can you upload files such as power points, images, spreadsheets and more for your guests to view?
• Are there whiteboard/annotation tools to highlight and present the information?
• Is there a Screen Sharing feature in the program?
• How stable is the program?
• Can dial-up internet users login?

The purpose of this article is to briefly outline some of the more popular systems available and their pros and cons. We will be reviewing Microsoft’s “Live Meeting,” Webex, GoToMeeting, Yugma, and VereConference.

Microsoft Office’s Live Meeting has progressed greatly. The program integrates with Outlook and other Microsoft software. It is video and audio enabled like most of its competitors but it still requires the download and installation of Live Meeting software making it difficult for “one-time” users or guests. Live Meeting offers a live trial like all of its competitors but one other drawback is the monthly expense. The monthly fee is paid per licensee of the service and the minimum number is 5. If you plan on using the service to train and present to hundreds or thousands of guests, presenting with a variety of business partners this may not be very economic for you.

Webex has been offering online conferencing since the beginning of the webinar boom. Their web-based software if very user-friendly and versatile. It has every feature you could possible want. I really can’t say enough for their software, however, there are huge drawbacks! The first issue I found when using webex was the lack of flexibility is choosing presenters. If you want to co-host your presentation or training with one other or several other people you are going to have serious problems or greatly increase your monthly cost. The webex billing is based on the total number of hosts you would like to have in addition to the number of guests you would like to have in your room. Webex is already among the most expensive programs available at $69 per month but if you need multiple presenters you will pay that much per presenter! Thats SUPER expensive in comparison to he competitors.

GoToMeeting is a great program but my least favorite of all those I tried. There is no built in audio option forcing presenters and guests alike to dial in via a traditional telephone conference call making the program a visual tool only. In addition this program only works in screen sharing mode. This prevents presenters from running the program on the machine in the background while other programs are open. The service starts out at a high $49 per month.The other huge drawback I noticed right away was their restriction to only one free trial, and beware in order to have even the one free trial they still require a credit card number on file.

Yugma is a upcoming popular choice for many. They have done an excellent job in promoting and advertizing their service. Immediatly I was dissapointed in having to download and install as software program. Even after I was done using the service I had to visit their support website to figure out how to uninstall it because it didn’t appear in the Add/Remove Programs list in my control panel. While this option is among the best in pricing, starting at only $9.99 a month I was constantly dissapointed in the options. No audio support means you will be stuck on a teleconference or using skype or some other 3rd party voip service.

VereConference by WebcastRooms.com is by FAR the best webcast option I tried. Among the lowest in cost the paid service starts out at $11.95 per month but they offer unlimited, free, one day trials on their WebcastRooms.com website. The free trial includes ALL the features. In addition to the standard video options, chat, recording, screen sharing, and file support VereConference from WebcastRooms.com also offers a 100% internet based program with no software to install. They have completely integragted audio functions as well so there is no need to make seperate calls on the phone. The most impressive thing of all for me was the stability of the program. Even users on dial-up internet were able to login and participate in meetings. THANK YOU to the makers of VereConference and WebcastRooms.com for offering this service to everyone!

-Satisfied Customer

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Tags: online conferencing, online meeting, online meeting programs, Screen Sharing, screen sharing software, video conferencing, webcast, webinar, webroom