VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol is exploding onto the scene. You’ll find hundreds of companies getting into the market of web conferencing …

Along with that, you’ll find that “web conferencing” is rapidly becoming the “new way to do business” on the Internet. Again… the marketplace is becoming very noisy with all kinds of companies screaming “PICK ME! PICK ME!”

Your problem …

How do you figure out which web conferencing program works best
for you at the most affordable price?

Let’s quickly cover a few things about VoIP.

Most VoIP is single user to single user, or at best … up to 5 users. It is purely a voice application. Some of the better known applications are still “free” to use, while they claim to be in “beta testing”.
There is VoIP which is “phone to PC”, which again is single user and for the most part… voice only. These companies generally charge a fee and may even have a special external box you must rent or purchase to make your phone work.
VoIP as a technology has been around for a long time. Increased connection speeds as well as computer power has made it a usable technology for the general public.

The “New Kid” on the block is “Web Conferencing”.

This technology is fueling the distance e-learning, webinars, and online “chat” services.

Things you need to know about “web conferencing” or more importantly the services and the software running them are that most services are created from a very few software programs. That means the services are leasing their software platforms from huge companies in the marketplace. They are generally locked in as to styles, features, and pricing.
Additionally, the web conferencing software commonly available today is “cumbersome” and generally regarded as a “bandwidth hog” making it quite expensive if you want to have more than a few dozen people attend a conference.
The most common web conferencing systems also use technology which has been labeled “dangerous to use” to the point that Microsoft has issued a patch which turns off the software. It’s referred to as “Active X” and can be used to download all kinds of virus’s, spyware, ad-ware, etc.

Let’s see where your needs lie so you can make an intelligent informed decision.

By answering the following questions, you’ll easily determine which option works best for you. This isn’t a test … and no one but you will see your answers.

About your business …

What kind of business do you own … off line traditional, on line affiliate, a service, your
own products … or network marketing.
What methods do you currently use to contact your prospects, and customers? Telephone, e-mail, traditional mail using postcards or direct mail pieces, or some form of VoIP?
How much travel time do you spend monthly going to and from appointments,
meetings, conducting prospecting sessions, doing trainings, and attending professional
seminars.
How many miles do you put on your car, or in public transportation while getting to all
of the above activities?
Do you have employees or associates who have to do the same kind of traveling?
If so, how much?

About your family and friends …

Is your family spread out, requiring long distance calls or travel?
Got teenagers who hog your phone?
Got kids in distant schools, or in the military?
If you wanted to get your whole family together for a good old gab-fest and share digital photos, how many would be in your family and are they local or long-distance to each other?

Got your answers jotted down somewhere?

Great, let’s explore the options and costs of using web conferencing software.

No matter what kind of business you have, obtaining and using either VoIP or web conferencing software should be among your top priorities for the rest of this year.

You can reduce your phone costs (no long distance, including inbound 800 numbers)
You can expand your business significantly without leaving your base of operations.
With web conferencing software you can look “much bigger” than you really are … Communicating with prospects and customers in a professional manner is your top priority. Some VoIP and web conferencing programs provide a more polished appearance than others.
When you must contact companies larger than you … web conferencing software will level your playing field by enabling you to present a very professional cutting-edge image.
When you work from home, VoIP and web conferencing software enables you to maintain a professional image.
When you are the large company, using this cutting edge technology positions you in
your industry as the leader.
With VoIP and/or web conferencing software, you severely reduce or eliminate long distance phone charges, nearly all your e-mail communications, and you can even re-think your traditional direct mail pieces. With online shopping becoming the “norm”, web conferencing software can provide your customer a very personal and positive service.

Fuel prices may dip in the short term. However, they are expected to rise in the long term (that’s over the next 4 years). As fuel goes up, so do labor costs.

Reducing unnecessary travel improves your own productivity. Eliminating 1 hour a day
of travel time saves you 220 business hours each year.
Time your employees spend getting to and from meetings costs you in multiple ways…
you pay labor, and all of the overhead just for them to sit in a car and get somewhere...
When you’re self-employed, and you have to travel to an appointment, if the other
person has “blown off” the appointment … your time is wasted.
Calling your “field reps” into your home office for a weekly meeting costs you the
“multiple” of how many reps by how much time …
When you send someone (or you ) to attend a seminar, your costs are not only for that
seminar, but for the travel, the lodging, the food, and entertainment. Those are business
deductions, but wouldn’t it make more sense not to incur the expense?

Family time is precious

Most families today live over a wide area. To have a reunion requires over a year of
preparations …
There are actually families who rent “tele-conferencing” services just to have a gab-fest.
Some family members haven’t seen each other in years. They don’t even exchange
pictures since the costs of film, processing and mail are so expensive.
For some families to get together on holidays, they must drive long distances or even
use public transportation … spend long hours and exposing themselves to the inherent
risks of holiday travel.
Did you know the US Telephone system routinely crashes on Mother’s Day? That’s
right … too many calls for the century old system to handle.

What can you do about these issues?

You can use VoIP and talk one-to-one or maybe one-to-five people.
You can use web conferencing software … but which one works for you?
At the beginning of the report, we said you’d be able to figure out which conferencing
service is best for you.

Time to lay the popular ones out for you to examine …

If you watch TV, you’ve seen WebEx

Here are their latest offerings …

You can get a “pay-as-you-go” plan for .33 per minute/per participant.
You can get an “express” package which allows you 5 seats and 200 minutes. You get a number of business tool, including PowerPoint, file sharing, duplexing, etc. The cost is a
minimum of $375/mo billable in 3 month increments.
The traditional full program is just under $995 monthly with lots of bells and whistles and still 5 seats and 500 hundred minutes.

WiredRed had been in the web conferencing business since 1998

Up to 5 users is $2995 annually
Up to 10 users is $4900 annually
Up to 25 users is $9600 annually
Beyond that, you must call the company for a price quote.
They claim to offer state-of-the-art peer-to-peer communications which are firewall
friendly and secure as well as unlimited priority hotline support.

Convoq has just announced (Oct 18, 2004) the following new web conferencing options

Conference room with up to 50 participants, unlimited number of meetings for $2995 per year.
For 100 participants you get the same deal for $4995 per year.
They also have a personal license option of $199.95 per year for a single room with up to 25 participants … unlimited meetings.



And others in the web conferencing business?

Breeze by Macromedia is offering hassle free meeting options …

You get up to 5 seats, and 5 “support calls” for $375 a month, or …
You can “pay as you go” for .32 per minute/per participant and 1 “support call”

Cata has a “limited users” fee which is much more reasonable …

For a one time setup fee of $19.95 you may have a 3 person room (that’s you and two others) for a low price of $69 per month.
They advertise other packages, however the link was broken.

EBlvd offers some interesting web conferencing plans …

For $29.95 you can have unlimited web and tele-conferencing with 2 other participants.
For 5 participants your cost is $59.95 per month.
For 10 participants you’ll pay $99.95 per month.

Canfone offers the following web conferencing options ...

There you have it … 7 different companies from among the hundreds, if not thousands of web conferencing companies all competing for your attention and your business.
What if I told you there was something far better available to you today. And, what if I told you that you could literally save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year while still getting all the things you really want in a conferencing system.

Wait a minute … no one ever asked you what features you really want!

Here’s a list … you check off the things you feel are really important to you, your business and your family …

No time restrictions.
No hidden charges of any kind.
A support team so if there’s a problem, it’s fixed immediately, not 3 days later.
Voice enabled … and very easy to use.
Web camera, so I can show off my face and see my clients.
Web browser, so I can show pages to the participants.
White board, where we can collaborate on projects ( word documents, scripts, files, etc) and then be able to send (FTP) them as well as make notes.
PowerPoint module so I can show professional presentations to my colleagues.
Phone to PC so people who don’t have a computer can communicate with me.
PC to phone so I can communicate with people who don’t have a computer.
The ability to have more than one room … perhaps several, one for business, one for family, one for community use, etc.
No advertising … I want the room to look like my own business.

Oh, and these features have to be available at an affordable cost …

GlobalLiveTalk is the perfect solution!
For $200 a month, you get 5 Branded Rooms with unlimited time usage.
For $40 a month, you get 1 Non-Branded Room with unlimited time usage.

Unlimited time usage in each room.
Fully voice enabled … duplexing available for small groups at no extra charge.
Web browser with a synchronous feature so you can show web pages of your choice.
White board, where you may share applications.
PowerPoint presentation module for your business presentations.
Moderator functions so you can see who’s there, and allow/disallow certain functions.
Web camera module for high speed users.
Password protection for each room if necessary.
Support Service … BY PHONE during normal working hours, help desk system is 24/7.
With many more features added regularly.

Are you a personal web conferencing software user?

Do you simply need a single room to “do your thing”? Get the single room option at just $40 a month. You get all the great features, voice enabled, web browser, white board, PowerPoint, web camera, etc.

While the competition would have you believe web conferencing software is “mumbo-jumbo” and you are “server dependent”, GlobalLiveTalk puts you in control. The web conferencing software is fully proprietary …

You need something special?

No problem! Call the company, or better yet, submit a request form and you’ll get a quick answer from the support team. Often changes can be made with little problem or cost.

A closing word about support …

Careful research has revealed that the greatest majority of support questions have to do with “how to set up” a system, and with questions unrelated to the actual conferencing software from most companies.

With that in mind, most companies now limit the “support requests” to a few at no charge and then an additional fee for asking questions and seeking assistance.

The better companies have created a FAQ where you may query to see if your question has been asked, and answered before filing a support request.

GlobalLiveTalk has a help desk system where you can obtain support, 24/7 anywhere in the world.

                  Web Conferencing Software Facts Overview