| For organizations that operate on a | | | | their business dealings, there are a few |
| national or international level, it is | | | | options. Often, web conferencing is sold |
| often necessary to conduct business | | | | as a service that is regulated by a |
| meetings with offices that are far away | | | | vendor on a web server. The vendor can |
| from each other. This can be | | | | charge by the minute or for a fixed fee, |
| accomplished by traveling to different | | | | depending on the situation. However, |
| locations to meet in person, but if | | | | more and more vendors are beginning to |
| something needs to be handled spur of | | | | license their web conferencing software, |
| the moment, this isn't necessarily the | | | | making it available for organizations to |
| best solution. Web conferencing has | | | | purchase and use on their own web |
| become a standard in interoffice | | | | servers. |
| communications for businesses worldwide, | | | | Web conferencing has its roots in the |
| allowing organizations to communicate in | | | | early days of the Internet. Text chat |
| real time, without having to leave their | | | | capabilities have been around almost as |
| offices. Web conferencing software | | | | long as the Internet itself. Instant |
| offers a variety of ways in which | | | | messaging, or web-based chat |
| meetings and presentations can be given | | | | capabilities, made the scene in the |
| and attended. | | | | early 1990's. Later in the 1990's, |
| Web conferencing software is used to | | | | peer-to-peer communication (relying on |
| conduct meetings and presentations over | | | | the bandwidth of the participants) |
| the Internet. In the early days of the | | | | allowed actual web conferencing to take |
| World Wide Web, web conferencing | | | | place. There are many services and web |
| referred to using message boards in | | | | conferencing software applications |
| order to conduct group discussions. | | | | currently vying for business. This is |
| These discussion boards were not live, | | | | due in part to a lack of standardization |
| and often discussions took a lot of time | | | | of web conferencing software and |
| to carry out. Now, web conferencing | | | | technology. Work is currently being done |
| refers to live or "synchronous" | | | | to establish a standard for web |
| gatherings via chat rooms, or using | | | | conferencing, which might include |
| different types of software and hardware | | | | membership and authorization management, |
| such as web cams. And more often, VOIP | | | | a means to maneuver media mixing, and a |
| is being used in the place of chat | | | | means for notice of conference related |
| rooms, which really gives a personal | | | | changes. These standards will help to |
| feeling to meetings. Web conferencing | | | | guarantee the best possible service to |
| allows issues to be handled with | | | | users, and help to keep prices |
| immediacy. | | | | reasonable. |
| In addition to chat rooms and VOIP, web | | | | The use of web conferencing software |
| conferencing software provides the | | | | seems to have become commonplace in the |
| capability to perform a multitude of | | | | world of business today. It enables |
| functions, including slide | | | | organizations to not only speak to one |
| presentations, sharing (and amending | | | | another in real time, but allows them to |
| live) spreadsheets, annotations (the | | | | share and modify pertinent information |
| ability to highlight points displayed on | | | | in the form of graphics, spreadsheets, |
| a screen), text messaging, and file | | | | and slide presentations that use to |
| sharing. Some web conferencing software | | | | require a plane ride or waiting for the |
| even records meetings and presentations | | | | mail to ship packets of materials and |
| for documentation and easy playback for | | | | information. The synchronous (real-time) |
| reference. The trend in web conferencing | | | | capabilities of web conferencing |
| today seems to be heading toward VOIP | | | | software make it easier for |
| and web cam usage. | | | | organizations to operate on a national |
| For organizations that want to use web | | | | or global scale, and help to facilitate |
| conferencing software and technology in | | | | the success of a business. |