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We all know that the Internet has grown phenomenally in recent years and just about every significant business is connected, usually by means of a DSL line or some other type of broadband link. It is now time to consider exactly what this fact implies. The knowledge that all global businesses are interconnected should point you towards the enormous potential that web conferencing can offer today's businesses.

Let's take a look at exactly what web conferencing has to offer. First of all, what exactly is this technology all about anyway? Well, it's about business communications. Specifically, it involves taking advantage of high-speed broadband Internet connections to make possible online what used to be done over long-distance phone calls or face-to-face visits: the business conference. Now, those are two tried and tested methods, and are familiar to just about everyone. So what advantage does web conferencing offer over them? Let's examine that question.

First, take the telephone conference. That is definitely a useful route for communication with a client or colleague over a long distance. Of course, it also means that you are paying the bills for long-distance telephone calls. Furthermore, there are obvious limitations to a phone conference, such as the inability to share visual information with each other. And in the end, there are many subjects too complex for more than two people to discuss intelligibly over a telephone. It is very difficult, for example, to hold a sustained debate on concepts and ideas between several people using only voice calls.

Next, how about the option of paying a physical visit? That is certainly an ideal thing to do in most cases, as you eliminate so many communication barriers by meeting face-to-face with someone, and make a presentation so much more effective. However, you must also weigh in the cost-effectiveness of these types of meetings. In most cases, you will find that you can deliver the necessary information to your distant client or colleague without the need for a physical meeting. In such cases, spending for the travel required to meet with someone at a distant location would be extravagant.

Web conferencing offers some clear advantages to these older methods. With a web conference, you can grant all the participants access to a shared screen, which allows you to readily transmit visual information to everyone over a great distance. You can also save money on long-distance phone calls by making use of VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocal--this enables long-distance voice conferencing at the fraction of the cost of traditional telephone conferencing. And of course, web conferencing will save you the time, trouble, and expense of business travel.

With new technology comes new ways of doing business, and we should all adapt to the changing times. That is definitely the case when it comes to web conferencing.

By Joseph Ducat