Web conferencing is a term used to describe live presentations or group meetings held over the worldwide web. During a web conference each user is connected to others using their own computer which is linked to the internet. Screen sharing allows each user to see the same video presentation, and voice communication can be handled by telephone, VoiP or text messaging.

Web conferencing is usually sold on a usage basis with the provider hosting the service on their own server. However, larger corporations or those that rely heavily on web conferencing may find it cost-effective to buy the licenced software and install the product on their own servers. When comparing web conferencing solutions, the most important factor should be reliability. The fanciest conferencing product is of no use if users are constantly booted or subject to slow connections, the software crashes, or the hosting server goes down.

Possibly the second most important factor when doing web conferencing comparisons is, how easy and intuitive is the software to use? After all, the focus should be on the conference itself and not figuring out the conferencing software.

Thirdly, its important to determine exactly which features you need in your web conferencing product. Some of the more common features available today include:

Recording and playback capability.

Ability to conduct surveys and polls.

Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony

PowerPoint presentation.

Microsoft Outlook compatibility.

Cost is always a factor when buying software. Find the best product for your business at the best price. Some providers offer their software on a free trial basis so you can do a hands on evaluation of their product. A few of the well known conferencing software providers include Webex, Macromedia Breeze, Citrix GoToMeeting, and a free product Jhatak.
Find more business tech information at Pftown.com