Meetings used to be a way of discussing important issues. Meetings took place in our personal lives, as well as during our day of work. Seminars, conventions, conferences, or simply, gatherings and discussions -- various kinds of meetings offered people a chance to have their say. In the days gone past, people would necessarily have to assemble at a specified place. But then, that was back in the days when people with similar needs and topics of discussion lived in close proximity to each other. Those who lived far away would most likely have different attitudes and varying needs to take care of.

Now, jet across to the present day. Times sure have changed. We are constantly in touch with people who live not just in different towns and cities but in different time zones, and on different continents. We can no longer claim that people who live miles apart have nothing in common. The various social networking websites that dominate our lives suggest the contrary. We share many interests with people of varied backgrounds who live across the oceans.

On the business front also, there are many shared goals. Two employees of the same organization, who are stationed miles away from each other, will still have a common interest in seeing their organization prosper. Business people, the world over, have one common goal -- that of maximizing their profits and minimizing their expenses. In order to do this, objectives and targets have to be communicated to the workforce. Sales pitches and presentations have to be made to clients. Given the way in which workforces and clients are scattered across the globe, getting everybody to gather at the same place may be problematic. As a result, business organizations have to turn to modern business solutions.

One of the most popular solutions to the problem of conducting meetings in the world of today is the conference call. Conference calling allows people on one side of the globe to get in touch with those on the other side. The problem of transporting people from one place to another is eliminated as everyone can log on to the meeting from their own workstations. Moreover, conference calling has itself undergone a lot of changes. There was a time when only audio conferencing was a possibility. However, these days, more and more companies are availing of the video conferencing facility. The need to work fast overpowers all others. Hence, every company wants to make the most of every second of their working hours. Conference calling helps them do just that.