I am a huge fan of video conferencing and have used it ever since it became available in the late 1980s. I used to marvel at the technology, how useful it was, and how much time and money it saved my company. These days I just use it and rarely even think twice about it. Video conferencing is just there whenever I need it. Be that a corporate meeting or some lighthearted chat with a friend halfway across the world. It occurred to me that it might make sense to list all the cool and timesaving features you can expect from a modern video conferencing system.

First of all, state-of-the-art video conferencing, unlike older systems where you just got a video and audio link, offer excellent management and control features. Most support a hierarchy of hosts, presenters and participants. The host has a full control menu and is in overall charge, presenters have a share menu, and participants simply sit back and watch.

Second, in a world where, for better or for worse, ideas are generally conveyed with a PowerPoint presentation, most full-featured video conferencing systems let you run PowerPoint files directly from the conferencing software. All you have to do is share the PowerPoint file. It is then compressed, sent to the server, and all the participants. Since the individual slides are cached, going from slide to slide is very quick.

Third, the same holds true for document sharing. Most systems let you share Microsoft Office documents such as Word and Excel files. That includes multimedia files that contain rich text and images. And like PowerPoint presentations, once a file is shared it gets cached over the network and presenters can flip through pages as fast as they want to.

Fourth, and here it gets interesting, is the ability to share applications as well. This comes in handy when a concept is best explained while using a particular application. It's also invaluable for training sessions. Some video conferencing systems that support application sharing even provide keyboard and mouse input to conference participants. You can even grant remote control to an application or desktop.

Fifth, it's possible to share live web browser windows. This means everyone is looking at the same web page instead of trying to type a URL into their own browser and trying to follow the presenter's instructions as to where to go or what to click.

Sixth, video conferencing can support shared white boards. These work like regular meeting white boards, only the host can give participants the privilege to join and add their own ideas or comments. Whatever is on the white board can later be shared as handout files.

Seventh, and most stunning to video conferencing newcomers, is the ability to run multiparty video. The host can set things up so that several meeting participants are visible live in video windows, or there can be multiple video originations. The possibilities are endless.

What all of this means is that video conferencing has grown to be much more than simply a conference call with video. Video conferences can now incorporate all the productivity and presentation tools we use in our work, and this makes them ever more valuable. At this point, any business that is not using video conferencing services is not being run as efficiently and productively as it could be run.

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Even though people may live far apart, sometimes it becomes necessary to bring them together. In order to compare notes, to have meetings, or to unveil new programs, companies often have to bring satellite offices together. Friends and family may also want to get together even though they may live states or continents apart. Traveling across the country or the world just for a meeting or a chat is very expensive.

Conference calling is much less expensive and it allows people to discuss what they need to, even if it's just for a few minutes. There are programs out there that will allow you to have free conference calling and then there those companies that charge. Even if you have to pay a little extra, however, conference calling is what you should use to bring your employees, friends or family together.

Company Meetings

Let's say for instance, that you are the CEO of a company based in Seattle, Washington. You have satellite offices in Houston, Phoenix, St. Louis and Los Angeles. You want to discuss the progress of each office, get some sales figures and you want to tell them about some new policies that just came into play. Sure, you could email the information to everyone but email can be unreliable. You'd much rather tell them in person, or at least let them hear it from your own mouth. Conference calling allows you to do just this. You can all call into the same number and everyone can listen and participate as if you were all in the same board room. It's extremely convenient and it allows you to connect with your employees, even if it's just briefly, and it's cheaper than flying all over the country.

Friends And Family

If you have family spread all over the country or the world, conference calling is also great for bringing everyone together. Sure, you won't be able to see them or touch them, as you could at a family reunion, but at least you can hear their voices. You can also conference call through your computer with the use of a web cam so that you can see your friends and family, or you can just talk to them on the phone. Just hearing the voice of a loved one is sometimes the best thing for you if you're feeling down, and it's great to be able to talk to many of your friends and family at once through conference calling.

Contact your cell phone provider or your phone company to see if they have conference calling capabilities. There are also conference calling services that you can call. You'll all be given a pass number which you can use to be transferred to your own virtual 'conference room' where you can all talk at your leisure and catch up, whether it's for business or pleasure.



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In present times, organizations are opting for teleconferencing services in order to cut down the expenses incurred on business communications. Cheap teleconferencing services have emerged as the best communication medium, especially, for the businesses which are spread over various regions.
With the use of teleconferencing technology, an important meeting can be organized within a few minutes, even if the persons required to attend the meeting are located at different places.

Therefore, it also saves time, which is otherwise wasted while traveling from one place to other.
Through teleconferencing, three or more individuals can be connected to each other through telephone systems. A teleconference can also be accompanied by video conferencing, if required.
There are various ways through which a teleconference can be conducted. During teleconferencing, an individual can act as a moderator and lead the meeting. He will have control over the meeting and can even mute other's telephones whenever needed.

VoIP and the regular telephone systems are used as the communication tools in a teleconference. If an organization needs to organize teleconferences often, then it is better for them to opt for VoIP. It will help the organizations to cut down their expenses on telephone bills.

There are many venders available in the markets who offer cheap teleconferencing services. Because of the cut throat competition between these venders, there are a number of great deals available in the market. It will be wise on every organization's part to first shop around and collect information about the offers, before buying the services from a vender.

If an organization buys teleconferencing services from a right vender, it will enjoy many benefits. The right teleconferencing services will help the organization to improve productivity, yet, save both time and money.



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