Internet-based conferencing systems and applications

Internet-Based Conferencing

Information technology has revolutionised every aspect of our day-to-day living. The Internet, in particular, has brought about such a tremendous change to the business world bringing about an entirely new dimension of business methodology. Internet-based conference has now become the much preferred, cost effective and time saving alternative to traditional meetings. This is a huge shift from a few years ago when web conferencing used to be a privilege of the fortune 500 companies. Technology has made it possible for multinational companies to hold joint discussions and group meetings of executives from all their companies in different geographical locations, without ever having to assemble in one place. For top executives, frequent flying is no longer an indispensable aspect of their jobs, as Internet-based conferences have greatly reduced the need for business related travel. With high speed broadband costs coming down over the last few years and with technological solutions allaying information security concerns, internet-based conferences provide a cheaper, effective and convenient mode of business communication. Let us briefly discuss these issues with some corporate examples.

Computer conferencing has many advantages it can offer to the modern workplace. Companies with many branch offices distributed across different regional locations can now effectively bridge the geographical divide and organize live sessions and group meetings online. All it takes for project team working from California to communicate with its corporate office located in New York is just a secure online connection. Live net meetings eliminate travel (flight and accommodations) costs as well as saving considerable amount of time. Thus, decisions can be arrived at without much delay associated with arranging meetings. With high speed streaming facilities available, video on demand sessions are possible making the Internet an effective knowledge dissemination medium.

Video on demand is one facility using which instructional programs and product briefings can be created once and used as per the need and the convenience of end users. This feature is a highly cost effective and efficient method of information exchange to multitude of users. For example, Cisco systems one of the leading multinational corporations uses Video on demand sessions as an effective method of exchanging information pertaining to product fixes and other training purposes. A recent product fix created as a video on demand session, proved to be very quick and cost saving as the information reached more than 400 engineers within 48 hours at a meagre cost of 16$ per head. The company also created a video on demand session for ISO training of its employees, a measure that saved around $1million. (Compared to in-person training) In a huge corporation such as Cisco, the use of video on demand for training purposes produces considerable cost savings. It is estimated that Cisco saves around $133 million per year in terms of training costs alone. [Kelly Jackson]

Similarly, Tindall Corporation, a $150 million company and manufacturer of prestressed concrete systems found web-based conference to be cost saving and very efficient. Web-based conferencing, using e/pop Web conferencing application, made it possible for the company to quickly evaluate (feedback from its engineers) between two 3D CAD products and arrive at the purchase decision without ever having to arrange for separate product demonstration sessions in each of its sites. The company expects cost savings to the tune of $200,000 this year consequent to the implementation of the web conferencing system. [Kelly Jackson]

The examples of companies mentioned above show that Internet-based conferencing facilities contribute immensely in increasing business productivity. It transpires without any doubt that in today's global business, web conferencing is an indispensable tool for the successful management of the business. Time, information and cost management are three vital factors for any business venture and web conferencing clearly optimises these factors thus contributing to the overall growth of the business. Web conferencing, though it is a very effective tool has its own drawback. The lack of human element and the absence of nonverbal feedback, particularly when dealing with clients constitute the negative side of electronic communication.

The field of medicine is one that uses web conferencing to great success. Telemedicine success stories are a good indication of the useful application of web conferencing. Web Conferencing, for example allows physician assistants and nurses to consult physicians and experts pertaining to patients symptoms and start appropriate treatment method for patients in hospitals and health care units running in remote locations. Similarly educational institutions embrace the technology offering e-learning modules for students from geographically diverse areas.

With careful planning and implementation of access privileges for different group of end-users internal security concerns can be allayed. Sensitive information can thus be protected by authorization. VOIP security concerns are a deterring factor as time and again hackers try to identify new vulnerabilities of the VOIP networks and attack them. [Johna Till Johnson] With most companies using web conferencing and live online meetings to share their applications and other sensitive data pertaining to their enterprise it becomes imperative to address the security concerns. Application sharing, which is one of the main features of the web conferencing software, exposes the system to potential hackers. Most big companies try to circumvent security breach problems involved in web conferencing by building their own web servers. However, such a solution is not feasible for small companies, considering the high costs associated with internal conference servers. One of the main hindrances, particularly for small sized companies is the hefty fee that service providers charge. Further, the use of remote control functionalities pose a significant risk as the possibility of identity theft or compromised authentication procedure implies a huge threat for the enterprise. These concerns aside, companies have to deal with a wide array of options which they have to carefully study before choosing the appropriate technology for their needs. Some of the major players such as Web Ex, Microsoft, etc. offer features that may not be required for small organizations. [Matt McKenzie]