Space Technology

By: Instant Presenter
While the economy is showing some positive signs of recovery, full recovery is still years off. As such, businesses, large and small, are looking for ways to save money without hurting their workforce.

It's no secret that technology today can help save thousands of dollars. One of the most poignant examples of that is web conferencing -- software that allows you to share and collaborate with colleagues thousands of miles away. Anyone with an internet connection can join a web conference.

A good software package can save you the hassle and expense of business travel. Instead of sharing your presentation in person, you can do it from the comfort of your own office. Over the past few years, the software in this space has improved immensely including the ease of use.

Web conferencing software allows you to invite your colleagues from anywhere in the world to hear and view your presentation. You will first send an email to the participants that include the date, time, password and URL of the meeting. In order for your colleagues to hear you present, you will need your telephone or voice over IP (VOIP) to verbally communicate. Or, for visual and verbal communication, many conferencing services include video conferencing features.

One of the hallmarks of web conferencing services is the collaboration tool. The most common of these features is screen- sharing that lets one presenter share his document or presentation with all of the other meeting participants. If your meeting requires more than one presenter, the web conferencing software allows more than one person to control the presentation from their computer. Going a step further, many web conference services also offer tools to capture collaborative brainstorming notes.

Other helpful features of web conferencing include instant messaging (IM) so you can communicate privately with another participant during the presentation. Or if a participant has a question, he can IM the question to just a few participants or the entire group. In addition, web conferencing allows you to record the presentation for others who were unable to attend.

Web conferencing services are usually offered via "pay per meeting" or as a subscription rate. If you don't hold many meetings – the pay per meeting might be your best bet. For companies that need to hold meetings with colleagues around the globe, the subscription packages will be the most economical. Either way, you will be saving a lot of time and money using web conferencing.