Thinking of adding a video conferencing or web conferencing solution to your business? These days, with the rising cost of travel and the need to remain competitive, it’s something every organization should consider. Video conferencing and web conferencing are becoming a standard part of everyday business. Globalization and corporate expansion have forced companies to rethink their business communication style.
If you work or own a business looking to implement video conferencing and web conferencing technologies, you may be feeling overwhelmed by all the options available. Before you jump in and sign up with a provider, it’s important to access your needs. Know what your goals are, know what features you need, and most importantly, make sure the solution you choose fits your monthly budget.
Here are some vital questions your business should consider before taking the next step:
- How many users and attendees do you expect to participate in your online meetings and events?
- Will the number of users and attendees remain the same for each meeting?
- How often will you hold meetings? Will it meet daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually? Will the use depend on the time of year?
- What kind of information will you present during your meetings? Do you need a solution that allows you to display PowerPoint presentations, multimedia videos, websites, documents or spreadsheets?
- Are you looking to hold interactive meetings? Do you need features that allow you to poll and survey your audience?
- Will this be used in team collaboration? Are features like a whiteboard or note board, text chat, and screen sharing important to you?
- Are you looking to show live video? If so, how many attendees would you like to have on screen at once? Does the video need to be of high quality?
- What level of technical knowledge do you have? Will you need all your staff to be trained on the product? If a problem arises during a meeting, will you be able to fix it or will you need access to 24/7 support?
- What kind of bandwidth does the meeting require? How much bandwidth do you have at your location?
- Need a product that offers both VoIP and Teleconferencing?
- What operating systems are used by your company’s computers and does the provider you are looking for support these operating systems? Are the operating systems your guests use also supported?
- Do you have any special security requirements? Should the software be hosted on your servers or on third party servers?
- Is it important to record your meetings?
- Will you require attendees to register for meetings? Need to run meeting reports?
- What is your monthly budget?
Video conferencing and web conferencing providers are different in their own way. Knowing YOUR business needs and demands will help make vendor selection less overwhelming, as well as ensure your business gets all the features needed to run online meetings seamlessly.