Cheapest Web Conferencing - 3 Tips

Web conferencing is simply the ability to communicate with another person or group of persons at great distances (or at least not while in the same room), with data communications being mediated by the Internet or a local area network.

There is a huge range of available Internet conferencing systems in the marketplace today. Most of the available systems are really excellent in terms of enabling people to interact and communicate meaningfully in real-time.

The term "web conferencing" has a number of interpretations. Therefore, when looking for the cheapest conferencing system available, it is important to start by getting a clear handle on what you should be looking for. Only then can you set realistic expectations about price.

Here are 3 tips for finding the cheapest web conferencing providers:

1. Understand the type of web conferencing system you need:

Each and every conferencing system available today possesses a different combination of features, and there is much overlap in terms of features from one system to the next. In general, web conferencing systems can be broken down into these categories:

a. customer IT support and remove access

b. rich media sharing

c. educational & training

d. online meetings

e. enterprise collaboration

f. large-scale webcasting or webinars

2. Know your "need to have" vs. "nice to have" features:

Next, get a sense for which features you will absolutely need to have and which you could easily do without - but wouldn't mind having if cost were not an issue. Features on many or most systems include (and this is a partial list): video chat, streaming video, application sharing, desktop sharing, VoIP/voice chat, text chat, polling, voting, note taking, instant messaging, whiteboards, and data security.

3. Make a list of at least 3 conferencing providers:

Next, do a comprehensive search and find at least 3 conferencing providers that offer the total package you are looking for. Once you have your list of 3, visit their websites' features pages and make an apples-to-apples comparison of each product. Of course, research pricing as well.

Products range from "free" to those costing tens of thousands of dollars, so do your homework to find the very cheapest, best system for you.