Breaking the boundaries: using teleconferencing to communicate faster and better
by David Holden, ACT Teleconferencing
Using teleconferencing the geographical barriers between you and your customers and suppliers can be overcome. You can communicate and share knowledge face to face, helping your company to maintain its competitive edge.
The technology to set up a conference, sharing audio, data and video in any combination, is now within the reach of smaller companies. In addition, there are companies which will provide conferencing services on a bureau basis, with users renting time using the supplier’s equipment. So businesses can enjoy the benefits of teleconferencing without having to buy any equipment.
Audioconferencing
Audioconferencing, or conference calling, connects three or more people in a single telephone call. It's cheap and easy to set up and no special equipment is required. The participants only need a phone, which can be on their office desk, in a hotel, a public call box or even a mobile phone. Groups of people sitting round a table can take part using a conference phone.
Audioconferencing does not replace all face-to-face meetings, but after the initial personal contact a telephone meeting enables more frequent and productive discussions. Audioconferencing can also be a key tool for crisis management and in other situations that need a rapid response.
Typical audioconference uses are:
- routine sales force and management meetings
- project team meetings
- contractual discussions
An audioconference uses a digital audio “bridge” to join the participants together. There is no "voice clipping" and conversations can flow naturally, with volume and line quality optimised and monitored throughout the conference.
Audioconferencing services fall into two categories:
- attended
- unattended
Attended audioconferencing
With attended audioconferencing services you make a single phone call to a teleconferencing supplier, who will set up the conference on your behalf. Once you've provided the details of your conference it's over to the service provider. It's quick to set up – a typical conference involving six participants in different locations can be up and running within five minutes of your call.
Attended conferences can be set up in three ways:
- the service provider's conference coordinator dials out to the participants to bring them into conference
- the participants dial in to the conference themselves – they will then be greeted by the conference coordinator and put into conference
- the participants dial into a pre-scheduled freephone number – again the conference coordinator will greet them
Additional services
- recording – conferences can be recorded onto standard cassettes or mini-cassettes, which can be useful as a reference tool
- Action Replay – the option to record the conference digitally and then make this available for playback. Typically security is provided via a PIN code and unique conference identifier
- transcriptions – here the conference can be provided in a hardcopy form, again useful as a reference tool
- conference notification – here a fax or e-mail notification of a conference can be provided to all participants prior to the conference, useful as a reminder of dates and start times, as well as for distributing the meeting agenda
- question and answer (Q&A) sessions – large conferences often include complex discussions, and in these instances participants may wish to ask questions of the chairperson. Conference coordinators can work alongside the chairperson to manage Q&A sessions, placing each questioner in to conference in turn whilst muting the other participants
- voting – large conferences may need to gain feedback. Conference coordinators can coordinate voting sessions via multiple choice questions answered via the telephone keypad
Unattended audioconferencing
Unattended conferencing services allow users to set up and manage conferences themselves using the Web or DTMF tones – there is no need to make a reservation or to involve a conference coordinator. An unattended conference can be described as a do-it-yourself conference, and is ideal for ad hoc conferences. It is best suited to experienced conferencing users and where the numbers of participants involved may be small – typically less than ten participants. The unattended conference is a lower cost option, however it is less suitable for large groups or major announcements.
Unattended conferences are set up in a similar way to attended conferences:
- the chairperson dials out to the participants
- the chairperson provides a telephone number for the participants to dial in themselves
Videoconferencing
A videoconferencing session can simply connect two users in a point-to-point scenario, but by using a teleconferencing service provider up to 16 different multi-point connections can be made with participants anywhere in the world.
A multipoint videoconference can be set up with just a single phone call to a teleconferencing service provider – once you've provided the details it's all over to the service provider. Each participant needs a videoconferencing system connected to an ISDN telephone line or perhaps a broadband Internet connection, but any standard videoconferencing system can be brought into call, including desktop and group systems, and specially designed room systems for up to 50 people. Videoconferencing is particularly useful for meetings involving detailed presentations and “show and tell”, or for delicate topics or issues where people need to see facial expressions and body language.
Typical videoconferencing applications are:
- training, where the use of pictures and visuals can ensure training sessions leave a real impression
- advertising, where key visuals can be seen
- product launches
- key announcements
- internal meetings
- legal applications
Videoconferences can be set up in two ways:
- the conference coordinator dials out to the participants to bring them into conference
- the participants dial in to the conference themselves – they will then be greeted by the conference coordinator and put into conference
Additional services
- continuous presence – allows up to nine video sites to be seen on screen at the same time during the conference
- broadcast facility – allows one site to be seen full screen by all other locations, while receiving a continuous presence view of other locations. Ideal for presentations.
- audio-only participants – with access to only a telephone anyone can join a videoconference in audio-only mode
- transcoding – here different locations are connected to the conference at different transmission speeds, retaining their own optimum speed
- conference tapes – as with audio to provide a reference of the event
- transcription – as in an audioconference to provide a hard copy
Internet conferencing and presentation services
Other conferencing services involve the joining of traditional telephone-based technology with Internet-based technology. Some services allow your audience to hear your verbal presentation over the telephone whilst viewing your PowerPoint presentation on their PC. Presentations are sent to the service provider in advance of the conference and then downloaded for access via the Internet.
Conference casting services
Conference casting is the delivery of your conference call or presentation via the Internet to be accessed live or recorded by any number of people. The signal from an audio or video conference call is captured, and encoded as streaming media. It is then delivered to a designated website where participants may join in.
ACT Teleconferencing offers a full suite of teleconferencing solutions, including ReadyConnect for unattended conferences, ActionCall for attended audioconferences and ActionShow for Internet presentations. Similar services are offered by other dedicated companies and by most business telecoms providers.
Reviewed June 2007
last updated : 15/06/2007
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