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A Brief
Guide To Audio Conferencing Services
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by:
Steve Valentino
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Audio
conferencing provides a way for businesses and other groups to
interact, without having to travel to each other’s offices. The savings
in time and travel expenses quickly make up for the cost of audio
conferencing services and equipment. Audio conferencing usually
involves other types of teleconferencing technology, such as video and
collaborative software. Collaborative software is software that one
user may send to other users for simultaneous viewing and modification.
For example, if the group wants to work on a diagram, it can be seen
and drawn upon by anybody in the conference via a special electronic
whiteboard.
An audio conferencing system can be rented, bought from a vendor or
reseller, or hired as part of a full audio conferencing solution. Such
full-service packages include human support services like management,
marketing, and tech support.
When audio conferencing services are rented, the communication is
routed through the vendor’s server software. The client is charged
according to the number of users or “seats” who will be participating,
the length of time each seat will be participating, and any initial
equipment rental or purchase costs. The vendor can charge a per-seat
and per-minute fee (for example, $0.15/seat/minute). Alternatively, a
client can rent the service by the week, month, or year, with a maximum
allowed number of seats per conference or session. For example, a
one-week service for five seats could cost $100 a week, while a
one-year service for 100 people could cost a few thousand dollars.
Rental audio conferencing services are best for small to medium sized
businesses where the initial equipment purchase costs would far
outweigh the savings on travel.
When audio conferencing services are bought, the communication is
routed through the client’s server software, which is bought and
licensed from the vendor. The client chooses how small or large a
package he or she wants. For example, the client can buy software that
allows for 100 seats, 1000 seats, or much more. The client can decide
whether to include any of a number of high-tech add-ons such as
whiteboard capabilities, and whether expandability is important. The
client buys all the necessary equipment and software to run the system.
The initial cost can be tens of thousands of dollars, so these are best
suited to larger numbers of seats over the long term. However, tech
support will always be a necessity, so the client should subscribe to
the vendor’s expertise.
About the Author
Audio
Conferencing Info provides detailed information about audio
conferencing services, equipment, software, companies, plus online
audio conferencing, and more. Audio Conferencing Info is affiliated
with Original
Content.
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