Functions of Teleconferencing Services

Teleconferencing services is a rapidly growing industry and is readily accessible for any organization’s needs. There are numerous functions available under the umbrella of teleconferencing services. It is important to understand what teleconferencing is in order to determine what you need in a service.
By definition, teleconferencing is a conference of people from different locations brought together by some form of telephonic medium. There are different mediums available through teleconferencing services to maximize your experience depending on what information needs to be shared.

At the root of teleconferencing services is audio conferencing. This is simply a group of remote attendees calling in to a dedicated code to speak and listen to each other. This is essentially a larger scale of a three way call. Each attendee needs only to have access to a phone to join these conferences.

Web conferencing is a step up from audio conferencing. Teleconferencing services will offer this service to add visual dimension to the audio conference. The visual aspect allows the leader of the conference to share images or documents from their computer. This sharing is enabled through a software program from the provider allowing the leader to choose which documents are visible to the group at any certain time. Each attendee needs access to a computer with Internet access and a phone to join these conferences.

A video conference is a higher complexity offered by teleconferencing services. Video conference allows the leader and even the attendees to present live in real time using a web camera. This allows a higher level of personal interaction than a web conference and is more commonly used for public addresses to a large group of people. In addition to a web camera, each attendee will need at least a computer with Internet access to join in these conferences.

When considering teleconferencing services, be sure you have determined why you are looking at this avenue of communication. Will this be used frequently? What information is typically going to be shared? Who will be attending the teleconferences you expect to host? Knowing these answers will help you to compare the teleconferencing services and the plethora of functionality offered by these providers.

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