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It’s no secret that 2009 will be a year of ups and downs, uncertainty and
surprises, however, this year will also bring its share of opportunities for
introducing new technologies and solutions that will make an impact on how
companies do business. Yes, these technologies will need to bring even more
value than usual but the need and the opportunities will be there if the
value proposition is compelling enough. Enter on-premise Web-based
conferencing
Entering on-premise Web-based
conferencing
It’s true that Web-base conferencing is not exactly new
but it has become an indispensable part of how companies do business. In
fact, many companies already use it for promotion, technical and sales
training, remote support,
sales and generally for day to day meetings both internal and external. When
Web-based conferencing was first introduced there were some real obvious
benefits, such as saving money by reducing travel time and expenses,
as well as increasing efficiencies through the ability to provide training to
remote staff or customers. However the technology has now matured long past the
point of the obvious original benefits to using Web-based conferencing as a
sales and marketing budget line item targeted at prospecting for new
customers or closing a deal with them. That being said, with the current
economic climate, reducing travel costs and collaboration among colleagues in
remote offices or those who are working from home makes Web-based
conferencing a must have for companies of all sizes.
So what is Web-based conferencing and what variations are offered by existing
manufacturers? Basically, there are two methods to deliver Web-based
conferencing and at least four different usage models.
These two methods are typically defined as a hosted
solution or an on-premise solution.
Most people have experienced Web conferencing as a participant
for some form of internal company meeting or vendor training. In most cases,
the method was probably delivered as a hosted solution whereby the attendee
just launches their e-mail browser, clicks on a link provided by the host via
a previous e-mail invitation, downloads the client and joins the meeting. The
advantage of a hosted solution is that it is very easy to use, but it
requires all attendees to use the Internet, even if they are in the same
location which may impact performance due to delays associated with bandwidth
limitations. Security can also be an issue as anybody with the correct
meeting ID / password can join the meeting since the hosted server addresses
are public. Other disadvantages included limited control over your ability to
brand or customize the Webinar with your company name or image and the
inherent on-going costs that go along with any hosted solution.
On-premise real-time Web-based conferencing technologies are delivered via a
plug-and-play appliance which is installed on the customer’s network or by
way of software that is installed on the customer’s server. Complicated
installation and the need for on-going IT support to keep the application
software compatible with the server operating system is not required making
the solution easier to install. Once installed, the appliance updates are
typically maintained remotely by the vendor. Some of the advantages of an
on-premise solution versus a hosted solution include improved access to
security as the owner can control access through their corporate firewall,
unlike a hosted solution which uses a public site. Performance issues are
minimized as attendees located in the same location can use the company LAN
instead of having to go out to the Internet. Additionally, integration
of on-premise solutions offers the flexibility of integrating into other
corporate systems so users can easily start and join meetings. Finally,
unlike hosted solutions, it is very easy for companies to brand these
Web-based events as
the owner is in full control of all aspects of the applications, costs and
they also get the benefit of unlimited usage since they own the service.
The four usage models or applications most often deployed
with on-premise Web based solutions include Webinars,
interactive meetings, remote support
and remote access. Webinars from one or
a few computers are presented to large audiences, and attendees just view the
information. Interactive meetings allow the data from computer screens to be
shared and worked on. The remote support model is used when one person wants
to gain access to and control another person’s computer and the remote access
model is used to gain remote access of an unattended computer.
Traditionally Web-based conferencing was a tool used by
Fortune 500 companies and equipment vendors who were trying to promote or
sell their wares. New products from on-premise equipment vendors offer low
cost, feature rich solutions that are ideal for companies of all sizes,
including government institutions and agencies. If value-added resellers and
integrators embrace these new technologies there is a significant opportunity
for them to bring tremendous value to their customer base. Web conferencing
is experiencing phenomenal growth and the market is expected to grow to
approximately $3 billion by the year 2011.
Resellers can empower their customers by giving them access to an affordable
technology that will allow them to look and act like a much bigger company
than they really are. Many of them may have rejected a Web conferencing
strategy previously simply due to economics. Their cost analysis may have
been done based
on hosted Web conferencing services and they may not realize that on-premise
solutions deliver a return on investment that is almost immediate.
Darin Gibbons is vice president of sales and marketing for Crossover http://www.Distribution.com , a North
American based value-added distributor and offers Web-based conference
solutions from RHUB Technologies ( http://www.rubcom.com
).
Note: This article comes from the issue of February 2009,
CRN Canada ( http://www.crncanada.ca )
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