
			Characteristics			Types

Key Benefits


	Web Conferencing Systems

Key areas in which SOHO Web conferencing systems have made great strides ahead of the "enterprise" offerings are those very areas where one would expect the "enterprise" systems to be stronger. I am referring to audio and video in particular which have found several innovative solutions in the SOHO offerings available on the market today.

While there is along tradition of proprietary videoconferencing systems running on very expensive proprietary hardware and providing excellent results, these approaches require high bandwidth connectivity and expensive tools. In developing countries it requires the use of satellites and relay stations that may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

SOHO solutions have brought highly innovative and top-performing audio and video technology (See Orbitalk, VCOM, Voxwire, RoomTalk and WebConference.com for impressive audio quality, or RealityFusion, WebDemo and some of the VoiceCafe tools for very alternative and effective video approaches) that can leave in the dust the counteroffers by the likes of WebEx, Placeware, Centra and the others.

SOHO conferencing tools are also generally more specialized than their "enterprise" counterparts. Some SOHO tools are engineered around a strong Web touring engine, while others have a strong application sharing component. While the "enterprise" systems tend to offer all of the typical conferencing tools in one place, SOHO tools appear to be more specialized and dedicated to certain functionalities (See Robin Good's Recommended Solutions for detailed info on this).

SOHO conferencing tools best traits and characteristics can be summarized in these points:

Very cost-effective. The costs to access a performing SOHO tool are absolutely impressive at this point in time, and could possibly represent one of the most cost-effective investments one individual can make in terms of communication infrastructure, promotion and marketing support, training facility and live conferencing venue.
Ease of use. Due also to their more limited number of features and facilities SOHO tools are generally easy to use and require very little time to be mastered.
Well performing on dial-up lines. Many of the SOHO tools have acknowledged from the beginning a need to support by default dial-up users, as these would make up the largest share of their customers. With this in mind solutions and options to facilitate effective conferencing even on slow dial-up lines have given birth to a multitude of ingenious ideas.
Great audio over IP (in some cases). Some SOHO tools provide audio conferencing facilities that will leave you very impressed. There is new technology out there that can do wonders and the small SOHO guys seem to have gotten their hands on it first.
Specialization / focus. Some of the above benefits are a logic consequence of the more limited scope of SOHO tools compared to their "enterprise" counterparts. While any of the "enterprise" systems integrates typically ALL of the standard conferencing facilities, most SOHO tools focus on one or two aspects of the Web conferencing event. This allows for lower costs and greater ease of use. Most users, in fact, do not take advantage of many features available in a full-fledged conferencing system.
Unique unmatched features. SOHO tools may at times offer more competitive, better performing and easier to use tools than the ones available through "enterprise" Web conferencing systems, if you are looking for key unique features such as:

Recording and annotating Webtours (sequences of Web pages)
Full-duplex audio
Voice activation
Viewing 6 to 9 participant's video feeds concurrently
Easily ban or mute participants
Recording sessions (audio, video, presentation material)
Delivering and collecting files from participants
Seeing at one time your different participants local time

Easy to abandon if unsatisfied. SOHO tools are so inexpensive and require so little initial investment that adopting one to find out that it does not fully satisfy your needs is not a problem. Switching tools and vendors is easy and no one complains if you use different tools for different uses as I often do.

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