Web Conferencing: The Advantages of a Browser Based Online Meeting System

2:34 AM |

By Francisco Rodriguez


If you are thinking about getting into web and video conferencing, then it is important to know what is required to operate any proposed conferencing system. Some systems run on proprietary software and need special equipment, while Browser based systems usually do not require the installation of special software or equipment.

Back in those days, a web designer friend and mentor laid out his web design philosophy in a nutshell. Design for the trailing edge, he told me. Design accessibility into your web site from the start, or risk losing a chunk of your market. In other words, the more people you shut out of your web site by making it inaccessible, the smaller your market becomes. His point was valid then, and it's even more valid now.

So in the last 6 months i have been logging the statistics from my web design site to achieve as accurate a result as possible to answer this question.They work on all operating systems. Do you have some users on Mac and some on PCs? Do you have some users who have Linux? If you want to connect all of these people together in one conference it may be impossible if you have to install special software to run your conference. In this case a browser based system that can run on all operating systems and all browsers allows you to connect with all of your staff or clientele without any worries about what kind of computer they are operating.

You don't have to download and install software. Sure, people are becoming more computer-literate as time goes on, but downloading and installing software and getting the software to run properly can be an obstacle to some people. The good news is that with many browser based systems there is no software to download, because the installation is done on the technology provider's host computer. Participating in a conference is as easy as going on line to view a website.

One of the things this shows is that Internet users do in the whole upgrade their internet browsers to the newest version. Only a low percent are infact below the newest version.

There is no problem with firewalls. Most offices and many individuals protect their computers and networks from hackers by using a firewall. This is good for security but can become a problem if you are trying to join people together in a conference. Many web and browser based systems are not affected by firewalls and no special instructions have to be given to conference participants whose computers may be protected by firewalls.

All of these factors add up to one very strong advantage of using browser based conferencing systems: they allow you to get maximum participation in your online events. With little or no technical obstacles, such systems make it easy for large numbers of people, using diverse equipment and with varying degrees of computer skills, to take part in online meetings. So, take a look at the various conferencing packages on the market at the present time and pick out one that is both easy to use and powerful enough to meet your communications needs.




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