Globalization is more than just a buzzword. In business terms, it means that a company can have its key officers spread across the globe. It means having a CEO in Detroit and a chief engineer in Karachi. Under those conditions, it can be very impractical to have important business meetings if it requires stepping into an airplane every time. But thanks to the technology of web conferencing, all it takes to do a meeting is to sit down in front of your computer. Web conferencing is fast becoming a key tool for today's global businessmen.
What web conferencing does is to allow several people to have a meeting over the Internet. It doesn't matter if some of the others are an ocean away, as long as everyone is connected to the conference at the same time. The fact that you can have such international gatherings without having to fly anyone anywhere translates into thousands of dollars saved in travel expenses.
Another great advantage of web conferencing is the ability to have real-time meetings on a shared screen, which means that all the participants see the same screen at the same time. So all of them are updated with the same information, ensuring that everybody is on the same page.
Web conferencing also enables real-time communication between participants, using either text chat or voice. Anything that has to be said can be relayed directly to the whole team, instead of using third parties, and any issues or problems can also be dealt with as a group.
A presenter can also use PowerPoint in web conferencing to give a slideshow to all of the participants. A presenter can also point to and highlight important items on the shared screen. Other useful functions include the ability to share and edit applications in real time, or share files, or browse the Internet as a group.
More advanced web conferencing programs even integrate video conferencing into meetings. Although voice and text chatting is fine for most communication, there is nothing quite like being able to speak to one another face-to-face. Business often requires trust and solidarity, and it helps if you can see the person you are consulting or sharing responsibility with. Video conferencing is especially useful when conducting international business negotiations.
Given all the ways that web conferencing can be used in business, you should consider implementing it at your company. You may save a great deal in costs and move your company forward in step with the rapidly-changing arena of international business. Of course, there are always some occasions when you want to meet people in the flesh and shake their hands, rather than typing them a smiley as you sit a thousand miles apart. But as business becomes more and more of a world-spanning phenomenon, web conferencing is shaping up to be the future of boardroom and international meetings.
