Last Minute Meetings? Jump Online!

This article is sponsored by GoToMeeting, a proud supporter of OfficeArrow. GoToMeeting is the easiest, fastest and most secure solution for conducting and attending online meetings. Try GoToMeeting for FREE for 30 days.

No matter what your feels are about meetings, they're not going anywhere. Meetings are a very necessary part of the business landscape. But they don't have to be painful or costly. In fact using a Web conferencing tool can make meetings fast, inexpensive, and - best of all - convenient.

Because so many organizations have employees scattered across the continent and around the globe, face-to-face meetings require hours of travel and meeting coordination time. The planning process can be a virtual nightmare, especially when it comes to the last-minute, impromptu meetings that pop up out of nowhere. Not only are last-minute travel costs prohibitive, but these unexpected disruptions can throw a wrench in any business. That's where technology steps in.

Web conferencing is a more cost-effective, time-saving way to hold a spur-of-the-moment meeting.

Web Conferencing Brings People Together

Web conferencing allows multiple computer users to connect via the Internet in real time and see the same screen in their Web browser. And many Web conferencing service companies offer features such as texting capability, file sharing and collaboration tools. For instance, GoToMeeting includes several handy features as part of their flat-fee pricing model. These include VoIP and toll-based phone audio options, meeting recording and playback, and end-to-end encryption for complete security.

Web conferencing allows you to meet with your employees, vendors, and even customers to hold business meetings, offer online training classes or seminars, make presentations and conduct demonstrations, or even offer customer support all through a high-speed Internet connection.

Most personal computers have the ability to use Web conferencing through their existing browsers, so the software is easy to install and generally easy to use, even for first-time users.

Find the Right Web Service for Your Organization

Before you decide which Web conferencing service provider gets your business, it is important to consider a few things.

First and foremost, you need to think about what tools you will need to make your meetings successful. Generally speaking, a regular staff meeting has a different set of criteria than a new product demonstration or training slideshow presentation. Understanding what kinds of bells and whistles are required to fill your meeting needs is important.

Next, determine who can provide the best tools and quality support for your organization. Knowing how many and what kind of meetings your company has annually will help to define your future plans. While there are several meeting services out there, you'll want to find one that's flexible and offers more than one solution. GoToMeeting, for example, offers a variety of features and meeting solutions, whether you need meetings for 15 people or fewer or Webinars for up to 1,000.

Your final considerations should be ease of use and cost. Things such as easy-to-understand controls, the ability to change presenters during meetings, flexibility when it comes to including both PC and Mac users, as well as the capacity to share specific applications can make your meetings more successful and productive. GoToMeeting offers these features and more for a single low monthly fee.

Meetings don't have to be the painful, time-consuming, face-to-face events that they've been in the past. Instead, using technology and the Internet, you can virtually host and attend successful online meetings anytime, anywhere and with anybody - with only minimal planning required.

With GoToMeeting, it's easy to meet, present information, demonstrate products and provide training online. You can try GoToMeeting for FREE for 30 days. Give it a test drive and see how much time and money you can save.