Choosing An Online Conference Room

Now that many people are working from home for their safety, meetings will have to be conducted virtually using online tools. We are fortunate to live in a time when Internet connections can be fast enough to support streaming videos. Businesses will just have to choose an online conference room application to host their meetings. Several options exist so their merits should be evaluated to find the most suitable solution. Below are some of the things to consider:

Platform Compatibility

Some video conferencing tools are limited to mobile devices. Others are focused on desktop computers. A few are able to run well on both. You will typically need to download and install the software on your devices just to join. For large events such as annual company gatherings, this might be a big barrier to entry. Online tools that only require a link instead of a download might be a better option.

Number of Participants

You should check to see how many participants are set to join your regular business meetings. Many conferencing tools will offer their product free of charge for small-scale users. This is a great boost to small businesses that are struggling to survive as it reduces their overhead expenses. Medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, on the other hand, may need to pay a reasonable subscription fee to enable up to a hundred or even thousands of people to join conferences. These fees are still a bargain compared to the rental of physical venues, the payment of catering services, and other associated costs for event hosting.

Software Stability

The participants in business meetings are all busy people who value their time. They cannot be using faulty software that routinely crashes and disrupts the discussions. They require stability and reliability such that they can be confident that scheduled conferences can push through as intended. The security of the software should also be top notch such that no unwelcome entity can hijack the virtual room or spy on the participants.

Ease of Use

The online conference room should be easy to use for the hosts. Setting up a meeting and sending out invitations should be a breeze. The controls should be intuitive, especially since hosts will need to guide the flow of the discussion while being miles away from the speakers. Guests should be able to join without much effort.

Collaboration Tools

A lot of meetings are set to promote collaboration among coworkers. They will need certain tools to make this easier including screen sharing, digital whiteboards, file sharing, text chat, and so on. These should run without lags for efficient communications. There should be a way to record meetings for archiving.