Audio Conferencing - How Can You Benefit?

City councils, transit authorities, and fire departments have all been known to benefit from audio conferencing. NASA also uses it for meetings between hundreds of scientists for such projects as the Mars exploration.

However, it is not only large organizations that can benefit from audio conferencing. Small firms have also discovered that audio conferencing can reduce operation costs by a substantial margin.

The first obvious benefit from audio conferencing is that it substantially lowers transportation costs. In 2003 alone, commuters spent $60 billion dollars on gas driving to work-related appointments!

That’s billions of dollars spent on something that is no longer entirely necessary given that existing technology can achieve the same thing at hardly any cost!

Another benefit from audio conferencing is that it takes participants only a few minutes to set up a meeting—even if each participant is located in a different continent! That saves valuable time (not to mention travel and hotel expenses) that can be put to better use.

Furthermore, audio conferencing encourages frequent communication and coordination, which leads to less errors and a more cohesive business team.

So, how can your business benefit from audio conferencing? Here are three ways:

Use Audio Conferencing in Lieu of Travel

Utilize audio conferencing instead of traveling to a branch or regional office. Audio conferencing can connect 2 to 200 people (or more) across infinite distances.

For as long as you have an online computer, and an audio receiving/transmitting device (phone; speakers and microphone; headset with microphone), you’re all set to benefit from audio conferencing.

If you want to set up a face-to-face meeting, set up a webcam (inexpensive ones flood the market) and you’re good to go.

Use Audio Conferencing for Instant Collaboration

Benefit from audio conferencing by using it to collaborate on a document or a project, regardless of where you or colleague is located in the world.

Audio conferencing allows participants to view each other’s computer screens during the meeting. Using a digital whiteboard and a special pen, you can even draw diagrams to illustrate your point.

Why Not Audio Conferencing via VoIP?

Audio conferencing can be conducted via two ways - regular telephone or computer phone (sometimes called, “softphone”).

You can benefit from audio conferencing with regular telephones by having each user dial in, so everyone can hear each other on the line.

To benefit from audio conferencing with computer telephones, you will use breakthrough technology called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

Some software vendors offer softphones that appear as an interface on the desktop and which you can punch with a mouse click, much like a conventional telephone.

Or, to benefit from this technology sans the need to purchase anything, go for freeware, downloadable free off the Internet as voicing-capable “Messengers” from MSN or Yahoo! The audio quality may not be as good as a purchased softphone, but check it out to see if it suffices for your needs.

You can also take part in audio conferencing the ‘hands-free’ way by donning a microphone-equipped headset (like webcams, inexpensive versions flood the market).

Benefit from audio conferencing the most cost-effective way by opting for VoIP or Internet telephony that can cost you a fraction of the cost of long-distance charges. And if you should decide to use freeware, it will cost you next to nothing.