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3 Best Conference Calling Software and Buyer’s Guide

GoToWebinar

Trusted by webinar solution Powers millions each year Used for marketing training corporate communications Reliable technology Super simple to use features Integrated Analytical Engages audience Make personal connections Drive business

Bitrix24

Free event management software for conferences Necessary tools for CRM & client module Create quotes invoices Send emails Manage vendors Shared calendars Make schedule Book multiple venues Manage ground crews

Eventzilla

Leading cloud-based event registration Marketing platform In-person / virtual events Create beautiful  professional web presence Promote events Works perfect for conferences, fundraisers classes reunions concerts sports events

Conference Software

Conference Software assists businesses set up video, audio, and web conference calls with customers and employees. The software assists users perform the following functions:

  • Managing a secure connection between host and attendees for video and audio conference.
  • Creating online events and managing the registration process.
  • Collaborating with multiple hosts and attendees thru Q&A, live chat, and live polling options.
  • Providing clients, customers, and attendees with a web conference portal to connect calls.
  • Providing employees and customers with credentials and custom URLs for joining web conferences.

Features of Conference Software

The first baby step towards the selection of the right conference calling software is to understand the software features. Getting the right set of Conference Software features will assist maximize the ROI on the software buy because user won’t need to buy other software to make up for a lack of features.

  • Screen sharing : Lets sharing the desktop screen and presentations with the participants in the call.
  • Multiple hosts : Allowing multiple participants to help them host a conference meeting. Conference organizers can decide various hosts for the various sections of the meeting and transferring audio and screen-sharing controls accordingly.
  • Live chat : Gets  through collaboration between attendees and organizers thru a live chat section on the screen.
  • Polls/voting : Conducting post-call and in-call surveys for capturing participants’ opinions.
  • Reporting and analytics : Offers reports on conference calls. The reports have parameters like conference duration and the number of participants.
  • Mobile app : Letting users join conference calls from smartphones.
  • Dial-in number : Allowing participants to join a conference by dialing a given phone number. Users can set conference codes for the attendees can use to connect to the call.

Advantages of Conference Software

Reduced costs. As Conference Software permits users for accessing calls via the internet, it offers a cost advantage while compared to conducting the same number of calls thru landline and mobile networks.

Higher attendance. Conference Software helps users join calls thru multiple options—cloud application, desktop application, mobile app and dial-in numbers. With attendance tracking, organizers helps tracking of the applicants which are present in a call. These result in improved attendance in business meetings.

Improved collaboration in meetings. A conference calling solution offers multiple features to increase collaboration in meetings. Users can help in selecting multiple hosts to present various sections of the meeting. The screen sharing functionality helps in allowing hosts for sharing presentations with the participants, and the live chat and poll options increase engagement between the participants.

Issues of Conference Software

Dependence on the internet. While using a cloud-based solution, dependency on the internet be one of the biggest challenges. When the internet speed is not stable, it will definitely hamper the quality of the audio and video calls. It will be even bigger issue when a lot of the employees join conference calls from the smartphones. Cloud-based Conference Software users can minimize the risk by opting for a product with dial-in functionality which will  allow attendees to become able to dial-in from smartphones and connecting to the call when the internet connection is poor.

Website network-equipment failure and downtime. The issue affects both cloud-based as well as on-premise software users. Equipment failures and seller maintenance truly affect the availability of Conference Software till it is fully resolved. Buyers, for this reason, are looking for cloud-based conference calling solutions must select a seller which provides low downtime in its service level agreement (SLA). If systems are down, attendees also require to connect thru telephonic conference calls when the maintenance is being carried out.

Unauthorized access and other data security breaches. As conference calls are hosted thru the internet or physical servers, there is a risk of call interception and unauthorized access. Conference Software buyers should ensure that the product they shortlist has the necessary security protocols, like HIPAA, 56-bit DES encryption and 128-bit AES encryption, to combat this risk.

Conference Software Trends

Virtual reality is definite future of web conferences. Virtual reality can offer users with an increased comfort during meeting experience. With the help of the technology, attendees would be able to convey opinions and gestures more appropriately which will, in turn, make the conference calls more effective and engaging. Expecting virtual reality to become a core conference calling functionality by 2025 is a forecasting.

AI and natural language processing (NLP) to get meeting notes. AI and NLP can provide businesses in making the note-taking process more effective. While NLP transcribes calls to text, AI can sift through the transcripts to get down the relevant items and will help in  summarizing meetings. With products like Wrapup and Hendrix already making developments in the said area, we can even expect the technology to expand into Conference Software by the year 2022.

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