The 5 Best Web Conferencing Services for Small Businesses

Small businesses looking for a web conferencing solution need a powerful, collaborative software that enables them to meet with clients and colleagues at a price that fits tight budgets. The best way to decide what’s right for your organization is to make a list of the make-or-break tools you need in your web conferencing software, then compare the list against the best services in the industry. The list of the five best web conferencing services for small businesses below is a good place to start.

Cisco Webex :

Cisco WebEx Meetings rounds out the list of the best web conferencing services for small businesses. Their plans are slightly more expensive when compared to those offered by Fuze and iMeet, but they are very flexible and come with some of the widest arrays of collaboration tools in the industry. This includes audio and video conferencing, screen and application sharing, advanced customization tools, and full-featured mobile apps. Smaller teams may be able to get all of this without having to pay a thing, because WebEx offers a free plan that supports up to three participants. The next step up is the Premium 8 plan, supporting eight participants, and above that is the Premium 25 plan. With options like these, you won’t have to pay for large conference rooms you don’t need. Upgrade your plan as necessary or downgrade if you find you don’t need that much space. And if the price is a little steep for you, consider paying annually since WebEx offers sizeable discounts to their customers who do so.

Facewebinar :

Facewebinar is a free video conferencing tool to setup simple online meetings using web based platform. Facewebinar’s HD video conferencing software is a simple yet powerful way to collaborate in real time. Free screen sharing, online meetings and team collaboration are all fast and quick. Its a free Web based Video Conferencing tool with Screen and file sharing. Facewebinar is an amazing way to promote collaboration for globally diverse teams. It provides great quality and amazingly easy to use.

Citrix GoToMeeting :

GoToMeeting offers a feature-packed baseline subscription for $49 per month, or $468 per year, letting up to 25 people join at once for a face-to-face virtual meeting. The service makes it easy for hosts to schedule meetings, and makes it easy for guests to join for free by clicking an invitation link from any Web-connected PC or mobile device. The service also has features such as speaker identification, and it offers screen-sharing tools for business presentations. You can even share your keyboard and mouse controls with meeting attendees for smooth collaboration.

Skype for Business :

Skype is best-known as a video-calling service to chat with friends and family members. But for business users on a budget, Skype is a competent video-conferencing tool. Video chatting with one other person is free, but upgrading to Skype for Business for $2/month per user per month adds a few important features such as group video calling with up to 250 participants. Paying for a premium account also opens up group screen sharing so you and your colleagues can share documents, spreadsheets and presentations and work together.

Google Hangouts :

Google’s Hangouts is an easy-to-use videoconferencing app that’s pretty powerful, considering that its basic features are free. Businesses will probably want to invest in a subscription to Google Apps for Work ($5/user per month), which adds a bunch of work-friendly features to Hangouts. The additional include integrated online calendars and the ability to collaborate on documents and spreadsheets during a video chat session. Plus, you’ll be able to sign in and out with the branded email address that your company already uses.

The Journey of video conferencing

Do you remember the days when everyone was in awe of a company that had a video conferencing? That is because rooms specifically designed for video conferencing implied high set-up and maintenance costs.

The large budget that was required for software, hardware and even the real estate of the room itself, made video conferencing rooms a luxury that few could afford. So yes, it was impressive.

In the past, the biggest selling point in favour of video conferencing was the cost-savings that companies would incur by cutting the number of business trips every year. However, business people continued to value face-to-face meetings and this, combined with the fact that few companies had the technical and technological capabilities to participate in a video conference, meant that video conferencing was limited to being an internal form of communication amongst the ‘elite’ companies who had the technology readily available.
As with anything else, technology has evolved and shaken the industry to its core. The emergence of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) as a sustainable business model provides organizations with greater flexibility, lower cost of ownership and smoother deployments.

For instance, the internet penetration by quality and reliable services has improved to the point that video conferencing is feasible without the need for a major investment in software, hardware or infrastructure. In most cases, standard broadband IP connections can handle video conferences without a glitch.

The market is drifting farther away from hardware-based endpoints for video conferences. In its place, users are relying on PCs equipped with high quality webcams. Nowadays, webcams have the ability to pan, tilt and zoom, in addition modern computers have decent quality built-in audio equipment like microphones and speakers.

The new hardware technologies enable flexibility, mass deployment, and, more importantly, they make video conferencing feasible to organizations of all sizes.

Video conferencing is a textbook case that exemplifies the power of the network effect. As more and more users become familiar with a specific piece of technology, its adoption grows. This enables more users to embrace it, effectively increasing the power of the network exponentially.

The reality is that video conferencing has stepped up from a nice market with a reduced number of active users to a highly-adopted and readily available technology.

The ‘Facewebinar’ Video Conferencing Tool Lets Users Invite Participants with a Link

Those in the business community are always on the lookout for the easiest ways to communicate with existing and potential clients, which the ‘Facewebinar‘ video tool enables them to do, seamlessly.

Instead of requiring each participant to download a plugin or app, the ‘Facewebinar‘ video conferencing tool works by sending out a link to the teleconference call. From here, users can interact and share files with anyone they wish. The best part about the ‘Facewebinar‘ video conferencing tool is the ability to connect quickly with someone you might not know; by sending out the link to the contact, users don’t have to share any information they don’t want to to ensure everyone is relaxed and focused on communicating.

Facewebinar – New face of WebRTC Technology

What is WebRTC:

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a standard that defines a collection of communications protocols and application programming interfaces that enable real-time communication over peer-to-peer connections. This allows web browsers to not only request resources from backend servers, but also real-time information from browsers of other users.

This enables applications like video conferencing, file transfer, chat, or desktop sharing without the need of either internal or external plugins.[1]

Uses of WebRTC:

WebRTC is a set of standards from WC3 that will enable real-time communication (RTC) on the web between browsers. Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browsers natively support it. Using WebRTC, you can make peer-to-peer calls, video chats, share screens, and exchange files.

WebRTC enables users to build apps with HTML5 and Javascript. Software kits are available to build very compelling desktop and mobile apps. Any connected device can be WebRTC enabled, which means every connected device—computers, tablets, televisions—can become a communications device. These tools are radically disrupting the market by empowering every user to make their own apps and include WebRTC features.

Industry Focus:

Companies need to look at how their current services intersect with WebRTC and OTT (over-the-top) applications. Both erode the space traditionally held by telephony providers, the more so as OTT applications adopt WebRTC.

But in the intersections between the three, you see three sets of opportunities.

First, companies that open up their network to be a gateway for WebRTC apps will see new revenue opportunities. They can incorporate “platform as a service” as a profitable element of their business.

Companies can use existing SIP gateways and session border controllers to set up their platform and offer it as a service.

Second, companies can develop their own OTT audio/video apps to compete in this marketplace. This requires significant resources; and partnering with app developers to build them; but diversification can be the key to success.

Third, companies can develop toolkits and APIs to enable developers to build OTT apps using WebRTC.

Ultimately, companies need to move from being device-centric to being access-centric. Rather than let customers access your service only from a device that you provide, you should diversify and give users more opportunities—on smartphones, on tablets, on laptops, on apps—to access your service.

Conclusion:

WebRTC is as revolutionary a market disruption for telecom as HTML was for the internet. It will flatten the ecosystem and empower anyone to become a WebRTC developer.

Companies that try to hold onto the old way of doing things will see their value erode. But for companies willing to embrace this new technology, business opportunities abound.

By Facewebinar Team