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Audio Conferencing

4:03 p.m., 11 Mar 2009
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What is Audio Conference Calling?

Audio Conference Calls are a simple and effective way of making business communication more flexible.   It enables you to connect employees or customers wherever they are into a conference call using their landline or mobile phones.

Audio conference calls help you bring the right people into the right discussions, allowing you to make the effective business decisions as quickly as possible.


Connect regardless of location or hardware

New generation conference phones allow remote workers, sales staff, and customers to 'patch-in' to important conversations using a simple PIN.  This means you can add your expertise to any meeting via mobile, even while you're at the beach - just don't let them hear the seagulls in the background!


Save time & streamline Business Processes

Most conference phones have call recording functions which allow you to capture a record of important business discussions.  This makes it increasingly easy for admin staff to minute meetings and circulate an accurate record of what has been discussed.


Save on unnecessary travel expenditure

Audio conference calls can help eliminate unnecessary expenditure on travel to and from the office for key personnel that need to participate in important business meetings.


A cost effective alternative to Video Conferencing

Audio Conferencing provides a cost effective entry into adding conferencing capability to your business, and while it may not allow for the same levels of interaction (seeing expressions etc) that full video conferencing can offer, it brings many advantages to businesses of all sizes.

Conference Calls - How Many Callers?
4:30 p.m., 11 Mar 2009
 
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How many participants can I have on a conference call, and is there such a thing as 'too many'?
Conference Calls - How Many Participants?
4:42 p.m., 11 Mar 2009
 
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The number of callers you can 'patch-in' to each call is largely dependant on the capabilities of your conference phone device.   It can start anywhere from around 3, and go up to more than 50.

In terms of how many participants is 'too many' - it really comes down to the nature of the call. For example if your disseminating lots of imformation to a widely dispersed team - the sky's the limit.   Conference calls can be awesome for this kind of task.

However, if you are wanting a discussion with lots of interaction and feedback - you may need to limit your numbers in order to ensure your decision making objectives are met.
How much do all the calls cost?
4:49 p.m., 11 Mar 2009
 
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What does it cost to hold a conference call? Does the call only cost me once, or do I have to pay for all of the individual calls that are patched in?
Conference Calls - What do all the calls cost?
4:54 p.m., 11 Mar 2009
 
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The cost of the calls will largely be dependant on where they have originated from. If they are all internal calls (e.g. within your office building), you may be set up in a way that these calls do not cost you anything.

If the calls have largely originated externally, then you are most likely to incur the normal charges associated with a normal toll call or mobile call - or at least the caller will incur these charges.  They will not come to you if your participants are 'patching' in directly to your conference call.

Alternatively, if you would like to incur the costs for some particpants (e.g. Customers), you can choose to call them and 'patch' them in to the conference call - and this cost will therefore become yours.