What is Audio Conferencing?

22/07/2008

Audio Conference Phones

These days, most people have heard of or participated in a conference call. More and more businesses, big and small are realising the major benefits of owning such a system. We are changing the way we communicate.

Businesses no longer need to send people around the world just for a meeting; we can now work just as effectively from our home location. That means travel expenses are cut, time is saved and carbon emissions are reduced - everyone wins. You can hold a meeting at the drop of a hat anytime, anywhere. There really aren’t any restrictions anymore.

Polycom & Konftel Audio Conference Phones

Leading conference phone system manufacturers like Polycom and Konftel are constantly raising the bar in the world of conferencing, developing new technologies that deliver experiences that are as close to actually being face to face as possible.

There are many different audio conference phone system models available ranging from more basic models for small meeting areas with a couple of participants to larger systems with advanced features for bigger conference rooms with many participants. You can future proof even basic models by getting an expandable version which allows you to add on extra microphones to pick up the voices of extra participants, so your conference system phone can grow alongside your business.

When using conference phone systems over a traditional phone line, despite the many money saving benefits, if the call is long distance one of the parties will end up having to pay a long distance bill. This is not the case with the new range of IP conference phones. 

IP Conference Phones

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP and IP telephony as it’s often referred as is a means of making voice calls over the internet rather than over the phone line, thus bypassing call charges and saving businesses a lot of money. VoIP, as you’d imagine, is fast being used as an alternative method of making calls for businesses everywhere and people like conference phone manufacturer Polycom are releasing VoIP compatible devices to keep up with this fast moving market.

The Polycom SoundPoint IP phone range enables you to get all the benefits of conference calling I mentioned earlier but with the added bonus of these calls costing nothing.  The SoundPoint IP phones have multi-line capabilities, conferencing capabilities and all the features and functions of a high end business phone, so you can use it as a normal phone when not on a conference call but still reap the VoIP benefits. You really can’t loose.

Conference calling removes any barriers that distance may put in your way, giving your business a competitive advantage with no time restrictions, why wait till tomorrow to hold that important meeting when you can do it now. There are a host of models available from many manufacturers to suit everyone’s needs.