Web conferencing is becoming the new way to do business. Web based conference services are provided by such products as Acrobat Connect Professional (formerly Macromedia Breeze), Microsoft Live Meeting and WebX, just to mention a few.

The price of those systems is often out of reach for most users unless you are supported by large companies paying the bill or you have a huge communications budget. Not so for everyone. Live Meeting and Acrobat Connect Professional can cost about $375/month for up to five attendees, $750 for up to ten attendees, or $0.35/minute per attendee for Live Meeting and $0.32/minute per attendee for Acrobat Connect Professional's solution. WebX will cost $375/month for 5 attendees and $75/month per additional attendee.

Web based conferencing systems usually impose a limit on the number of attendees per conference. You can acquire more seats but they will cost you. And, how can you always be sure of how many people will attend your conferences? Don't you want your business to grow? You don't want to leave anyone out.

Web-Based Server-Side Technology:
See Where Your Money Goes

The fundamental reason why web conferencing software that is web-based cost so much is largely due to bandwidth. Web-based server-side technology uses bandwidth provided by the company supplying the web conferencing software. Their internet service provider charges them for bandwidth and they pass this cost on to the customer. Of course, this makes sense. Nothing in life is free despite what many would have you believe.

Imagine never knowing how many people will attend your web conferencing event, but let's assume it would be in the 15-25 range. This means a one hour event, plus 10 - 15 minutes of chat and users connecting early, would cost you over $500 with Live Meeting and $480.00 with Acrobat Connect Professional. Too rich for your blood? Perhaps. Let me explain a little more so you have a clearer picture of it works.

Web-based services require no downloading. This means you do not have to install software on your computer to attend a web conferencing event. You visit a website and login with a username and password. That's all there is to it. The alternative to this is peer-to-peer conferencing software. Let's take a look.

An Alternative To Web-Based Conferencing
Keep More Money In YOUR Pocket

While many users of web-based conferencing technology boast more reliability with this type of service they no longer have a monopoly. P2P web conferencing software, P2P videoconference software, is gaining new ground and popularity, largely in part due to its more affordable price but also due to its increasing reliability.

Peer To Peer, P2P, software like Audio Video Conference is not dependent on providing 100% bandwidth to its customers. P2P technology relies mostly on bandwidth supplied by each user attending a conference. Users download a small file onto their computer and then connect to each other via P2P technology. Some functions may require faster connectivity which means server-side technology maybe used for these functions.

For more on our solution for successful P2P conferencing simply visit our peer to peer conferencing page.