Business VoIP – What is Tele-Conferencing and is VoIP Required?

What is Tele-Conferencing and is VoIP Required?

By simple definition, tele-conferencing is nothing more than a phone conversation. Not to be confused with Web conferencing, tele-conferencing does not necessarily include the advanced features of a Web conference, such as shared data, whiteboards, and video. However, the reasons for its existence are the same. The new model of doing business is one of diversity, where companies are no longer contained within a single physical building. Telecommuting has gotten much more common, and companies are entering into a new model of greater outsourcing and partnering. A company may have multiple partners and outsourcing service providers with whom it must communicate on a regular basis, and often, multiple people will be required to be in on the call at the same time. Only infrequently will they be in the same location.

Tele-Conferencing

There are several different levels of tele-conferencing, which can take place either on conventional, circuit-switched telephony or over business VoIP. The most basic type of tele-conference is available with most telephone service packages that allow three-way calling. This less formal tele-conferencing simply allows an individual to call three or more people from a single phone so they can all communicate. However, this grows impractical for more formal business scenarios, where there may be many participants in different locations, some of which may be on the road.

More often, the tele-conferencing takes place either through a third-party hosted service, or as a function of the in-house IP PBX. In this scenario, all parties that wish to participate call into a central number and are connected to the tele-conference. An unlimited number of people may participate. This type of tele-conferencing usually comes with more advanced features, such as the ability to designate certain callers as "listen only", and the ability to announce to the group when a new participant has joined in. The "listen only" feature is commonly used for large presentations, such as quarterly stockholder meetings. Other advanced features are also commonly available, including the ability to record the conference.

When tele-conferencing is facilitated in-house, the IP PBX is enhanced with a conference bridge, a server-based software solution that allows multiple calls to go through the PBX and be joined together. Many hosted business VoIP offerings also offer tele-conferencing features for very low incremental cost.

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