With all of the technology available at our fingertips, many employers are allowing flex time and telecommuting options for their employees. But, this can make scheduling a meeting even more complex. When will everyone be available in the same office to meet? Or, what happens when you need to have a meeting and someone is out of the country? With online meeting tools you can schedule your meeting at a time when everyone is available and with a few additional perks like interactive white boards, recorded sessions, and one-click presenter screen sharing.

The three leading online meeting tools are WebEx, GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Live Meeting. A few things to think about when selecting your web conferencing solution are: (1) average number of attendees per meeting, (2) average number of monthly meetings, and (3) what features are essential to your business. There are a number of free and discounted tools available, so please leave a comment on this post if you have a recommendation for another solution not listed.

WebExGoToMeetingMicrosoft Live Meeting

Here is a brief overview:

  • WebEx – offers 14 day free trial, allow others to share screen for multiple presenters, record and playback online meetings, pay per use $0.33 per minute, special offer for 5 or more named users at $75 per month, per host, plus $0.05 per minute, per user toll call-in and $0.20 per minute, per user toll-free call-in US/Canada
  • GoToMeeting – offers 30 day free trial, monthly rate of $49 and includes unlimited conferences with a maximum of 15 participants per conference, no licensing for attendees, includes toll-based phone number for each meeting at no cost
  • Microsoft Live Meeting – offers 60 day free trial, provides meeting reports and interactive white board, minimum of 5 users required with a monthly fee of $4.58 per user per month who can each schedule and manage meetings up to 15 users, plus additional $0.25 per minute (monthly use-it-or-lose-it commitment required)

One final note, be sure to check out The World Clock Meeting Planner to find a convenient time to meet when participants are in multiple time zones.