Recording a live webinar by GoToMeeting, Zoom, or TEAMS can be a daunting task to someone who doesn’t know the ins and outs of video frame rates, resolutions, and codecs.  We developed our webinar recording service for businesses and podcasters that either don’t have the technical expertise or don’t have the time to learn.

Why Hire a Professional to Record a Webinar?

We’ve done extensive testing to find the best method to record webinars.  Here are the highlights.

1. We capture the entire screen with the best video codec.
2. We record PowerPoint animations, cursor movements and desktop sharing.
3. All elements are in high definition.
4. Audio editing and video editing are available.
5. Output is typically .mp4, .wmv, or almost any audio/video format available.

We produce the best, highest-quality, highest-resolution webinar recordings possible.

If you don’t already have a web conferencing service, we can help with that too.

Give us a try today.

The post Recording Webinars by GoToMeeting, Zoom, TEAMS and More appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

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Adobe Announces Adobe Connect 9

Product Delivers Innovations for Comprehensive Webinars, Mobile Collaboration and Mobile Learning

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Connect™ 9, the latest version of the company’s Web conferencing software for enterprises and government agencies worldwide. Adobe Connect 9 delivers an all-in-one solution for producing webinars, as well as innovations in mobile-to-mobile collaboration and mobile learning.

Adobe Connect 9 for webinars helps marketers reduce costs and dependency on IT when creating richly formatted, branded registration landing pages, and optimize event promotion through analytics capabilities. Powered by Adobe CQ Web content management and Adobe SiteCatalyst® online analytics, Adobe Connect 9 enables the development of customized event microsites and emails, the delivery of interactive events for up to 1,500 participants, and the measurement of campaign and speaker effectiveness.

Along with the new Adobe Connect Mobile 2.0, Adobe Connect 9 also enables organizations to take their enterprise mobility strategy to the next level with mobile-to-mobile collaboration for tablets and smartphones. Users on Apple iOS, Android and BlackBerry PlayBook devices now have the flexibility and power to host and collaborate in online meetings just as they would on a desktop computer.

Additionally, Adobe Connect 9 for eLearning delivers greater mobile learning capabilities, enabling instructors to deliver virtual classes directly from devices and learners to participate from a tablet or smartphone. The latest version supports HTML5 content, such as that generated with Adobe Creative Suite® software, as well as SCORM 1.2 and 2004 content, widely used for Web-based learning.

Top new capabilities include:

• Customizable Event Landing Pages and Catalogs – Templates enable quick creation of landing pages, speaker information, registration pages and login pages. Templates can be customized using rich components, including images, tables, charts and carousels.
• Template-based Email Content and Triggers – Either standard or custom, email templates can be developed quickly and easily using new drag-and-drop capabilities. Email triggers can be created for specified registration groups at predefined times.
• Engagement Dashboard – Monitor event engagement in real time. A color-coded meter helps event hosts track message effectiveness. Critical information can be tracked to improve future events.
• Online Analytics – Event organizers can analyze participant engagement and identify the most effective meeting elements and topics. Dynamic analytics capabilities provide real-time insight into the performance of individual marketing promotions and programs as a whole.
• Advanced Mobile Support for Meetings and Training – Meeting hosts enjoy greater flexibility presenting from mobile devices, leveraging whiteboard and annotation tools and the ability to share documents from tablets, as well as the cloud. Instructors can manage virtual classrooms from devices with the same presenter and sharing options, as well as breakout room controls.

Quotes

Arun Anantharaman, vice president and general manager, Adobe

• “Web conferencing is now mainstream and mission-critical across enterprises and government agencies, with organizations counting on it for training, employee collaboration and citizen engagement. In parallel, the ability to collaborate from mobile devices is becoming an imperative. Adobe Connect 9 supports forward-looking organizations by offering a unified solution for rich webinars, eLearning, and Web meetings anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

Melissa Webster, program vice president, Content & Digital Media Technologies, IDC

• “With the rise of mobile and expectation to go beyond simple screen sharing, Web conferencing requirements have evolved notably for enterprises today. Adobe Connect has been used by organizations to improve communication and collaboration among employees, customers and constituents for several years. It is good to see Adobe respond to this ongoing evolution with the latest version, including through updates to its webinar solution.”

Jana Kodel, development project manager, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands

• “Adobe Connect 9 will save money and time when creating customized webinar landing pages with its rich, built-in microsite creation tools. In addition, the new templates in Adobe Connect will enable my in-house team to create engaging, branded content for each event. This is a big benefit because it improves recruitment and the overall experience for our attendees.”

Brian McFadden, general manager, Technology Services, MedPoint Communications

• “The advanced analytics in Adobe Connect 9 enable us to get actionable information in real-time. It is so important to customize reporting, especially when measuring webinar effectiveness. With Adobe Connect we can track from invitation to registration through attendance. With this information, we can easily improve participation, quality of sessions and lead management.”

…more.

The post Web Conferencing News: Adobe Announces Adobe Connect 9 Web Conferencing Solution appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

It is easy to get confused about the differences between web conferencing and webcasting.  At AudioFile Solutions, we record, edit and produce business presentations which can cross the boundaries of both technologies.

I think of web conferencing as a collaboration between many individuals; hands-on training is a good example.  Let’s say your company has developed new software and you want your sales force to learn it before they sell it to others.  A web conference is a great way to demonstrate the software and then allow participants to take control over that software and give it a test drive.

Webcasting, on the other hand, is more of an event broadcast.  It is well suited in the education market—to name just one—which commonly uses it to capture lectures for both live streaming and on-demand playback.  There is no collaboration with webcasting.

At the Audio Video Expo in Denver this year, Terri Douglas and Guy Murrel from Catapult PR-IR discussed these differences in more detail.  Their focus, however, was on webcasting.

According to Terri and Guy, an overarching strong point of webcasting is that it is easy to use.  Companies that sell the hardware (Sonic Foundry, Accordant) supply it as a self-contained briefcase—similar to the nuclear football carried by the U.S. President.

Other key points:

1. High quality
2. Automated production
3. Reasonably priced

Why do customers like webcasting?

1. Enhanced communications with video
2. Reach a wider audience
3. Branded events—logos, colors, and messages
4. Offers a proven ROI

You can get started webcasting by contacting a vendor/service provider like Sonic Foundry, Accordant, BxVideo, Catapult, or OnStream.

The post AVX Denver 2011: Video Webcasting for Corporate Communications appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

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August 08, 2011 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

PGi Disrupts the Web Conferencing Market with GlobalMeet® 2.0 Release

With Significant Upgrades and New Market-Leading Rates, GlobalMeet Offers Better Meetings at a Better Price

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The meetings experts at PGi (NYSE: PGI) launched GlobalMeet earlier this year bringing simple, affordable web and audio meetings to businesses worldwide. PGi designed GlobalMeet to deliver the simplest user experience on the market, with no software downloads for meeting guests and a “connect me” feature that calls participants automatically, making dial-in numbers and passcodes obsolete.

The market reaction to GlobalMeet has been very positive, with more than 20,000 people becoming paid users in just the first few months of its release. To continue to meet the needs of this growing community, PGi today announced general availability of GlobalMeet 2.0 – making the original product even more powerful with upgraded features and flexible new pricing options.

GlobalMeet 2.0 includes a streamlined interface, designed based on user feedback, to make navigating meeting controls and the most commonly used features even simpler. As part of the release, PGi also launched a GlobalMeet app in the iTunes® store – first in a pending suite of mobile apps that will make GlobalMeet available anywhere from any device, for meetings in the office or on the go.

PGi also announced new, market-leading pricing for GlobalMeet, starting at just $29 per month. With both bundled and unbundled audio and web conferencing plans, new options for power users and aggressive pricing for enterprise-wide implementations, GlobalMeet is affordable for any sized business.

“PGi leveraged our 20 years of leadership in collaboration to fix what was wrong with web conferencing. We designed GlobalMeet to work the way real people do, and we are genuinely excited by the early market response,” said Boland Jones, PGi founder, chairman and CEO, who is leading PGi’s next-generation product innovation. “PGi is changing the game again with GlobalMeet 2.0, by offering a user experience and price that is unmatched in the market.”

Additional new features and upgrades in GlobalMeet 2.0 include:

• Upgraded video, with picture-in-picture added to GlobalMeet’s unique “active talker” feature that switches between speakers’ webcams so meeting guests can easily follow the action
• Enhanced screen sharing that now supports multiple monitors, partial screen views and shared annotation and note taking
• A fully integrated toolbar plug-in for use with Microsoft Office Outlook® that gives users one-click controls to schedule, start, manage and record their meetings from the desktop
• Universal support for Mac® users
• International dial-out – with a “connect me” feature that now calls you wherever you are in the world
• Simplified recording for web and audio meetings, in a universal format that can be played in any web browser or uploaded to the YouTube™ video community
• Improved support for Microsoft® Office 2010, including the richest PowerPoint® presentations with animation and embedded video and audio files

For more information about GlobalMeet and to sign up for a 30-day free trial, visit www.globalmeet.com.

About Premiere Global Services, Inc. │ PGi

PGi is a global leader in virtual meetings. For 20 years, we have innovated technologies that help companies and individuals meet and collaborate in more enjoyable and productive ways. Every month, we bring together over 15 million people in nearly 4 million virtual meetings. Headquartered in Atlanta, PGi has a presence in 24 countries worldwide. For more information, visit us at http://www.pgi.com.

All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management’s current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere Global Services, Inc.’s forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological changes and the development of alternatives to our services; market acceptance of new services, including our iMeet^® and GlobalMeet^® services; our ability to attract new customers and to retain and further penetrate our existing customer base; risks associated with challenging global economic conditions; costs or difficulties related to the integration of any new technologies; service interruptions and network downtime; price increases from our telecommunications service providers; technological obsolescence and our ability to upgrade our equipment or increase our network capacity; concerns regarding the security of transactions; our level of indebtedness; future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; assessment of income, state sales and other taxes; restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto; risks associated with acquisitions and market expansion; the impact of the recent sale of our PGiSend business; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, including possible adverse results of litigation or infringement claims; regulatory or legislative changes, including further government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications service providers; risks associated with international operations, including political instability and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and other factors described from time to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

The post Web Conferencing News: PGi GlobalMeet 2.0 Offers Better Meetings at a Better Price appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

June 22, 2011 03:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time

iMeet® Wins People’s Choice Stevie Award

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The people have spoken. Earlier this week, PGi (NYSE: PGI) was awarded a People’s Choice Stevie Award for its latest innovation, iMeet, at the 2011 American Business Awards (ABA) reception. iMeet took home the trophy in the Favorite New Computer Service category and earned a finalist nod in the New Product or Service of the Year – Computer Services category.

“We’re thrilled and humbled by the number of iMeet users who took time out of their day to vote for us,” said Boland T. Jones, PGi founder, chairman and CEO. “With iMeet, PGi set out to reinvent video meetings by making them more personal and accessible to all people in an organization, regardless of their role, location or devices. This award is further proof that we’ve hit a nerve. We’re encouraged by the positive reception of iMeet as we continue to make better meetings a reality.”

iMeet takes video conferencing to the next level by giving users their own personal video meeting room online. The iMeet experience is simple, social and enjoyable – without the hassle of software downloads, hardware investments or IT support. Since launching in January, the iMeet community has grown to more than 35,000 people who engage in better video meeting experiences every day.

More than 2,800 nominations from organizations of all sizes, in virtually every industry, were submitted for Stevie Award consideration in more than 40 categories. Finalists were chosen by more than 150 business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April and May.

In addition to peer judging, every new product or service nominated in The American Business Awards was automatically included in the vote for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products. More than 140,000 votes were cast by the general public from May 12 through June 3, and the winners were honored at the ABA Awards Banquet in New York on June 20.

For more information about iMeet and to sign up for a 30-day free trial, visit www.iMeet.com.

About Premiere Global Services, Inc. │ PGi

PGi is a global leader in virtual meetings. For nearly 20 years, we have innovated technologies that help people meet and collaborate in more enjoyable and productive ways. Every month, we bring together over 15 million people in nearly 4 million virtual meetings. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia USA, PGi has a presence in 24 countries worldwide. For more information, visit us at www.pgi.com.

About The Stevie Awards

The Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management’s current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere Global Services, Inc.’s forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological changes and the development of alternatives to our services; market acceptance of new services, including our iMeet^® and GlobalMeet^® services; our ability to attract new customers and to retain and further penetrate our existing customer base; risks associated with challenging global economic conditions; costs or difficulties related to the integration of any new technologies; service interruptions and network downtime; price increases from our telecommunications service providers; technological obsolescence and our ability to upgrade our equipment or increase our network capacity; concerns regarding the security of transactions; our level of indebtedness; future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; assessment of income, state sales and other taxes; restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto; risks associated with acquisitions and market expansion; the impact of the recent sale of our PGiSend business; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, including possible adverse results of litigation or infringement claims; regulatory or legislative changes, including further government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications service providers; risks associated with international operations, including political instability and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and other factors described from time to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

The post iMeet News: iMeet Wins People’s Choice Stevie Award appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

We’ve been editing a lot of recordings made with the WebEx web conferencing application lately.  Many people think this cannot be done because WebEx is a proprietary service that creates .arf and .wrf file extensions.  Rest assured, we are editing both the audio and the video of these web conference recordings with very little noticeable quality loss.

When you download the WebEx file from their website, the file extension will be .arf.  If you’ve recorded directly to your computer, expect to see a .wrf extension.  We can fully edit both of these file-types.

Whether you want all stuttering, ahs and ums removed from the audio, or whether you made mistakes in the video / slide presentation, we can fix just about anything.  We also automatically remove all dead air from the beginning and end of the presentation.

Output format is video and ready to post on your website.  Windows Media (WMV), MP4, and FLV are all options, including many more, even for DVD and Blu-Ray…

Contact us today for more information on our WebEx audio and video editing service.

The post Editing a WebEx Conference Recording appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Years ago, web conferencing was in it’s infancy, and all audio conference calling was full-service.  To make a reservation, one needed to physically call the company to set up a conference call.  If you were lucky, the reservationist might discuss with you the ins & outs of having a successful event.  The actual conference was handled by one or more support specialists who would answer all incoming lines and connect them to your meeting.  If you felt the need to complement or complain to the company about how your call was handled, you’d once again pick up the phone to talk with a customer service agent.

While full-service continues to be a big part of the market, self-service is growing  increasingly important.  Customers want to learn about products online, sign up for services via a website, and even use their conference call account without ever contacting another human being.

Among CSPs (Conferencing Service Providers), PGi is leading the way in ensuring a quality self-service experience.  This is but one reason why we have chosen to be one of their premier agents.

View PGi’s premier self-service audio conferencing service here.

The post PGi Leads the Way in Full-Service & Self-Service Conferencing appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

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Adobe Unveils Adobe Connect 8

Major New Version of Enterprise Web Conferencing Solution for Delivering Rich Collaboration Experiences

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Connect™ 8, a significant update to the company’s Web conferencing solution for powering effective and engaging Web meetings, online training and webinars. Based on the virtually ubiquitous Adobe Flash® Player software, the latest version provides enterprises and governments worldwide with broad capabilities for delivering rich experiences across multiple devices, while maintaining easy, reliable meeting entry.

Andy Nilssen, senior analyst, Wainhouse Research:

• We’re seeing the adoption of Web conferencing as a core collaboration technology for everyday use accelerate rapidly.  In addition, we’re also seeing enterprises increase expectations for their Web conferencing solution. These organizations want to go well beyond everyday meetings and seminars to enable myriad and divergent use cases, easily extend solution capabilities with key new functionality, integrate with existing infrastructure such as video conferencing room systems, and support meeting access via a wide choice of mobile devices. All while providing meeting participants with a great user experience.

Key new features of Adobe Connect 8 include a simplified interface for greater usability, expanded and more flexible collaboration capabilities for sharing ideas more freely, and enhanced audio and video integration for richer multimedia experiences. In addition, Adobe Connect 8 offers a software development kit (SDK) for greater extensibility, a new, optional desktop client based on the Adobe AIR® runtime for easier meeting management, and support for a range of mobile devices to extend reach and enhance productivity.

New Features and Benefits

• More intuitive user interface that provides meeting hosts, presenters, and participants with even easier access to capabilities; allowing presenters, for example, to quickly and flexibly adjust meeting room layouts in real-time, as needed.
• Enhancements to sharing, chat, video, notes, Q&A, whiteboard, and other functionality “pods” to facilitate collaboration.
• Addition of two-way Universal Voice that allows customers to bridge audio from any conferencing provider into an Adobe Connect room and provide two-way communication between participants on both VoIP and telephone audio.
• Integration of Adobe Connect¹ with existing video conferencing systems, enabling meeting hosts to bring live audio and video broadcast streams directly into an Adobe Connect room.
• Enhanced collaboration SDK, with support for Adobe Flex®, Adobe Flash and Adobe ActionScript® 3, which allows developers to create custom pods or integrate Adobe Connect with other systems.
• Adobe Connect Desktop, based on Adobe AIR, which lets users set up and manage meetings right from the desktop. The optional application also allows users to download recorded sessions for offline viewing.
• Adobe Connect Mobile enables participants to view meetings on mobile devices. Adobe Connect Mobile works on Apple iPhone and iPad, as well as Google Android and other mobile devices enabled with Adobe Flash technology.

Quotes

Arun Anantharaman, vice president and general manager, Adobe Connect:

• Adobe Connect 8 is a transformative release. It enables organizations to standardize on a single Web conferencing platform to support a variety of use cases. Presenters can completely tailor their meeting environments prior to and during meetings, thereby dramatically improving collaboration. In addition, the product is highly extensible, enabling organizations to leverage third-party pods, as well as integrate with existing systems. No other solution on the market comes close to offering the ease of meeting entry, richness of interactions, or extensibility.

Al Paz, manager, Global Learning Solutions & Applications, Xerox Corporation:

• Adobe Connect provides a mission-critical, real-time collaboration solution for enterprise environments. The enhanced features and functionality in Adobe Connect 8 eliminate technology barriers for all users, by providing an engaging, intuitive, rich user interface.

Denise Fleming, program assistant, Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Office of Public Health Preparedness, Michigan Department of Community Health:

• We are continually expanding our use of Adobe Connect. The easy-to-use interface lets new users get productive in Adobe Connect faster, while enabling our most experienced users to do even more in their Web conferences.

La Tricia E. Austin-Downer, customer support specialist, ADNET Systems, Inc., in support of Federal Highway Administration:

• Adobe Connect continues to deliver a comprehensive and easy-to-use solution for Web conferencing – offering a set of features that stands apart from other Web conferencing solutions.

…more.

The post Web Conferencing News: Adobe Unveils Adobe Connect 8 Web Conferencing Solution appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

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PGi Sells Fax Business to Become a Pure Play Virtual Meetings Company

Company to Use Portion of Proceeds to Reduce Debt

ATLANTA, October 21, 2010 – Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE: PGI) today announced that it is focusing its strategy on virtual meetings with the completed sale of its PGiSend messaging business through the divestiture of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Xpedite Systems, LLC, and certain other assets to EasyLink Services International Corporation (NASDAQ: ESIC) for $105 million in cash.

PGi intends to use a portion of the proceeds from the transaction to repay certain borrowings under its credit facility, including retiring its $50 million Term A loan, and to pay certain transaction fees and closing costs.  The company currently intends to continue its investment strategy of pursuing strategic acquisitions and opportunistically repurchasing shares of its common stock.

“The global meetings and collaboration market is growing in size and importance, and it’s clear why. Today, meetings fuel both business and our daily lives,” said Boland T. Jones, PGi founder, chairman and CEO.  “Meetings that were initially reserved for corporate executives have become a cultural phenomenon, and virtual collaboration technologies are now paramount in getting business done.”

“By selling our fax business, we can now focus one hundred percent of our time, attention and resources on furthering our lead in the virtual meetings market,” continued Jones. “PGi is pouring all of our creativity into new technologies that enable people to collaborate and come together in more enjoyable and productive ways.  We are thrilled with the positive customer reaction to our next generation collaboration product, iMeet® — the first of many new innovations to come.”

About Premiere Global Services, Inc. │ PGi

PGi is a global software and services company that enables real-time, virtual meetings.  For almost 20 years, we have innovated technologies to empower people to connect, collaborate and come together in more enjoyable and productive ways. Every month, we bring together over 15 million people in nearly 4 million virtual meetings. Headquartered in Atlanta, PGi has a presence in 24 countries worldwide and an established base of greater than 30,000 customers, including 75% of the Fortune 100.  For more information, visit us at www.pgi.com.

Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management’s current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere Global Services, Inc.’s forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological changes; the development of alternatives to our services; general domestic and international economic, business or political conditions; risks associated with challenging global economic conditions or a prolonged recession, including customer consolidations, restructuring, bankruptcies or payment defaults; market acceptance of our new services and enhancements, including iMeet; our ability to complete acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired operations; concerns regarding the security of sending information over the Internet and public networks; our ability to upgrade our equipment or increase our network capacity; service interruptions; our dependence on telecommunications supply agreements; our ability to service financial leverage; our dependence on our subsidiaries for cash flow; future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; assessments of income, sales and other taxes for which we have not accrued; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; our ability to protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property rights; our ability to successfully manage the impact of the divestiture of our PGiSend business, including any financial impact from the loss of PGiSend revenue or earnings; possible adverse results of pending or future litigation or infringement claims; federal,  state or international legislative or regulatory changes, including further government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications service providers; risks associated with international operations and fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in and the successful execution of restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto and other factors described from time to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the SEC, including but not limited to the “Risk Factors” sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

The post Fax2Mail News: PGi Sells Fax Business to Focus on Audio & Web Conferencing Services appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Free Conference Call Services Can be Very Tempting

Our customers sometimes ask if we use one specific conference call service to get the best quality conference call recording.  The answer is both yes and no.

Clearly, the quality varies between conference call services.  PGi (Premiere Global Services) has the best audio quality we’ve heard, so we became an agent and have access to all their audio and web conferencing products.  However, we’ve also used several free conference call companies, because many times our customers already have accounts with a vendor—FreeConference.com and FreeConferenceCall.com seem to be the most popular.

There are several problems with free conference call services, and some can effect the quality of your recording.

What are the problems with free conference call services?

1. Many providers move the dial-in number from city to city—most likely because they are chasing the cheapest rates on their end.  I’ve also heard that they make money by routing callers to specific local exchange carriers.  This means that your “permanent” dial-in number is not so “permanent” after all.
2. Free conference call services use toll numbers, so you and your participants will pay long distance charges for the duration of the call.
3. Many times the call quality is poor.  Conference bridge quality can be good, or not-so-good.  Which do you think the free services are using?
4. Just about all of them charge excessively for anything other than a simple conference call.  That means they are expecting you to upgrade when you figure out that the service is not really free (see #2 above and consider how #3 can effect the definition of your brand).
5. A big limitation is the feature set.  Compare free conference call services to PGi’s GlobalMeet and you will see a huge difference.  For example, did you know that GlobalMeet has a web interface/control feature that gives you the ability to see a noisy phone line and mute it with a click of a button?  This feature alone can be a huge differentiator.

For those who must have the best quality—businesses that are going to re-purpose the call into a podcast, for example—we offer the complete line of PGi audio and web conferencing services, including GlobalMeet.  For those who would like to sample our recording quality, we offer a free conference call recording snippet, with no obligation.  That is, we will record your call and send you a sample of it so you can verify the quality before making a commitment.  Did I mention there is no obligation?

So there you have it, the 5 biggest problems with free conference call services.  Why did I not mention the advantages?  Well, because there is only one, and you already know what that is….  It’s free!

Have you had an experience with a free conference call company—good, bad or indifferent?  Tell us about it in the comments below.

The post 5 Problems with Free Conference Call Services appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.