Conference Call Centers

Started by Kalyan, Oct 15, 2008, 10:39 AM

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Kalyan

Conference Call Centers

A conference call is a telephone call in which more than one party can listen in to a telephone call or participate in a  telephone call. Conference calls in which other parties join the call just to listen to the audio of the call and not to  participate or interact with the call are termed ATC (audio teleconference).

Conference call centers are centralized locations where individuals, small business or large corporation can go to conduct a  conference call, to allow other parties to join a conference call or listen in to a conference call.

Conference call centers are usually for individuals or businesses without the technology to conduct these conference calls;  they instead opt for conference call centers that are able to give them not only the technology, but support services to make  sure that their conference calls go smoothly.

Some of the more popular types of conference calls are when businesses report earnings or press conferences, when an  entrepreneur is launching a new product or changing a major system in their business and when an individual or business needs  to communicate with their sales staff or other affiliate staff.

It is important to note the environment of a conference call center. Most conference call centers are usually located near  large clusters of businesses, either in cities or near corporate campuses in the suburbs.

They can also be found near  business hotels or airports. Conference call centers are usually centers with small, medium and large meeting rooms, where  individuals and groups can conduct their conferences via telephone, these rooms are usually insulated for a quiet and noise  free atmosphere, include desks and outlets and internet access for participants to log on to the internet or access  information via their computer and usually include hook ups for projectors and slide shows. In addition, all conference call  centers usually have support staff on duty to help clients with all the equipment and making sure that calls go smoothly.

Besides conference calls, another popular technology that is usually located at a conference call center is video  conferencing. Video conferencing is usually the next best thing in meeting another individual or entity physically. Using  high speed internet connections or phone lines and technology such as web cameras, a conference call center can easily set up  a face to face meeting via the internet.

Not only does video conferencing incorporate video, but also sound as well, so two or more parties can discuss matters in  real time and usually from distances that are great. The obvious advantages of video conference calls is that video  conferencing participants do not have to travel long distances to meet with others, reducing lots of time and lots of money  usually spent on lodging, food and other expenses.

Usually a conference call center will help set up a specific meeting room facility for a video conference. This usually  includes two or more video screens, not only to see the other party, but also to see how you are portrayed from the site. In  addition, there are also audio speakers, microphones and usually an input for both parties to receive a video or computer  presentation.

As with telephone conferences, it is possible for more than two parties to interact with each other via a video conference.  The technique of three or more parties participating in a video conference is called Multipoint Videoconferencing.

Multipoint  Videoconferencing is when a multipoint control unit (MCU) is used to interlink parties on one video conference. Uses for this  technology are for video seminars to sell products and to generate interest in a businesses product, press conferences,  political strategy meetings, internal business meetings, earning or quarterly reports to stock analysts and stock holders,  online classrooms, etc.

For most businesses and organizations conference call centers are an affordable and effective way to communicate with one or  many other parties, either with audio or video. With newer technology such as VOIP, audio and video teleconferencing should  become much more affordable and easier to use.