A populist revolution in audio conferencing

Until recently, “innovation” was not a word associated with audio conferencing. It has seen very little change since its introduction in the 1980s because Ma Bell kept it hidden away in her remote call centers. Enough engineering was done to offer some basic services, but everything else was done manually and users paid a premium. As a result, small and medium-sized businesses rarely used it. The good news to emerge from this grim story is that a populist revolution has begun.

As the decades passed, Ma Bell’s austere audio conferencing services conditioned users to low expectations. When AT&T was sold in the mid-1980s, the Baby Bells repeated the practices with very little change other than reservationless conferencing that issued a permanent call with PIN and 800 number. The current rate for services has not progressed from here. .

The crazy thing about this is that us discerning consumers in general stopped wondering a long time ago if audio conferencing could work better. Ma Bell’s drill sergeants had beaten us so badly we just stood in line, cup in hand.

Audio conferencing has never had a technological champion. Historically, the market leader was the lethargic AT&T, whose once-innovative Bell Labs dabbled in web technologies and then fell apart. The Baby Bells continued this tradition. Therefore, the industry has never had an innovative champion. A new generation of business innovators is starting a populist revolution.

The cornerstone of innovation is being able to provide more services at lower cost. The convergence of phone and web technologies allows for a richer user experience. However, this convergence is easier with two-way phone calls, but much more complicated with audio conferencing. Each audio conference is unique. One conference call can have 10 participants while the next has 400. Regular telephone switches and Internet routers cannot “bridge” such calls. This requires specialized audio conferencing technologies.

Web 2.0 audio conferencing has finally brought the benefits of web-based services. In contrast to same-old-same-old, these services enable features such as:

1. group call-With a touch on your iPhone calling 10, 50 or 100 people at the same time without having to let them know, send a PIN and dial a number, set a time, wait for stragglers, etc.
2. Add participants “on the fly” – Add additional participants while a conference call is in progress without interrupting the conversation.
3. Record – Get an MP3 recording of your weekly sales training to provide new hires.
4. web console – Web controls for online contact lists, call monitoring, video training, help, tech support, account details, and billing.
5. Security and Privacy – Ability to easily select the appropriate privacy level to prevent intrusion on important calls or where required by privacy rules (such as HIPAA).

None of the above features were available with traditional services. Because? It is the nature of technologies. Traditional telephones consist of connecting wires with switches. Web technologies are about managing “data packets” that pass through routers. Also, traditional telephone networks are regulated by the government, while Internet systems are not. All of these differences create technologies that were historically apples and oranges. None of the big players were investing in audio conferencing research and development until intrepid entrepreneurs began looking at this communications problem in the late 1990s.

Web 2.0 audio conferencing combines the best of both worlds. Be aware, however, that many good old-fashioned conference call providers are building websites in front of your old-fashioned, traditional boxes, pretending to be connected to the web and luring you in with all sorts of “bait and switch”. “Bargains. Cheap is no good if it hurts your productivity and the productivity of the people you want to bring together. The cost of people’s time is your biggest expense, not the small cost of your conference call minutes. Invest in your productivity. Be forewarned is cautious.

For more information, google “Web 2.0 Audio Conferencing.”

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