Finding out how to identify your needs and what to look for in a Webinar vendor can be a daunting task. When beginning your search for a Web conferencing or Web meeting solution, it is important to review a number of vendors, visit their Web sites, review live demos, seek client testimonials and, most important, ask a lot of questions. Before taking these steps, be sure to determine your objectives, note the features and benefits you require, and set your monthly budget. Once these objectives are established, be prepared to spend the time required gathering information from each vendor under consideration.

The basic areas that should be addressed before talking to each vendor include:

• How many participants do you expect will attend your Web meetings?
• Will the number of participants remain consistent from meeting to meeting or will the number fluctuate? If so, how much?
• How many meetings will be conducted each week, month, or quarter?
• What type of content will be presented (PowerPoint slides, applications, documents, or spreadsheets)?
• What degree of interactivity do you require (polling, application sharing, instant messaging, live video, file sharing, etc.)?
• How much support do you need before, during, and after your meeting? It is vital to keep in mind the degree of customer service offered varies greatly from vendor to vendor.
• What is your monthly budget?
• Are there any special security requirements you need to deal with?
• Are your attendees accessing your meeting behind corporate firewalls?
• What types of operating systems do you need the service to support?

Once you’ve determined your requirements, it’s time to select a Web meeting vendor. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Select a pricing model: When you shop for Web meeting technology, you’ll find a wide range of pricing plans and conditions. Web conferencing typically is priced either on a software user-license basis (pay-per-seat) or per minute of usage (pay-per-use).

• Pay-per-use: You pay only for the time you and your attendees spend in Web conferences.
• Pay-per-seat: You pay a flat monthly fee for a certain number of concurrent users (”seats”).

At first glance the trade-offs may seem straightforward, however, the answer is much more complicated. Some additional considerations are:

• Minimum number of seats: Most vendors require that you buy a minimum of five seats in a pay-per-seat license model. For example, at $100 per seat, your monthly cost is $500.
• Contracts: Most pay-per-seat plans require a long-term commitment ranging from three months to one year. If you are beginning to use Web conferencing for the first time, you will most likely not make full use of your pay-per-seat plan in the first month or two, but you will pay the full price anyway. You are also obligated to pay if you determine that the technology does not meet your requirements. With pay-per-use, you have more flexibility to make sure the technology meets your needs in a live environment and your costs grow with your actual usage.
• Set up fees: Many vendors charge a set up fee for pay-per-seat pricing (usually ranging from $1,000 - $4,000). Amortized over the first year of the service, the fees increase the monthly pay-per-seat cost. These fees can be negotiated particularly if you are purchasing a large number of seats. Very few pay-per-use plans require a set-up fee.
• Overage charges: In a pay-per-seat model, when the number of concurrent users exceeds the number of seat licenses you purchased, your vendors will apply an overage charge. For example, if you have a five-seat license and conduct a Web meeting with 10 users, you will have to pay for those extra five attendees. These fees are typically charged by a fraction of an hour and can cost as high as $15 per quarter hour. Pay-per-use plans let you include as many attendees as you want at the same per minute price.

2. Make sure it’s easy to use: Most vendor brochures list the same set of features and functionality. The real difference between solutions comes down to how well it functionally works, reliability, and usability. Ask to demo the service as both a participant and meeting host. In each scenario, test each of the features to see how well they work and how easy they are to use. Ask the vendor if free trials are available.

3. Get the features you need: Some Web conferencing solutions only support online presentations, while others offer full-featured packages that include polling, chatting, application-sharing, white boarding and group Web surfing. Do you seek the ability to record and archive the event for playback? Can you transfer files within the meeting? Make sure the product meets your needs.

4. Customer support levels: Determine the customer support level that you require and find out if there are any additional costs involved. There are two types of customer support that you will most likely need.

• Real-time technical support: Attendees will inevitably need help from time-to-time joining your meeting. If so, you cannot afford to get voice mail when contacting technical support. Make sure your vendor has live support available, at least during business hours, without waiting on hold forever. The best thing to do is call each vendor’s customer service number and see if you get a live person vs. voice mail or a never-ending phone menu.
• Pre-conference training and consultation: Is training and meeting planning support available? Is there an extra fee? Is there a telephone number available so that you can contact a support person or is only e-mail support offered? Does the firm offer complete documentation (online and PDF)?

5. Consider security requirements: Depending on the audience and the information being shared, security might be a concern. Most solutions are secure enough and do not store meeting data any place except on the presenter’s PC.Participants only see a graphical representation of the data through a standard Web browser. Some services provide pass-code authorization, SSL encryption, and the ability to lock and unlock the meeting.

6. Make sure the service works with corporate firewalls: If you are meeting or presenting to individuals at business locations, make sure the service will work through multiple Internet ports in the event a primary port is blocked by a firewall.

7. Cross platform support: Find out what the system requirements are. Does the solution support multiple operating platforms including: Microsoft Windows (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP), Mac (which versions?), and Linux?

Pay-per-use pricing is the better conservative choice for most companies learning how to leverage Web conferencing for their businesses. You avoid set up fees and you don’t have to monitor the number of concurrent users in order to avoid overage charges. You can always start with a pay-per-use plan and switch to a pay-per-seat plan once there is a clear, long-term financial advantage.