As Published In May 2004

Getting Started with Web Conferencing
By Caroline Kvitka

One of the fastest, easiest ways to get your organization on its way to better collaboration is with Web conferencing. With Oracle Web Conferencing, your organization can get up and running with little implementation time and minimal administration and overhead.

For BAE Systems, a manufacturer of military aircraft, surface ships, space systems, and other defense products, Web conferencing improves productivity and shortens the product development lifecycle. "Oracle Web Conferencing is literally changing our culture. It enables us to achieve full integration across multiple sites, businesses, and partners, which reduces product development time. It also increases meeting productivity and the effectiveness of our communications, helping this global company communicate like a local company," says Jason Last, solutions architect for BAE Systems Naval Ships.

With Oracle Web Conferencing, employees can address issues in real time rather than playing e-mail and voice mail tag. Real-time collaboration increases information sharing and gives context to that information. It's an ideal platform for meetings, training sessions, and sales presentations.

The standard pay-per-meeting licensing model of other Web conferencing products can actually inhibit employee usage, because they have to consider whether it's worth the cost of holding a conference. Oracle's pricing model actually encourages usage and "spur of the moment" Web conferences. Unlike other Web conferencing products, Oracle Web Conferencing charges a license fee per employee, not a per-meeting fee. A perpetual license for Oracle Web Conferencing costs US$45 per user; an annual license fee is US$11 per user. People outside the company can attend conferences free of charge.

Oracle offers several options for getting started. With the Oracle Collaboration Suite Accelerator Service, Oracle Consulting helps you implement key components of the suite in 15 days, for a fixed price. And for enterprises that would rather not worry about managing the software themselves, Oracle Web Conferencing is available as an on-demand, hosted service, along with the entire Oracle Collaboration Suite.