How to Choose an Conference Call Service Provider
There are around ten teleconferencing service providers in the Australian market, three years ago there was a lot of difference between them. Now it is not so easy to spot why some are better than others. The following looks at the main areas to consider when selecting a conferencing service provider.
Product suite
Most conference calls now take place using on-demand services because it is the most convenient and cheapest way to meet. All teleconferencing service providers provide this.
There are some small differences between providers but they are so small that 99% of users will be able to use any service. They are pretty much interchangeable.
Teleconferencing service providers all have long lists of features but the reality is that few users utilise the majority of them.
A few years ago operator managed was an important service but is now only offered by a small number of conferencing service providers. Its use is really limited to people who started using conferencing a long time ago or who can afford to pay a premium over automated services.
Support
When it comes to support, the biggest factor is the type of conferencing platform used and where it is located.
Good service providers use extremely reliable platforms made by a small number of manufacturers. You should expect to hear one of these names, Avaya, Compunetix, Polycom, Presscom, Spectel or Voyant. If you don’t, the conferencing service provider is using less reliable equipment.
To provide the maximum level of redundancy a conferencing platform should to be co-located with a telephone company’s voice switch/exchange. So look for names like: Telstra, Optus, Macquarie Telecom, Primus, MCI/Verizon or AAPT.
These are basic facts for the conferencing sales person, you can probably draw your own conclusions if they cannot provide an instant answer.
What sort of support do they offer?
The very least a customer should expect is that there is a speedy response to an enquiry, service issue or account query. If there are service issues they should be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible. The person dealing with any of these should be readily available and knowledgeable.
This is easy to test, dial the prospective conferencing service provider and ask some questions, here are some examples of the things you should expect the people answering the phone to know:
- Is my bill rounded up to the nearest minute or do you charge per second?
- Can I have participants joining by 1800 number and a regular phone number all in the same conference?
Do I trust my teleconferencing service provider?
Companies are often very good at selling but weak at delivering.
If you have an issue, does your conferencing service provider tell you what you need to hear or do they tell you what you would like to hear? Have they ever given you bad news or told you that the problem was user error? If not, can you really trust them to tell the truth when you need it?
Are they easy to work with?
The major telephone companies (with the exception of Telstra) outsource their conferencing to third parties. This typically makes the relationship less flexible and supportive than a direct relationship.
Price
Not so long ago this came in as a distant third in the selection process after product suite and support. Today, with almost identical services on offer, price becomes a much more important factor.
There is a huge range of prices in the market. The telephone companies have the luxury of being the most expensive. They are often chosen because it saves from shopping around.
Do I like working with my conferencing service provider?
Only you can judge this. Your conferencing service provider should provide the product suite you need at a realistic price. They should be easily available and responsive, giving honest recommendations. It should be assumed that the service is reliable.
Product differentiation
Again, not so long ago there were real differences, now the differences for most users are unimportant. Of course in the land of marketing there will always be a new must have feature. Take a look at some claims to uniqueness.
