Virtual meetings

A web conference provides audio and video communication, plus other collaborative services. Application sharing enables two or more remote users to edit the same file and view the results in real time. The applications shared are usually text editors, AV programs and spreadsheets, but the system can handle more specialized software such as CAD if required. Another tool is a virtual whiteboard, which can be used in presentation mode, or with simultaneous editing.

The Sametime meeting room supports audio and videoconferencing. Meetings can be scheduled, and instant messaging and chat functions are available. Sametime provides presence awareness and users can see not only whether others are online, but may be able to see whether another person is working from home, or from a remote office, as indicated by the IP address. The Sametime system can be extended to IP telephones.

Web conferencing is becoming easier to initiate, cheaper and more advanced. "Office Communication Server 2007 provides Roundtable, an automated videoconferencing session that delivers a 360 degree view of the conference room, and also use voice response to zoom in on individual speakers and track them if they move to demonstrate a point or use the whiteboard," notes Sweeting.

Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2005 is a hosted web conferencing service that supports online meetings, with the industry's first integrated conference call controls for leading audio conferencing service providers. It also has the ability to manage a live meeting session from any of the Office applications. It is multilingual, with seven language options.