The Impact of Web Meetings on Broadband Fees
The cost of high intensity internet use for medium and large businesses is a well-documented subject. However what is not so well documented is the effect of collaborative applications like Gotomeeting on the cost of the Internet for businesses in the long term. For companies that have international links and offices scattered around the world, the ability to conduct web meetings over the Internet without having to incur travel costs and waste employee time by traveling has been a notable blessing. However, it is quite important to consider the minor yet significant costs that switching to a system like Gotomeeting may incur. Therefore we must ask the question “how much bandwidth is used over one year conducting online meetings?” the question is surprisingly easy to answer. However we must have accurate data as to the frequency of online meeting of occurrence. We categorized companies into three groups representing their use of a standard program, for which we chose Gotomeeting due to its deep market penetration.
- Group 1: 1-10 meetings per year
- Group 2: 11-100 meetings per year
- Group 3: 101-1000 meetings per year
What is the True Cost of Web Meetings?
The data for group one, which engaged in 10 or less Gotomeeting sessions per year, unsurprisingly returned a negligible amount of bandwidth used. It can be equated to approximately 1 weeks e-mail use under standard frequency demands. In regard to group 2, the data showed that the increased bandwidth demands of the online meeting software equated to an additional yearly cost of no more than $40. Any business would find this acceptable. In group 3 however the results were surprising. Internet broadband providers tend to have exponential cost price models with set limits incurring disproportionate costs when exceeded. For companies that held between 500 and 1000 web meetings per year or more, the average increased Internet service provider cost was about $850, and in the worst case it reached a high of $2120.
In a medium size business with tight budgets and intense international conferencing needs, using a program like Gotomeeting this regularly may well add a significant amount to the company’s costs. Of course, this only holds true if an ineffective and inappropriate Internet service provision deal is in effect. Users of the software recommend that the correct Internet plan is in place before highly intense meetings, in terms of frequency, begin to take place.
