While it might be easiest for some executives to have a meeting to disseminate information to several people at a single time, not all parts of a meeting affect everyone, according to Heinrich. So while all may attend a Web-based meeting, some can do other parts of their jobs (answering e-mails, calls, etc.) while waiting for the part of the meeting that affects them. However, this sort of multi-tasking also means that someone may miss part of a presentation designed for them. Easy recording for reference, archival purposes
Another benefit recorded and archived training and historical knowledge, says Brian Young, vice president for information technology at Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. "Notes are not a good verbatim record of everything that was said. So Web conferencing is a good knowledge transfer method for the business."
Creighton uses Web conferencing itself to communicate information to and from its Hastings Medical Center, Young adds.
There is no longer much downside to Web conferencing
Companies such as Genesys Conferencing have seen growth rates of 30 to 40 percent in the last year not only due to the benefits above, but also because security concerns have largely been addressed due to readily available encryption, Young says.