CONFERENCING

From the March 2005  issue of Communications News

Conferencing supports training

Real-time communications can take many forms, including secure instant messaging. The popularity of instant messaging has, in turn, helped other real-time communications applications, such as Web conferencing, gain a foothold in the business enterprise.

That was the situation at Barr Management, owner and operator of 47 check-cashing locations in and around the greater Chicago area. The firm already had experience with instant messaging, prompting Vice President and General Manager Jon Klein to look for a secure Web conferencing solution that could be easily installed, did not require a high-level of maintenance and most importantly, was relatively inexpensive, intuitive and easy to use.

Klein decided that Web conferencing would greatly enhance the company’s ability to train affiliates, customers and vendors located around the country. Since Barr was already using e/pop secure instant messaging from WiredRed Software, Klein chose to install the company’s Web conferencing product, as well.

“We thought that Web conferencing would be a good complement to secure instant messaging and provide additional functionality not found in IM,” says Klein. “Because it’s entirely browser-based, e/pop Web Conferencing also allows us to communicate in real-time with companies not on our LAN.”

The solution’s architecture provides a platform on which any type of data, including lengthy documents, short text messages, or voice and synchronous video can be delivered in real time.

Klein uses e/pop Web Conferencing to remotely enable vendors, such as Western Union, to train Barr employees on new wire transfer procedures, which is required when routine software updates are completed. Barr also develops check-scanning software that is being used by other check-cashing companies around the country. e/pop Web Conferencing’s remote-control capability streamlines and makes the software training process much more efficient, Klein says.

“We’ve used online Web conferencing services from another company,” says Klein. “The service works really well, but it is too costly for us. Also, I have considerable security concerns about using a service for remote control purposes.”

WiredRed’s conferencing solution addresses security concerns with secure socket layer 3 and transport layer security features. The software’s real-time routing platform delivers the entire conference session over a single port and TCP/IP connection. This allows Barr to secure the entire rich-media experience of all Web conferencing features combined without a reduction in performance.

Barr deployed an early version of e/pop Web Conferencing in 2004. Because there are no server prerequisites, or other software that must be installed to support the application, deployment took approximately 20 minutes.

As a company that relies on the security of its network to protect assets, Barr has instituted a lock down on software that can be installed on any client desktop in the company’s 47 exchanges. In order to adhere to strict security policies, each exchange communicates with the headquarters office via a T-1 Internet connection and a private line network through a firewall. Barr Management also hosts its own e-mail server and has installed virus and spam protection filters on the Windows 2000 and XP servers in order to decrease the likelihood of being hit by a destructive virus. Barr utilizes a standard, non-dedicated server for e/pop Web Conferencing.

“e/pop Web Conferencing has proven that it can be a reliable, fast and secure means to conduct conferences for training, remote control and, in the near future, company-wide meetings that don’t require travel or time out of the office,” says Klein.

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This article was written by Lori Scribner, a free-lance technology writer based in San Diego.