Business Meetings with Zoho Meeting

Seize Command of Your Gatherings

In this digital age, traveling long distances for business meetings is increasingly unnecessary, especially when almost everyone has access to the Internet. It seems ridiculous to have to expend all that effort and money merely to go to a meeting in person. Even if some people may not have access to the Internet, it’s reasonable to assume that most attendees of business meetings do.

Holding and attending meetings online is convenient, inexpensive, eco-friendly, and efficient. Although some may resist, similar concerns were raised when the telephone was first introduced and seen as strange and uncomfortable.

Despite the clear advantages of virtual meetings, many still prefer in-person gatherings. This is like saying, “Instead of calling them, I’ll just drop by their office.” While in-person meetings can be more productive at times, they are costly and time-consuming to arrange, especially when dealing with colleagues in different parts of the world.

Introducing Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting is a cloud-based program that goes beyond just holding online meetings. It is one of the best tools for business meetings, presentations, and remote assistance. By using Zoho Meeting’s features, your company can significantly reduce the need for numerous in-person gatherings.

Key Features of Zoho Meeting

With Zoho Meeting, you can:

• Host web conferences and meetings with an infinite number of attendees, including free one-on-one sessions.
• Engage in multiple meetings simultaneously.
• Ensure a secure session with SSL connections.
• Utilize desktop sharing for presentations and demonstrations.
• Conduct customer care sessions using desktop sharing and remote support features.
• Enable website users to engage with your items through embedded meeting sessions.
• Integrate with audio conferencing tools for users in the US and EU.
• Support outbound calling through Skype (http://www.skype.com).

Zoho Meeting eliminates geographical and temporal constraints from your conversations. Whether you’re in New York City or your living room, you can join a live presentation session taking place in your London branch office. The presenter can share analytical charts or any content by sharing their PC screen, allowing you to take over the meeting if necessary.

Alternatively, your support staff can initiate a remote assistance session, taking control of the customer’s device to resolve issues remotely when customers contact your service department for troubleshooting.

Getting Started with Zoho Meeting

You can access Zoho Meeting at Zoho Meeting or from within Zoho Business. Upon login, you are greeted with a straightforward user interface that takes you to the Meeting homepage.

Creating a New Meeting

To set up a new meeting session where you will be the designated presenter:

1. On the homepage, click on Create Meeting.
2. Locate the Create Meeting form and fill it out with the meeting details:
   • Decide on a date and subject for the meeting.
   • Add a few lines outlining the meeting’s agenda items.
   • Use the Presenter email ID as your default. For voice chat, you can choose Skype and input a genuine Skype ID.
   • Under “Audio Conferencing,” choose Zoho Audio.
   • Set the Leave Control Transfer to Prompt, ensuring participants request permission to take control.

Click Create to proceed. The meeting specifics will appear in the summary on the following page. Although the meeting is set up, it has not yet gone live.

To start the meeting, click the start icon. The Meeting Key area allows uninvited participants to join the meeting. You can sync the meeting’s date and time with your Google, Yahoo!, or Microsoft Outlook calendar by adding it to your schedule.

When you click on Meeting, a supplementary window with the tool that will manage the meeting will pop up. This tool will be installed automatically and requires your permission to start.

Security and Installation

The utility, a Java applet, will be installed if you are using Safari or Firefox. Java applets are small applications that run on your computer to perform tasks that standard browser features cannot handle. Always verify an applet’s source before relying on it.

If you are using Internet Explorer, an ActiveX control will be installed. ActiveX controls function similarly to Java applets but are exclusive to Internet Explorer.

Once you authorize the applet or ActiveX component, the Meeting window and meeting bar will appear at the bottom of your screen. Ensure that none of these windows are closed during the meeting.

Everyone in the meeting can now see what’s on your screen, allowing you to share presentations or documents instantly.

Conclusion

Zoho Meeting is a powerful tool for modern businesses, enabling efficient and effective online meetings, presentations, and remote assistance sessions.

© Image credits to Karen Laårk Boshoff