Compare Video Conferencing Vendors + Select the Right Solution

May 1st, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Conferencing, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing

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Sign up for my video webinar—Put Your Prospecting on Steroids—with sales expert Josiane Feigon next Tuesday, 5/8 at 2pm ET.

Not all video conferencing tools are designed with the end user in mind. For example, many platforms can work okay when two people want to connect, but what happens if you need to host a meeting of 10—let alone 500?

With so many video conferencing solutions on the market, it can be hard to find the right one unless you’re some kind of telecom expert. Here are some of my secrets for choosing the right features, support and scalability in your video conferencing solution.

STEP ONE: Assess the Pain

Also look at how your team is currently trying to reach your objectives.

Are you spending thousands of dollars unnecessarily to travel to client sites?

When your sales team connects with buyers, is each interaction meaningful and profitable?

Ask your salespeople for their pain points in interacting with prospects and customers. Unless you want to keep getting the same results, you need to do something different.

STEP TWO: Determine Use + Get Rich Quick

EmailStatCenter.com, Forrester, Josh Bernoff, Virtual Conferencing, virtual meetings, web conferencing

12 ways you can green your office

April 30th, 2012 by Lea Green Posted in Conferencing, Favorite Things, iMeet, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings

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It might be the last day of Earth Month, but it’s never too late to consider all the ways you can improve the environment, increase efficiency, and lower the costs of your office by going green. PGi‘s latest infographic features the work of Tony Shasteen, illustrator for USA Network’s “Burn Notice” graphic novel. Click the image below for all the details:

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iMeet Shines Bright – Wins Silver at 2012 Edison Awards

April 27th, 2012 by Kim Casey Posted in iMeet, PGi, Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing

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We won! During last night’s 2012 Edison Awards ceremony in New York City, iMeet received Silver honors for Best New Product in

Business Communications. The Edison Awards, now in its 25^th year, has become one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation. Among fierce competition by Citrix’s GoToMeeting with HD Faces and Polycom’s Real Presence Mobile, we are extremely honored to be selected as a top innovative videoconferencing solution.

PGi had one goal in mind when creating iMeet – abolish soul-sucking meetings. The iMeet experience is unlike any other product on the market. It expands on basic video conferencing, giving users their own personal online meeting room that integrates with their favorite social media and file sharing applications. A cloud-based application, iMeet was designed to be simple, personal, and mobile, giving you the freedom to collaborate whenever and wherever. And with a slick interface that helps bolster your creative juices, we know that your meetings will be more productive and enjoyable.

Thomas Edison transformed our world through his ingenuity and creativity. We’re ecstatic to exemplify his legacy of innovation – one meeting at a time.

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Combatting the Dangers of Multitasking

April 26th, 2012 by Joshua Erwin Posted in iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Tips and Tricks

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A recent infographic caught my eye about how the Internet is allegedly ruining our brains. In particular, I was struck by the idea that while technology allows us to be more efficient with easy multitasking, the constant demands we’re making on our brains is contributing to stress and creating a drain on creativity!

We’re all guilty of it. Be honest: how many tabs do you have open right now in your browser? How many applications are running? How many times, while reading this post, have you glanced at your inbox? As a technology geek, it honestly never occurred to me that being able to do more things in more ways could be a detriment to my performance. After all, multitasking is simply part of doing business in an always-connected world where information is shared instantly.

So how do we deal with this problem? It’s clearly not a simple matter of less tabs and applications; the frustration of constantly having to reopen a frequently used program or website certainly won’t help that stress issue. What we really need is software that provides an opportunity, or even a place where we can maintain connectivity while shutting out the stress and noise of two monitors filled to the brim with tabs and programs.

iMeet, meeting tips, multitask, productivity, stress

How to Make the Most of your Virtual Relationships

April 25th, 2012 by Jordan Biasetti Posted in Collaboration Technology Services, Conferencing, GlobalMeet, iMeet, PGi, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Web Conferencing

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The other day, my monthly subscription to The Atlantic arrived with a cover story suggesting an idea I’m sure you’ve contemplated, but that we as a society are all tiptoeing around. Is Facebook making us lonely? Studies suggest that it can.

In The Atlantic article, writer Stephen Marche interviews the world’s leading expert on loneliness, John Cacioppo, who discovered that the way you use Facebook determines whether the site – and social media in general – improves or harms your social life.

Marche wrote, “In one experiment, Cacioppo looked for a connection between the loneliness of subjects and the relative frequency of their interactions via Facebook, chat rooms, online games, dating sites and face-to-face contact. The results were unequivocal. ‘The greater the proportion of face-to-face interactions, the less lonely you are,’ he says. ‘The greater the proportion of online interactions, the lonelier you are.’”

globalmeet, iMeet, PGi, social media, Virtual Conferencing

15 Most Common Questions about Video Conferencing for Sales

April 24th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Conferencing, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies

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More and more, sales professionals are using video conferencing technology like iMeet to get results with the online sales call. Here are some of the most common questions I get from salespeople who are thinking about improving their sales by getting face-to-face with their prospects online:

1. Q: How does PGi train its own sales reps to use iMeet?

A: Our reps live and breathe with the application. We record our online training sessions and review video presentations with sales leaders.

2. Q: Can you use iMeet with social media tools and social networks?

A: Absolutely. Once I have my room in iMeet, I can post it anywhere. I can invite prospects via LinkedIn or Twitter.

3. Q: Can iMeet share documents?

A: Yes. A file cabinet is part of your iMeet meeting room. You can put PowerPoint and video in your file cabinet and bring them to any video meeting.

4. Q: How many people can be on an iMeet video call?

A: At one time, 15 guests can be live with streaming video. They can collaborate and build relationships throughout the sales cycle, not just at the beginning and end. Instead of having phone calls and exchanging emails in between quarterly in-person meetings, all you have to do is send out a link to whoever you want in your video conversation.

5. Q: Is iMeet in other countries?

A: We are in 12 countries now and expect to increase that number.

6. Q: Does iMeet integrate with CRM?

A: Not yet, but we expect to by the end of 2012.

7. Q: Does iMeet charge for video time?

A: You get unlimited video and audio for $69 per user per month with iMeet. Price breaks begin at five users, and there are discounts for annual and multi-year deals.

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Digital Nomad Tip #33: Welcome Enterprise Technology to Your Home

April 23rd, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Collaboration, Collaboration Technology Services, Conferencing, Cora the Digital Nomad, GlobalMeet, iMeet, PGi, Telecommuting, Virtual Meetings

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Konnichiwa and greetings from Tokyo! Nowhere else have I found a culture so strongly dedicated to efficiency, commerce and technology - From futuristic robots to loos smarter than most humans and the world’s largest broadcasting tower, Tokyo’s got it covered.

Over the past 10 months on the road, visiting PGi’s 30+ global offices, I have used PGi’s virtual meeting solutions, iMeet® and GlobalMeet®, to join meetings, present important ideas, on-board new team members and keep rapport with my stakeholders. Unlike most enterprise technology, I use iMeet and GlobalMeet because they’re browser-based so it’s quick and easy to start the meeting . They’re also simple and let the meeting be about my guests, not features.

After almost two years of using the products to break down communication barriers at work, I’ve started using them “at home.” Recently, I took my accountant through a few tax documents thanks to GlobalMeet’s screen share and recorded the meeting for my husband to review afterwards. I’ve also been able to make an appearance at my friend’s wedding and share a few words during her rehearsal dinner via iMeet.

GlobalMeet Brings Me Face-to-Face with My Accountant 5K Miles Away

The same technology I use to join my Monday morning status call is my technology of choice for connecting with friends and family. Most knowledge workers are familiar with the rise of consumer technology in the workplace – multimedia, mobility and social networking . However, similar to the BYOD trend, my personal technology choices are taking notes from my 9-to-5 and influencing the technology I bring home.

While abroad this year, I’ve met new babies, congratulated the newly engaged and even approved my mom’s sofa choice through the same technology I use to take my team through an Excel sheet. I believe that this convergence is an indicator of technology that is easy to use and dare I say fun.

Have you used enterprise technology in your personal life? Which business technology will find its way into the consumer marketplace next?

BYOD, consumer technology, globalmeet, iMeet, screen share, technology enterprise, teleworking, video, video conferencing, virtual meetings, web conferencing

It’s a Go Green Takeover! Telecommuting, Green Apps and Green Offices in the PGi Newsletter

April 20th, 2012 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in Favorite Things, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Meetings

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Happy Earth Day, everyone! In honor of the global go green movement, PGi’s newsletter goes interactive this month with an exciting new site chock-full of environmental sustainability goodness to learn how to go green — and have fun doing it! View PGi’s Earth Day newsletter here!

Advice to cut business travel costs — for the environment and your business — with online meetings, flexible work arrangements and telecommuting.
Top 10 Green Apps to manage gas prices and carbon emissions.
Use VoIP softphones to save the environment, one phone call at a time.
Great tips for greening your office without the cost or the hassle.
Survey to learn just how green you are — and how to become a green expert.

Want to receive the PGi newsletter in your inbox every month? Email us at LearningSpace@PGi.com for monthly tips, tricks and industry advice on green business, telecommuting, presentation ideas, email etiquette and better meeting management.

How are you celebrating Earth Day? Any local events in your community you can share with the PGiBlog community?

green, PGi, telecommuting, virtual meetings

Interviewing on iMeet: A Personal Perspective

April 19th, 2012 by Joshua Erwin Posted in Collaboration, iMeet, PGi, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings

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You’ve heard from other PGi bloggers about how iMeet can revolutionize the interviewing and hiring process, bringing the right talent to the right position regardless of the location of either. I’m here to present a personal perspective of just how much better an iMeet interview can be.

While interviewing for my new job at PGi, I had three interviews for a position in Atlanta, Georgia, over 500 miles away from where I was currently living in St. Louis, Missouri. I met with a total of eight different interviewers located across the country and across the globe, ranging from Montana to Hong Kong!

Sure Beats the Drive

All of that virtual globetrotting was as simple as entering a web address, thanks to the flexibility and ease-of-use of iMeet.

iMeet, interview, PGi, remote interview

How to Go Green this Earth Day with Green Mobile Apps

April 18th, 2012 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in Favorite Things, PGi, Telecommuting

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Earth Day is upon us, loyal citizens of our great planet. We’d all love to learn how to go green, but with the stresses of our everyday lives and perceived hassle of greening our homes, cars and offices, we often slip back into old habits after the Earth Day hype dies down. Good news, all: There’s an app for that.

In honor of Earth Day, whip out your iPhones, Androids and tablets and try PGi’s Top 10 green apps to implement environmental sustainability practices in your home, commute, office and community.

greenMeter The iPhone and iPod Touch app from Hunter Research & Technology calculates your vehicle’s power and fuel usage to provide feedback on how you can increase efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and ultimately lower your environmental impact. (iTunes®, $5.99)

GoodGuide For Green newbies, GoodGuide’s Yelp-esque app is a compendium of over 120,000 products weighed on a health, environmental and societal impact scale. So next time you’re shopping for dish soap, pull out this app and scan the barcode to retrieve product ratings and information to make a greener purchasing decision. (Web, iTunes and Android Market, Free)

Evernote Go green and reduce your paper waste using this popular digital note taking and collaboration app. To-do lists, agendas, meeting notes, grocery lists and even seamless integration with video conferencing tool iMeet eliminates sticky notes, print jobs and handouts in the office or the grocery store. (Web, iTunes, Android Market, Free or $45 for Premium)

green, how to go green, mobile apps, PGi