Clouds – with their sequel of weird acronyms like SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, to finish with the DaaS –have become the new mantra of web conferencing industry. But are cloud-based solutions always helpful? Do not take the answer for granted. Let’s see some few issues connected with the cloud technology that could lead you to opt for an on-premise server based solution eventually.
Last year, I met a web designer in a co-working place that utilized some cloud-based web conferencing services to communicate with its customers. I discovered that he often had to cope with server hangouts, overloaded bandwidth, poor quality of connections, and other technological hitches. It depended in part from the local infrastructure of the co-working place, in part from the remote networks from which the web conferencing services that he were using were distributed. I realized abruptly that even cutting-edge technologies have their flaws, and that it is important to be able to distinguish between illusions and delusions, when the time comes to make one’s own choice.
For example, cloud based services have some hidden costs that fatally come out when you least expect it. A big problem is connected with the power of your connection: especially HD video conferences stream a lot of data and consume big quantities of bandwidth. So, there is no point in getting connected to the most powerful cloud-based web conferencing service, when you live in a rural area or in a place where the pipe that connects your office to the cloud is narrow. And if you need to equip a remoted ranch or farm with a fast internet connection in order to enjoy the advantage of cloud-based services, you could discover that a traditional on-premise server -based conference call service costs less and works as well.
One of the main problems of providers of cloud-based web conferencing services is the high cost of the outbound bandwidth from cloud servers. They often sneakily translate this cost upon their customers, by setting specific limitations to the use of their services in combination with the obligation to subscribe a business plan( that is far from being inexpensive) on those who wish to enjoy the full range of tools and features of the product.
So, if you compare the offers of different providers of web conferencing services, you will find out that only basic plans are cheap, and that when the time comes to get something more powerful and reliable, it is necessary to pull out the money from the wallet and buy a business or premium plan. And if you compare the business plans that cloud-based web conferencing service providers offer with on-premise based web conferencing solutions , like R-HUB`s TurboMeeting (http://www.rhubcom.com) , you will immediately find out that the latter not only cost less, but it also offers much more in terms of security, reliability and easiness of implementation.
In conclusion, do not take for granted that a cloud-based web conferencing solution is automatically fit for your needs and makes you save money. Mantras work in Tibet, not on the global market, where it is important to carefully weigh the pros and cons of every single decision.