With the increasing popularity of Web conferences, ICT departments of companies are now taking charge Web conferencing and ensuring standardization on single platforms. However, the jury is still out whether it is better to buy Web conferencing services or host the conferencing software application internally.

Using Web conferencing software and hosting the service internally has its own set of advantages. Web conferencing service providers usually price their services in terms of number of seats and charge for each conference and this can prove to be rather expensive in the long run. Although the initial costs for Web conferencing software may be high, the payback is quick if the number of Web conferences organized is large in terms of their frequency or the number of participants. Having its own Web conferencing software also allows the company to brand it with its own marketing messages so that anyone dialing in receives the marketing communication.

The main disadvantage of hosting the service internally is that the company has to continually keep track of the latest technological developments and keep upgrading the software. It is prudent to opt for a total cost of ownership analysis before making any kind of purchase decision.

While purchasing Web conferencing software a few important factors can have a significant bearing on costs. It is important to specify exactly what users' conferencing requirements are. Cutting down on bells and whistles, which are not really being used, can help in reducing costs significantly.

An ideal approach could be to begin with a Web conferencing solution available in both externally hosted and internally hosted versions, so that customers who wish to initially use the services of an external conference service provider, and then migrate the conferencing software over time to on-site, can do so without user and IT training.