Consider how you'll be using the service. Your organization may run only Windows 2000 with Internet Explorer 6.0, for instance, but outside participants may use a Netscape browser or a Mac platform. Will that limit your functionality--some pages won't be rendered the same and there'll be no ActiveX support? Be sure the system supports all participants' browsers and OSs.
Unless you plan to use streaming media, bandwidth shouldn't be an issue. But look for vendors that let you reduce bandwidth consumption for streaming or screen-sharing to preserve what you need for base functionality.
Most conferencing systems offer a similar set of basic functions. But you can negotiate out some functions to reduce costs. If you don't need screen-sharing, for example, you may be able to shave a few cents off the per-minute charge by disabling it.
Speaking of screen-sharing, it's a powerful tool for demonstrating products. Remote access can be used to give a potential customer a trial run of your product--the customer can play with the user interface, try out features and learn about capabilities. Whiteboards are handy too, letting users scribble shapes, arrows and text. Some whiteboards let you underlay a graphic image so participants can make comments right over it, just like John Madden with his Telestrator.
Also worth considering are moderator capabilities. If you want the option of Q&A segments, choose a system that lets you prescreen the questions, so you can select the best ones or weed out redundant, offensive or irrelevant commentary--crucial for large, anonymous or public meetings. Moderators should be able to control who is speaking and who has control of the whiteboard and screen. Online polling is another handy capability--it gives the moderator the choice of broadcasting the poll results or keeping them confidential.
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