ICT Report: Analysis of Web Conferencing and Online Research

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), focusing on web conferencing providers and online research skills. The first part of the report compares and contrasts two major web conferencing providers, Skype for Business and Cisco Webex, ...Read More

REPORT ICT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Analysing Web Conferencing Providers in terms of application and sustainability for
businesses....................................................................................................................................3
Online Research Skills and challenges faced..............................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Information and Communications Technology, or ICT, is an extension of Information
Technology that is mainly concerned with the integrated enterprise communication services such
as instant messaging, presence information, web & video conferencing and data sharing among
others (Kretschmer, 2012). Hence, one can say that ICT enables convergence of audiovisual aid
and telephone networks with computers through a single link system. Thus, including any device
which facilitates storage, retrieval, manipulation, transmission and acquisition of information
through electronic channels. This report is divided into two parts and aims to compare and
contrast different web conferencing providers so as to analyse sustainability for businesses in
general in first part. Whereas the second part emphasizes the skills required to conduct online
research in the light of challenges being faced.
MAIN BODY
Analysing Web Conferencing Providers in terms of application and sustainability for businesses
Web Conferencing is an umbrella term that covers a diverse set of online services which
are, usually, of collaborative nature. These online services may be in the form of webcasts,
meetings, presentations and so on. It is important to note that during a Web conferencing, the
software utilised is capable of multi-tasking and connecting a large number of participants at one
time (Bazhenova, Taratukhin and Becker, 2012). Usually, web conferencing may be used by
Multinational Corporations that need to communicate, simultaneously, promptly and personally
with the personnel that is employed at different regions of the world. Normally, the web
conferencing applications enable its users to communicate point-to-point in real time along-with
the facilitation of multi-tasking.
In the context of given case scenario, the two main Web Conferencing Providers that
have been taken into account are Skype and Cisco Webex. There are certain similarities present
in both Skype and WebEx (Cisco vs. Skype, 2019). For instance, both the providers include Web
and Video Conferencing, Call Sharing, File sharing, Chat and Brainstorming, Live Support and
Administrative Control over the use of the product. However, the major differences come in the
way these features behave when implemented in a real world business scenario. Thus, Skype
may seem less attractive for different business enterprises in this context in comparison to

WebEx and vice-versa. Even though, the primary differences between the two web conferencing
providers has been discussed as under:
Basis of
Differentiation
Skype for Business Cisco Webex
Developers Skype has been developed by Microsoft
Corporation.
Cisco Webex has been developed by
Cisco Systems.
Versions It is mainly available in two versions-
Skype for Business Server and Skype
for Business Online.
It is available as Cisco WebEx
Premium 8, 25 and 100 which forms
the part of Cisco's collaboration
portfolio.
Cost Skype is cost-effective with a tinge of
'freemium' payment models adopted by
the provider. Currently its pricing range
starts from $2 per user per month with
basic model being free for the users.
Cisco does not include a free option,
specifically, for individual users. It
is much more costly than Skype with
its pricing range initiating from $19
for its basic model itself.
Software
Familiarity
Skype for Business software is suitable
and smooth with those platforms that
use Microsoft Office and related it UI
Applications. A user who is already
versed with this UI will be able to
easily familiarize themselves with
Skype too.
WebEx requires its own distinct user
interface and may not provide
smooth connectivity when integrated
by platforms using Microsoft Office
Suite. Hence, a user who is already
versed with Office Suite may not be
able to easily familiarize themselves
with WebEx.
User Limits Skype for Business can accommodate
250 participants in a single session
regardless of access initiated through a
web application or mobile or any other
medium.
WebEx can accommodate 100
participants in a single session of
conference calling.
Live Support Skype provides a forum-based support WebEx is online but there is no live

which is more generic and common
among Microsoft products. Thus, it is
not suitable for large business
organisations.
phone support available for it. Thus,
it may be suitable for large business
enterprises.
Instant
Messaging
Skype has a highly integrated platform
that facilitates dialling, messaging and
conferencing simultaneously. Hence,
they do not require external sources to
conduct instant messaging activities.
WebEx does not include instant
messaging as an integrated part to its
main product. One needs an
additional external source to conduct
instant messaging activities.
Remote Access Through the availability of Cloud-based
technology feature in extra packages, a
user is able to retrieve/access important
data or any other information from a
remote area. Thus, making it suitable
for those businesses whose workforce is
spread worldwide in large remote
areas.
WebEx does not require any sort of
this feature in any of its package
whether standard or extra.
Multi-channel
Communication
Skype enables Instant Messaging, Call
Recording, Dial In and Out, remote
access as well as online communication
in its packages.
WebEx does not include these
features and requires incurring of
additional costs to include them in
the standard feature or installation of
external applications. Thus, making
them more pricey and unsuitable for
those users who are looking for a
cost-effective ICT software.
Suitability Suitable for large businesses as it can
accommodate more users in one go,
especially, for those who are using
other Microsoft Products.
Suitable for those businesses that are
small in size as this provider has
lesser number of participants that are
connected in a single session of web

conferencing.
Looking at the above distinctions, it can be concluded that Skype for Business is more
suitable for organisations in comparison to WebEx that appears to be a pricey affair for those
enterprises that are looking for an integrated and familiar web conference provider for
themselves.Online
Online Research Skills and challenges faced
Online research can be defined as a methodology to investigate and collect information
using Internet. With the advent of technology, most of the secondary data collected by
researchers all around the world includes conduction of online research. Thus, facilitating cost-
effectiveness and Time-saving along with ease of access to a wide set of information sources.
Some of the most common methods undertaken in relation to Online research include both
collection of primary as well as secondary data. For instance, Online Surveys, Polls,
Questionnaires, forms and focus-groups investigated by way of social media platforms helps in
collection of Primary Data. Whereas accessibility to literary works of previous scholars is also
easier through online research as a large set of data is available at a single place for the
investigator to collect in a relevant and efficient manner.
However, just like any other investigation, online research requires certain skills that
result in successful completion of exploration on the part of the data-seeker. These skills are as
under:
 Attention to Detail:
Attention to Detail is a skill or ability that helps in accomplishment of tasks in a thorough and
accurate manner. A researcher needs to be highly attentive and must have an eye for intricate
details and prevention of mistakes (Rahaman, 2015). Since a vast sea of information may be
available to the researcher in regards to a certain topic or question under investigation, this would
help the researcher in gaining valuable insights even from small portions of data found online.
Challenge: When one becomes so immersed in searching the details from a given dataset, they
tend to forget whether or not such information is even relevant or reliable for them to use.
 Analytical Skills:
These skills are one of the major component of Critical Thinking which is chiefly concerned
with the ability to examine and draw inferences from a given data or information effectively.
Online Research also requires analytical skills as it helps in the critical identification, evaluation

and application of important theories and models in a real world scenario. Thus, enabling the
extraction of only that information which is relevant to the investigation taken into account.
Challenge: Usually, a researcher tends draw inferences from data collected and analysed.
However, while conducting the online research, a person may only look through certain
keywords that may also not give a fuller picture of the questions undertaken to be investigated.
 Persistence and Patience:
It is important for the researcher to be persistent and patient. This means that an investigator
needs to broaden their horizons and gain an overall idea of the topic. Apart from this, patience is
also a crucial skill (Skills and Challenges, 2019). It takes a lot of forbearance to identify, analyse
and infer relevance as well as reliability of a source under online research.
Challenge: Usually, a person might get frustrated or may not look into the articles and journals
in a more detailed manner. Just combing through search results of first two to three pages results
in inclusion of incomplete information in the research, thus, exhibiting lack of patience and
persistence in the researcher.
Thus, it is important to possess the aforementioned skills in order to conduct online
research effectively without facing any challenge in the process.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can clearly inferred that in order to maintain sustainability
among businesses, implementation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
results in reduction in overseas as well as domestic communication costs. Apart from this, it is
also a major contributor in reducing the amount of energy and resources used, movement of
human capital as well as materials along with office space required to conduct business
operations. Thus, also making the business environment more eco-friendly, both internally and
externally. As far as Online Research is concerned it is crucial to possess skills such as critical
thinking, patience, persistence and attention to detail so as to achieve better, relevant and reliable
results.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Kretschmer, T., 2012. Information and communication technologies and productivity growth.
Bazhenova, E., Taratukhin, V. and Becker, J., 2012. September. Impact of information and
communication technologies on business process management on small and medium
enterprises in the emerging countries. In Proceedings of the 11th International
Conference on perspectives in business informatics research. (pp. 65-74).
Rahaman, M. H., 2015. A Survey on Real-Time Communication for Web. Scientific Research
Journal (Scirj). 3(VII). pp.39-45.
Online
Cisco vs. Skype. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://via.co.uk/skype-for-business/skype-for-business-vs-webex/>
Skills and Challenges. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/6-online-research-skills-
your-students-need/>