Macquarie spruiks web conferencing

The company said it believed users could cut conferencing costs 50 percent by using integrated web and audio conferencing instead of physical travel.

Chris Greig, sales director at Macquarie Corporate Telecommunications, said other providers' products were "inflexible" and "expensive" compared to Macquarie's offering, which costs $75 a month for unlimited web conferencing for up to 15 participants.

Macquarie Automated Conferencing is aimed at organisations with mobile workers or offices in different sites. The audio and Web service uses web streaming and multipoint desktop video, visual document sharing and can send out invitations, quizzes and polls to users. The package can run on "any" operating system and interface with popular apps such as Microsoft Outlook, the company said.

"Customers can organise a conference in minutes from home, office or in transit. New web services capabilities can perform everything from emailing participants to maintaining databases of those that attend," Greig said. Macquarie Conferencing manages the conference from scheduling to supervising the meeting. Customers can opt for an on-site Macquarie technician to assist with set-up and online assistance from a live operator or a fully automated Internet-based system.