Disadvantages of Web Conferencing
Just as there are two sides to every coin, web conferencing also has its advantages and disadvantages. For all its many perceived advantages from being cost-effective to efficient in delivery of collaborative measures, web conferencing also has its own set of disadvantages. And since most articles found on the web are touting the many advantages of web conferencing, in this article, we will focus more on the disadvantages or the cons to web conferencing.
Disadvantage 1: The Risk Factor
This is no doubt one of the pervading problems or disadvantages that are currently besetting web conferencing. Everyone who knows his software technology is aware that for every new development that comes our way, the potential for security risks are also made manifest. Web conferencing service poses a potential security risk in that the same aspect that makes this tool amazing also makes it vulnerable to hacker attacks. This is because web conferencing bypasses the normal security policies that a company’s IT personnel establish. And because of this, the risk of revealing a gap in a company’s finely tuned security system becomes greater.
Disadvantage 2: Application Sharing Increases Risk
Web conferencing services bypass policies through its main feature, which is application sharing. This “sharing” between participants actually enables the system to access from the outside where risk factors are abound. Also, a conferencing system bug can create security vulnerabilities which add to the overall disadvantage of using web conferencing.
Disadvantage 3: Hackers
It is a sad fact but hackers these days are increasingly becoming more sophisticated with their use of less than savory skills. Their job is to exploit the problems found in corporate IT systems in order to infect it with malicious software, intercept documents and other files passed during sessions. During web conferencing, it is unavoidable that sensitive information is disclosed and therein lies the disadvantage of such a system. Hackers may also exploit the web conferencing system in order to gain entry to conference participant’s systems and files.
Disadvantage 4: Conferencing Servers
In an effort to combat security breaches due to external hosting of web conferencing servers, companies are beginning to set up their own server. In this way, they have better control of the conferencing environment and reduce the risk to security. However, one disadvantage of such a practice is that companies that run their own web conferencing servers must use their own bandwidth for group meetings. This can be a problem for small businesses since bandwidth can be expensive and just defeats the whole purpose of using web conferencing as a cost-effective alternative to face-to-face meetings.
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