With the steady rise in fuel prices here in the United States there has been a dramatic increase in people looking for ways to work from home.

Telecommuting is one option that employees, and employers are starting to take a real hard look at. Gas prices are not the only reason people are looking to do all or part of their work from home.

Employees are tired of devoting long frustrating commute times to get to work. Companies are starting to lose good employees because of it. People are just tired of sitting in traffic or driving long distances today.

A 2005 Survey conducted by The Telework Advisory Group shows that 45 million Americans already work from home at least part time, and 22 million full time. Broadband Internet service has played a big part in helping people get their work done at home.

Other tools that are assisting people get the job done, computers of course, cell phones, VoIP phone service, Remote Computer Access, and a new one that is really starting to take its place is Web Conferencing Services.

Until recently the costs involved with this type of service has been too prohibitive for all but the largest fortune 500 companies. A lot of these companies are still charging a per minute usage fee, but there are others out there today that offer all the bells and whistles with unlimited seating for less then $30 a month.

Here is a listing of some of the standard features you can find with most business conferencing software solutions.

Voice chat using secure VoIP, Web Cam Video allows other members to see who is speaking,White board drawings allows others to quickly share their ideas, Web browser presentations,allows members to pull up web pages and be able to present it to everyone, PowerPoint presentations, File sharing, Desk top sharing, the ability to record meetings, and password protect the conference rooms as well.

Here are a few of the advantages of using a Web Conferencing Service.

Talk intra-office, inter-office,or with other companies this solves email worries. Get the person you want in real time. No snoops or filters.

Empower your Sales department in exciting new ways this allows them to do real time meetings with clients and customers no matter where in the world they are.They can present products and services in an exciting interactive environment. You can bring local and global teams together for a fraction of the cost. They can also meet with hundreds of customers in a single meeting.

Train more employees in different locations for much less time and money. They can give and receive feedback instantly, faster than an in person meetings. Cut time and budget on schedule coordinating, room and food reservations for meetings.

Everyone can brainstorm and present on white boards. Upload Power Point or Flash and give presentations easily. These can also be recorded and played back at a later time.

Team collaboration is essential in every business, especially when it comes to creating budgets, presentations or new product lines.

If all of your key team members can not work in the same office then a Web Conferencing Service can bring them all together. They can share their ideas real time with out the hassle of or the worry of email.

No matter where they are, Marketing in New York, Engineering in Connecticut, Manufacturing in Hong Kong, and Product design in Dallas.

Tech support, and customer support is another area that would be perfect for the stay at home worker. Using an online conferencing solution allows your people to quickly handle any questions your customer may have, if they have a problem with your website, one of your tech support people can simple show them what they need to do.

Web Conferencing Services are helping people reach their global audience better then telephone or email combined, and at the same time helping people work as efficiently from home as if they where in the office.