I've been tasked with finding a replacement for our traditional conference calling solution. We are on an Avaya phone system that is non-voip. We use a phone-based conference calling service currently that allows for us to hand out an 800 number and an access code in order to join a call, and all participants (including the host) call that number and enter that code. This service costs 13 or 14 cents per minute per participant, which we find to be excessive. Is that in line with your experienceS?.
We are not trying to move to a VOIP-based system. We are looking for a service to replace this one for *audio conferencing*. For a little more background, we're using Lync Online for IM & presence, and WebEx for when we need to do desktop sharing, etc. I am fully aware there are solutions that would bring a lot of these services under the same umbrella, but that is not what I've been asked to do.
We use conferencing sporadically and will go through long periods of zero usage followed by spurts of extremely high usage. For this reason we feel like a pay-by-usage solution would be best, as opposed to any monthly feed service.
So we're just trying to replace the audio conferencing system, with a small wrinkle, which is why I'm posting this @ SpiceWorks.
The wrinkle: *If it were possible* to find a solution that provided both the traditional conference calling like we already have AND provide Dial-in (PSTN) audio conferencing integration with Lync Online, we'd be all over it. I've spoken to some vendors and they offer hosted solutions that provide a more full Lync experience, but I don't think that's exactly what we're looking for.
The most we're really seeking to get out of this is the ability to send a meeting invitation in outlook that contains information for everyone to join a call via Lync or their preferred phone. To join a call via Lync, you'll need the ability to call out via Lync.
So, to begin with -- is this feasible? Every user in our organization is licensed for Lync Online Plan 1 -- would this be enough licensing to add in Dial-In Audio Conferencing on a pay-as-we-go basis?
We've peeked at Intercall, which I've found listed as a provider of this sort of service, but have found it very difficult to to speak with anyone at Intercall who can really answer these sorts of questions with us. Other providers I've spoken to only offer Hosted Lync solutions.
Does anyone have any ideas, or possibly you've used a similar setup? Please feel free to ask me to clarify anything to help you help me! I had a really tough time picking a specific SpiceWorks community to post this in, so if you have any suggestions for finding better support via SpiceWorks, by all means!