Having used a variety of platforms, I have found that there are often some technical hitches, or challenges which need to be solved before using the system. Some of the challenges are not directly related to the web conferencing technology itself, but web conferencing in general.

As with all training, it is important to consider where the training will take place for the end user and how it could impact on their participation.

Audio:

There are some things to consider about how audio will impact your participant. The first is their environment. Do they have speakers or headphones for their computer, and does their computer have a sound card (which some may not have in some workplaces)?

If they are going to be listening to the conference at work, and they don't have a headset, will this impact others around them?

If they may want to talk, or are required to talk during the web conference, do they have a microphone working? Perhaps there is background noise which makes this unusable? If they If they don't have headset or headphones, this may generate a lot of feedback unless the system can disable their speakers while they talk.

Video:

Some systems can deliver just one video stream, where others can deliver multiple video streams. The level of quality and the choice of colour or black and white will impact the user's experience of the training.

If the participant is expected to be on video, do they have a webcam, and are they in a room where using the webcam is okay?

Bandwidth:

Although broadband has become more available over the last few years, bandwidth for usage can still be a challenge. Where someone's office may have enough bandwidth normally, if multiple people are streaming a web conference audio and video, this may change things.

If someone is trying to access the web conference session while travelling from a hotel or Wi-Fi, bandwidth and stability of connection may be an issue.

Especially when considering video, care must be given to the choice of colour over black and white if you are going to use one or more video streams, as these can be bandwidth hogs.

Technologies:

Not all web conferencing systems work for all desktops or laptops equally. Some require the use of Flash or JAVA, some platforms require the configuring of firewall rules, and some just don't work well on Linux or Mac as well as they do on Windows.