I'll gladly fill this out for the UDDI TC. Please note
that the cost of funding calls has not been an issue for the UDDI TC
which has been composed over the course of its (short of) 3 years of
operation from representatives from industry, academia and individual
contributors from many parts of the world.
We've been running under an unwritten rule that
industry will host the calls, and that any and all industry participants
big/small need to contribute. This is not an entirely equitable approach but one
that has worked for us and many others I suspect.
From: Scott McGrath
[mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006
12:14
To:
Cc: 'Barbara
Erbes'
Subject: [chairs] TC Teleconference Services questionnaire
Chairs,
We’ve heard the dialogue on the Chairs list about the
problems Committee teleconference costs pose for members – both for
international participants who dial in and for member organizations who
volunteer to host calls.
OASIS is investigating options for funding Committee
conference calls out of member dues.
We have conducted a preliminary analysis based on postings to our central events
calendar, information from our member databases, and the service quotes of
several service providers. This
research indicates that the annual cost of providing fully internationalized
services for every call of every Committee, could exceed 10% of our total
operating budget (over 250,000 USD annually).
In light of the extraordinary costs involved, it is
vital that we take the time to fully understand the expectations and
circumstances of all our Committees, so that we might identify alternatives to
manage costs while still addressing the majority of your needs.
To that end, we’re asking a representative of each OASIS
Committee to spend five minutes answering the following 16 questions on
teleconference usage. We appreciate
that in many cases, the best you can offer is an educated guess. That’s fine. Any information you provide—even if it can’t be
verified by detailed tracking or reports—will be helpful to us.
Only one reply per TC or Sub-Committee is needed, so
please coordinate your responses with co-chairs and secretaries.
Thank you in advance for your
time,
Scott McGrath
Director Member Services
OASIS Committee
Teleconference Requirements Questionnaire
Committee Name:
(If you chair more than one Committee or
Sub-Committee, please fill out this questionnaire separately for
each.)
About your
teleconference use:
On average, how many teleconferences does your Committee
hold each month?
How many minutes does your average teleconference
last?
Approximately how many minutes was the longest call your
Committee held in the past year?
About your
teleconference callers:
How many callers typically participate in your
teleconferences from:
_____ North America
_____ Europe
______Asia
______Australia
_____Other
Do you believe the expense of international
(country-to-country) calling is a limiting factor for OASIS Members to
participate in the Committee you chair?
If so, can you cite specific examples?
About your existing teleconference
support
Does a member of your Committee provide
teleconference hosting? If so, which
member(s)?
If you are generally pleased with the service your
Committee uses most frequently, can you tell us the name of the provider (and
why you like them)?
If you are not pleased with the service your Committee
uses, can you tell us the name of the provider (and why you are
dissatisfied)?
Does the teleconference service provide toll-free
IN-COUNTRY OR INTERNATIONAL TOLL-FREE? access in some areas?
Does your teleconference service provide local numbers
in more than one country?
Can you offer any advice about other services you tried
and discontinued?
About future
teleconference use and support
Given your current situation and the impact to OASIS in
doing so, do you think OASIS should provide teleconference services,
funded by member dues?
If OASIS could provide only limited resources to solve
the largest problems inhibiting member participation, what do you think
reasonable bounds would be?
Indicate your acceptance of the following suggestions,
on a scale of 1 to 5
(5 Meaning you would accept the idea, 1 being you would
not accept the idea)
___OASIS would provide international service with
in-country dial-in for all Committees, all calls.
___OASIS would provide a local dial-in line for the
country in which the majority of Committee members reside, others members pay
their international rates to dial-in.
___OASIS would continue to encourage member
organizations to host Committee calls and covers the costs only when a Committee
is unable to identify a host.
___OASIS would encourage Committees to use free
conferencing services (such as freeconferencecall.com)
___OASIS would not provide any teleconference service
that will have a budget impact
Any other comments or
suggestions:
