I started working from home full-time in 1991, and through 2002, I worked for two telecommuter-friendly companies. In 2002, my partners and I launched Nemertes Research - a virtual company.

The decision to launch a virtual company didn’t come without significant thought and analysis. Many factors convinced us it was the right thing to do. Not only did it let us hire the best of the best, regardless of location, but it provided a great atmosphere for employees to create work-life balance.

Equally as importantly, though, we believed the necessary IT applications and infrastructure were available—everything from high-speed Internet access to e-mail to mobile devices.

The one application that has helped our workplace and many others is Web conferencing. In fact, in our research, we have found Web conferencing represents one of the most widely deployed of all unified-communications applications: 84% of businesses are using, planning to use, or evaluating Web conferencing. Those who are not planning to use the technology are small, operating over a limited geography, or operating businesses with little need for group collaboration, such as small retail chains, manufacturing facilities, or healthcare networks.

In many organizations, Web conferencing has become a standard part of the communications portfolio, along with a telephone and e-mail. That is exactly what we have done at Nemertes, and we use Web conferencing to share or jointly create documents. Sometimes, I wonder how we collaborated without it!

Most participants in our research said they rely on hosted services, such as Cisco’s WebEx, Microsoft Live Meeting, or IBM Lotus Sametime Unyte, for enterprise-wide Web conferencing. Factors driving the use of hosted services are lower up-front costs, easier support for external meeting participants and faster start-up.

As in-house Web-conferencing applications improve, or become increasingly integrated with other IP applications such as instant messaging or IP telephony, some organizations are taking a fresh look at on-premises solutions. For example, the CIO of a global software company says his firm plans to move from WebEx to Cisco MeetingPlace to better integrate with existing and planned Cisco IP-telephony infrastructure.

Bottom line: Web conferencing is a must-have for a successful virtual workplace.

Robin Gareiss is executive vice president and senior founding partner of Nemertes Research. Click  here for the newsletter archive.