The Conference Group recently added a new feature to its award-winning Web-based conferencing service that allows a conference leader or other user to create and maintain lists of conference attendees for automatic dial-out.

The new capability, dubbed “UBlast,” allows a user to quickly get a pre-defined group of people on a conference call with just the click of a mouse. Using a proprietary Web interface, a conference leader can easily create, add, delete or modify “dial-out” lists, and then enact them automatically upon entering the conference (or manually by entering a code).

When UBlast dials out to a participant, the participant is prompted to press 1 on his or her keypad to join the conference. No pass code is needed -- however a dial-out “authorization form” must be “signed” by the account contact person in order for that user to be authorized.

This latest feature to the Conference Group’s reservation-less conferencing service is offered free of charge for current and prospective users. It’s a feature that will no doubt save users a great deal of time, as it will enable them to send invites out to entire, predefined groups all at once, as opposed to having to contact individual users one at a time, which can be time consuming (especially if there’s dozens of users that need to be on the call).

"UBlast allows our customers the ability to maintain a real-time dial-out list of conference participants," said Greg Plum (News - Alert), director of channel development, the Conference Group. "A conference host can literally get hundreds of participants on the line with a simple telephone keypad command."

All a user has to do is get a UBlast login (which can be done by clicking here) and then visit http://www.conferencegroup.com/ublast and enter the login information. Upon entry, the user will be presented with a special Web page where they can create and modify their dial-out lists.

Users can set their lists to “auto-dial” automatically upon entering the conference as a leader. Or, to “manual dial,” all the leader has to do is select the list and press *92 on the telephone keypad to initiate the blast dial-out.

This unique, productivity-enhancing feature will no doubt be of great value to company managers and executives who frequently need to hold impromptu “live” meetings with geographically-dispersed workers. It’s also a great feature for workers in marketing and sales departments who need to quickly launch ad-hoc conferences with groups of resellers, partners, customers and/or prospects.

The most important thing for a user is -- just make sure you are blasting out to the proper list -- otherwise you could mistakenly invite a bunch of users who don’t need to be on the call!

The Conference Group (News - Alert) recently launched the Conferencing and Web Conferencing channels on TMCnet. Both channels offer news and information about the company and its products, as well as industry research, whitepapers and other information that is useful for companies seeking Web-based, on-demand conferencing services.