Recently while working for a client, they asked me to suggest them a Webconferencing tool and also build a strategy on how to really put the tool into the use within the organization. I started doing a lot of research on what are the tools available in the market. I am now sharing those tools we can use and also a brief synsopsis on each one of them.
Adobe Connect Pro. Adobe offers a hosted and an on-premises solution with the same host and participant experience. The product has the standard pre-meeting, in-meeting, post-meeting features, but it adds learning features. The meeting-centric product handles 100 participants, and the Web event product scales up to 1,500 participants. Adobe offers per-host, per-port (simultaneous participant), or per-minute pricing with the opportunity to prebuy blocks of minutes.
Cisco WebEx. WebEx was one of the early and most popular Web conferencing vendors, particularly for sales activities. WebEx is a hosted solution only, but Cisco has added a router add-in so that firms can keep internal conferencing traffic inside the corporate network to enhance security and save on roundtrip bandwidth. Cisco's Meeting Center can handle 500 participants, its Training Center supports 1,000 participants, and its Event module can scale to 3,000 participants. Cisco offers per-host, per-port (simultaneous participant), per-minute, or per-use pricing.
IBM LotusLive. IBM offers a hosted solution through its acquisition of WebDialogs that focuses on external meetings and Web events. The product has meeting capacity for 1,000 participants. Participants do not have a download, but the host must have a Microsoft Windows plug-in to use the application-sharing feature. The product provides the most common pre-, in-, and post-meeting features including Web touring and live video. Pricing is a per-host model.
IBM Lotus Sametime. Sametime is IBM's real-time collaboration tool kit, which includes presence, instant messaging, voice integration, video, and Web conferencing. The solution is targeted at internal meetings with support for up to 250 participants. Sametime clients are available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. The pricing model is per user with a perpetual license.
Microsoft Live Meeting. This hosted Web conferencing offering of Microsoft is sold through Microsoft Online Services or from partners. The solution provides pre-, in-, and post meeting features, as well as some learning features like breakout rooms, testing, and material distribution. The offering supports 1,250 participants, which allows use in small meetings, Webinars, and large events. Microsoft offers a per-user model with no charge to participants joining from outside the organization. It also has a per-minute pricing model.
Microsoft Office Communications Server. Microsoft's on-premises Web conferencing solution is part of its real-time collaboration platform. The "RC2" version of this product, when linked to the Office Communicator client, offers participant video, application-sharing, and the traditional features. While the product is typically used for internal meetings, it does allow external participants to join. The offering supports 250 participants. The pricing model is per user for internal users, though external participants can join at no cost.
Hope you find this information useful in case you are also considering to implement one Webconferencing tool in your company.
In my next blog I will now touch base on some of the strategies we should look into to make the use of Web Conferencing tool as well as the implementation within the organization successful.
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