What is web conferencing?

Web and phone conferencing solutions and pricing for medium enterprise

• We are researching options and costs to replace our Webex web conferencing solution. Our company has approx. 3,000 employees, but usage varies as follows: * up to 100 employees will use web conferencing more than 12 times / year * up to 250 employees will use web conferencing 6 to 2 times / year * up to 500 employees will use it no more than once / year * attendance per session will vary from a maximum of 50+ employees (rare), medium of 20 employees (sometime), and minimum of <10 employees (typical) Our needs are limited to: For Web Conferencing: * desktop sharing (primarily MS Office products such as PowerPoint, Excel, and MS Project) * occasional software demos for training or proof of concept purposes * phone conferencing with North American 1-800 number, or local number accessible anywhere For Phone Conferencing: * Ability to support 1-800 and local access numbers * Password and separate chair person access code * Support for 5-6 callers (typical), 10-20 callers (often), and 20+ callers (occasional) We have had good experience with Citrix Go2Meeting in terms of features and ease of use, but are keen on ensuring that costs are competitive, and will trade features in favour of cost. Ideally the pricing model will include a base cost for most features, and scale upward as needed with detailed billing to identify usage. We would like at least Webex and Go2Meeting to be included in the analysis as a means of comparison on features and costs. We are looking for research on popular solutions for these services, with special emphasis on understanding the pricing model being offered for both web conferencing and phone conferencing. Our headoffice is located in Toronto, Canada, therefore services should be available here. Our Wan uses firewalls, so services must be accessible over the web using MS Explorer within and outside of our firewalls. Thank you for your assistance.

• Answer:

  Hello mlaudisa, Thank you for your question. I've only included web/videoconferencing solutions available that are (or might be, depending on how you will use them) less expensive than Citrix Go2Meeting. I've provided links to reviews and overviews of all these companies' software and outlined the features and cons, if there are notable ones. There are solutions available that are more expensive than Citrix-- namely, Windows Live Meeting and Macromedia Breeze. These products are rated by independent sources such as PC Magazine as not being as effective as the Citrix software anyway and are more expensive, so I have not included them in my analysis. I recommend Interwise as your best choice; it costs a flat fee per user and then allows unlimited use of audio and video conferencing. You can have audio conferencing without video and the service is more flexible than others, allowing you to have as many people in a meeting as your company wishes (most others limit it to 10 or so). You can integrate it with either traditional telephone lines or VOIP. If it is too expensive to pay a flat fee for every employee who needs to use it during the year, you could use it for the core employees who conference all the time and use another system for the employees who only do it once in a great while, such as Genesys which I recommend below, which charges not on a subscription basis but per minute usage. Whether it is worth deploying two different systems depends on your needs-- is cost a huge issue or convenience? If you have certain employees who are conferencing constantly, it is obviously in your best interest to pay a fee for unlimited usage for them. There are some other options that I have also provided specs for below. However, that may not be an issue. I may be mistaken but I believe that if the licenses you have never exceeds the number of participants, you will not be charged extra. For example, if you buy 200 licenses, you could have all 500 employees using the system at different times, as long as more than 200 are not using it concurrently. You wouldn't have to pay for 500 users, just 200. I get that impression from this webpage: ConferZone http://www.conferzone.com/resource/Interwise_0904.html 'Unlimited usage ? there are no concurrency limits and no limits to minutes or seats. Also, there is no additional charge for people joining from outside of the company. For example, one can own 200 concurrent internal licenses but if a connection to 200 external attendees is needed, there is no additional charge for them.Interwise also allows on-site customers to seamlessly use its hosted service to handle conferencing "overflows."' I have contacted Interwise to ensure that they offer service in Canada. If they do not, the other choices here should also meet your needs. From this press release it does seem that they are focusing on marketing in Canada: Interwise Press Release http://www.interwise.com/press_detail.asp?pressid=131 On a secondary basis, depending on how much conferencing you use, Genesys could be a good solution. They do not have subscription fees but instead charge per minute, so you're only charged for what you use. This way, you're also not locked into a certain system. ---------- Interwise ECP Edition http://www.interwise.com/ Pricing: flat $100 per user for unlimited use and no extra fees Features: fixed price with unlimited usage reservationless meetings unlimited number of meetings with unlimited number of people share documents integrated VOIP/audio recording low bandwidth usage so your other applications can run in the background passwords and passcodes for meetings Lotus Notes integration SAP integration SSL/HTTPS works like email from the desktop can have voice-only conferencing Features: http://www.interwise.com/Features.html EWeek Reviews: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2004898,00.asp http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2004906,00.asp "Interwise ECP Connect has all the bells and whistles that competing Web conferencing services offer, but the capabilities aren't available for every Web conference. However, Interwise's ability to integrate voice over Internet with telephony-based voice conferencing gives companies an easy way to cut conferencing costs." Case Study: Integraph http://searchvoip.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid66_gci1189111,00.html Softtek: http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/ip-conferencing-and-collaboration/articles/2513-softtek-chooses-interwise-connect-voice-web-conferencing.htm Network World Review: http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2005/050205-test-web-conferencing.html ---------- Genesys Meeting Center Price: Pay as you go, per minute No contracts or monthly/yearly licenses required same rate includes audio and video 32 cents per minute, with volume discounts available Features: present documents record for later playback audio and web integration start meetings quickly without advance invitations Outlook integration no need to download software to attend a meeting 24/7 global support service MSN Messenger integration can require use of passwords to access the meeting can dial into the meeting with a phone if you don't have web access phone/web conference integration is excellent whiteboarding single menu meeting passwords and security codes Cons: Meetings must have less than 100 participants not as good an interface as competitors' Genesys Features: http://www.genesys.com/asp/svc_gmc.asp?country=4&language=1 http://www.genesys.com/asp/svc_gmc_fet.asp?country=4&language=1 Phone Access: http://www.genesys.com/asp/svc_gmc_aud.asp?country=4&language=1 Pricing: http://www.genesys.com/asp/svc_gmc_price.asp?country=4&language=1 Testimonials: http://www.genesys.com/asp/svc_ss_main.asp?country=4&language=1 Eweek Review: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1723647,00.asp http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1724583,00.asp PC Mag Review: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1745799,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1745801,00.asp "Interface not as elegant or Windows-like as that of Webex Meeting Center Service, Raindance Meeting Edition, and Microsoft LiveMeeting." "The interface is still not as polished as that of WebEx or Raindance Meeting Edition, but it's very usable and feature-rich." "As in the past, Genesys stands out with its excellent PSTN/Web conferencing integration. Once a user enters an access code, the moderator can see who is connected by Web and phone. If the user forgets to input a code that links voice to the Web, the moderator can link him or her in manually." ---------- Raindance Meeting Edition http://www.raindance.com/rndc/services/rfmOverview.jsp Price: Price: flat $125 per month for five users, audio charges at .30 per minute unlimited-user license costs .38 per minute, with audio conferencing charged at a per-minute rate also named-user five and 10 person packages available for a set fee of $249 and $399 per month, respectively, with a lower per-minute fee of .20 and .18 per minute for audio Features: whiteboarding no advance notice required for meetings, such as WebEx Integration with Outlook web and audio conferencing in one software package integrated video audio conferencing document sharing/viewing application sharing instant messages to group or individual encryption enabled security passcodes record and playback List of Features: http://www.raindance.com/rndc/services/rfmFeatures.jsp Cons: will require training to learn to use the program AvenueA Razorfish Case Study http://www.raindance.com/rndc/services/rfmCaseStudySBI.jsp Comparisons to WebEx-- 'Solutions from conferencing provider WebEx alleviated a number of challenges posed by e-mail, but the platform's rigid structure made it challenging and cumbersome to call meetings without first setting up a reservation. It could be done, but the extra steps often prevented the staff from really taking advantage of it. "WebEx's solution is less than ideal for a number of reasons, but mostly because the collaboration and application-sharing features are far less flexible and easy to use versus Raindance Meeting Edition. When my team gets started on something and an issue comes up that we want other people to weigh in on, we want to be able to address that immediately."' Further case studies: http://www.raindance.com/rndc/services/rfmCaseStudy.jsp PC Magazine review of Raindance: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1596056,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1596059,00.asp "Raindance Meeting Edition is the best of the products we've tested for small, impromptu meetings (even better than WebEx, in fact). The interface has been completely revamped, with a much more Windows-like feel and intuitive drop-down menus and task panes. Web/PSTN conferencing integration is top-notch." "It's easy to fire up instant meetings of equals. You simply send an e-mail invitation containing the meeting link and a conference ID. When the participant clicks on the link, the software is downloaded, the connection made, and a dialog box asks for the person's phone number, which is then dialed by the Raindance bridge. No need for everyone to call an audio-conference number." "Overall, we still prefer the power of WebEx for a company's overall conferencing needs. But if users in your organization lean more toward small, impromptu meetings, Raindance is worth a close look." Here's PC Magazine's 2005 review of the software: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1853965,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1858476,00.asp "In all, Raindance is the service for you if ease of use and video conferencing are high on your list of requirements. You don't get the ability to activate conferences from Office or to use VoIP, but you may not care." EWeek Reviews: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1724659,00.asp http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1724660,00.asp ----------- Netspoke Conferencing Hub http://www.netspoke.com/ Price: 2 cents per minute or $125 per seat per month Features: integrated audio and web features ability to upload files and data for presentation can arrange meetings quickly without advance invitations chat audio conferencing EWeek Review-- http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1724636,00.asp http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1724637,00.asp ---------- Citrix Go2Meeting https://www.gotomeeting.com/ Price: $49 per user per month (or $468 per year for 10 attendees), long distance phone charges extra Features: (of Go2Meeting Corporate) integration with Outlook, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger 128 bit encryption each participant can display screen to group Go2Meeting features easy to use launching meeting is simple Outlook and Messenger integration document presentation chat with participants easy on bandwidth usage Cons: no videoconferencing no whiteboarding number of attendees for any meeting is limited to 10 Case Studies: https://www.gotomeeting.com/en_US/pre/caseStudies.tmpl PC Mag review of Go2Meeting Corporate http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1771193,00.asp Go2Meeting review http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1731425,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1740822,00.asp ------- WebEx http://www.webex.com/ Features: videoconferencing whiteboarding excellent audio conferencing integration with VOIP or traditional telephony multiple panels on screen (patented process) Outlook integration Microsoft Office integration AIM integration Cons: VOIP users can't audioconference with POTS (plain old telephone system) users can't post recordings to website for later storage and viewing PC Mag Reviews: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1787545,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1787547,00.asp ---------- Other conferencing options are: Microsoft LiveMeeting http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010909711033.aspx Sonexis Conference Manager http://www.sonexis.com/products/index.asp Macromedia Breeze http://www.adobe.com/ I have not included these because they are more expensive than Go2Meeting and other solutions offered. Search terms: webex go2meeting raindance meeting edition web conferencing interwise interwise review interwise price interwise canada If you need any additional clarification before rating, or if anything is unclear, let me know and I'll be happy to assist you. --keystroke-ga