We have taken Elluminate vRoom out of our ranking and replaced the tool with Elluminate’s vOffice. vOffice is an interesting web conferencing solution since it originated from an eLearning environment. The tool offers a good solution for virtual team work but has its downsides, e.g. too many features which make usability awkward.
Read the full evaluation.
Netviewer Meet is now available in version 6.0 and has beaten WebEx Meeting Center 8.5 to the second place.
Previously the number three in our ranking, Netviewer Meet has improved its features, especially regarding security. The setup of online meetings is now also easier to handle so that the overall user experience definitely has been enhanced.
Read the detailed evaluation here.
As is clearly visible in our evaluations of online meeting solutions, user-friendliness weighs in heavily. And for good reason too, because if you want to present information online or have a virtual team-meeting you can’t waste time trying to figure out how to get a specific gadget to work. Meeting organizers and participants need easy-to-use software to operate quickly and smoothly.
User-friendliness does not mean – at least for us – hoarding functionalities in one tool. We favor the less-is-more approach to web conferencing. Packing loads of functionalities into one tool may make for a powerful software, but it takes time and effort to learn to operate it properly (e.g. WebEx). Splitting services into multiple tools with only a limited number of features gives the user an easy-to-use solution for his requirements (e.g. Citrix GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, GoToAssist, GoToMyPC, and GoToTraining)
More details on our criteria for evaluation can be found on our homepage.
Testing appliances is currently not on our to-do list. And here’s why: To thoroughly test an appliance for online conferencing a complete in-house test environment needs to be set up. That is a very time consuming procedure, which directly leads to the fact that our focus is on easy to install SaaS (Software-as-a-service) solutions, since small to medium sized businesses hardly have the need for any online conferencing tool that requires the installation of hardware within the company’s infrastructure.
So we have to turn down the request for evaluation of the RHUB web conference appliance for now. However GoMeetNow, the SaaS offering from RHUB, is on our backlist of online conferencing tools to be tested.
Until recently Saba only offered enterprise solutions. With eMeetings, Saba now offers an online meeting solution which can be utilized by small and medium sized companies. Our verdict: rank 7
Glance also made its way into our ranking. Glance offers easy access to desktop sharing and the basic functionalities you’d expect of an online conferencing tool. But that is pretty much it. Our verdict: rank 23
We have been asked to evaluate Communique’s web conferencing solution. Communique does offer web conferencing solutions – developed by other providers. More specifically: Microsoft’s Office Live Meeting 2007 and WebEx. These solutions are both already included in our ranking. And since Communique doesn’t offer a distinct solution for online collaboration we will not evaluate the company’s services.
With Acrobat Connect Pro, Adobe offers a web conferencing solution that does not need to fear comparison with big players such as GoToMeeting or WebEx Meeting Center. The overall handling of this software is easy and intuitive. The drawback is that essential features, e.g. transferal of mouse or keyboard control during meetings, are not included. Without these features Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro only ranks number 7.
If you want to check out Adobe’s online collaboration tools you can start out with the free Adobe Connect Now.
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Take a look at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and the politicians that participate. They arrive in their private planes, are then brought to their hotels in huge, non solar-powered limos, and then get together for one and a half weeks to save the world’s climate. At least that is the plan. In reality this little get-together produces just as much carbon dioxide as a town the size of Middlesbrough, according to the British Telegraph. To pass the resolutions that are to be expected, the world’s leaders could have utilized more effective ways, saving money, time, and carbon emissions.
Granted, online conferences will not save the world, still, the idea to get the leaders of the world together in one great web conference is kind of intriguing.
The Convenos website is no longer accessible. We removed the tool – which ranked number 12 in our list of web conferencing solutions – from our site.