News
58 per cent increase of web conferences due to restricted airspace
webconferencing-test.com launched as a guidepost towards carbon neutrality
Is actually flying to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference the right approach to negotiating carbon emissions?
Web conferencing portal removes Yugma from ranking – in light of company wind-down
The vendor-independent portal www.webconferencing-test.com is to remove Yugma from its ranking list. The decision comes after the site’s operators, Publicare, receive notification of a planned shut-down.
Web conferencing portal now features new results and Dimdim test
Travel less, do more online: where cutting back makes sound business sense.
Microsoft is gaining ground on WebEx and Citrix
Web conferencing comparison portal presents an updated classification of 21 online meeting tools.
13 new web conferencing solutions tested by vendor-independent portal
Competition between Web-conferencing vendors heats up
How WebEx and Netviewer compare with Microsoft, Citrix and Co.
Which Web conferencing solution is the best?
New portal provides vendor-independent product overview, including comparisons and test results
58 per cent increase of web conferences due to restricted airspace
Frankfurt, April 20, 2010 +++ Web conferencing services are seeing a boom due to grounded aircrafts: Service providers reported an average increase of 58 per cent last Friday in comparison to regular workdays. This figure is a result of a census conducted by the portal webconferencing-test.com among providers with considerable presence on the European market. The increase was calculated based upon the figures provided by Adobe, BeamYourScreen, Citrix, Digitalmeeting, and Spreed.
webconferencing-test.com launched as a guidepost towards carbon neutrality
Is actually flying to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference the right approach to negotiating carbon emissions?
Frankfurt am Main, Dec. 16, 2009 +++ With the launch of its portal webconferencing-test.com, Publicare supports organizations in reducing or even eliminating the need for travel. The portal gives enterprises a broad overview on the issue of online conferencing, offering background information and a comprehensive and clear overview of web conferencing solutions available. Many enterprises are currently putting corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and programs in place, and minimizing carbon emissions is often one of the chief aims. The long-term, systematic use of state-of-the-art online collaboration tools is one of the most efficient ways to tackle this pressing issue.
Unleash the potential of carbon-neutral online meetings for CSR
webconferencing-test.com compares online meeting solutions, the ideal eco-friendly alternatives to face-to-face meetings. The portal offers market overviews, analyses of various conferencing services, cost comparisons for different types of meetings, and comprehensive information on how companies can deploy Web conferencing throughout their organization. On webconferencing-test.com businesses find the knowledge and tools they need to minimize their carbon footprint and implement effective corporate social responsibility programs.
webconferencing-test.com provides a vendor-independent assessment of online meeting tools for smaller and medium-sized organizations and the self-employed. The portal compares the functional scope of more than 25 solutions and judges how well they meet real-world needs. Analysis is based on key user requirements such as ease-of-use, security and cost. webconferencing-test.com is run by Publicare Marketing Communications GmbH, an online marketing agency based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.Web conferencing portal removes Yugma from ranking – in light of company wind-down
The vendor-independent portal www.webconferencing-test.com is to remove Yugma from its ranking list. The decision comes after the site’s operators, Publicare, receive notification of a planned shut-down.
June 18, 2009 +++ Publicare, operator of the only vendor-independent comparison site for Web conferencing services, has received a copy of a letter sent by Yugma CEO and founder Lingaraj Mishra. The correspondence, dated June 2, 2009 informs the company’s shareholders of a planned closure. Mishra writes: “On May 26, 2009, the remaining members of the Board of Directors convened and determined that it is advisable to wind down the business affairs of the company.” After outlining the reasons for the decision, he concludes, “Consequently, at this time, and with a heavy heart, I regret to inform you that we will be winding down (…).”
Following this announcement, Publicare assumes that Yugma’s Web conferencing services will no longer be available, on an ongoing basis. For this reason, the portal operators have decided to remove Yugma from its ranking – with immediate effect. Previously, Yugma’s software had been in third place on webconferencing-test.com’s listing – being awarded nine out of a maximum 10 points.
New ranking list published
In addition, Publicare has revealed an updated version of its software test results. Following the release of Meet 5, Netviewer has moved up two positions – to second place. The latest version offers a transparent pricing model, making it easier to keep track of costs. What’s more, Meet 5 enables Mac and Linux users to participate in online meetings. Netviewer may be a slightly pricier alternative to other conferencing tools, but it offers a wide range of sophisticated functionality, making it an excellent choice. Dimdim, on the other hand, was unable to improve its rating following the release of version 5. webconferencing-test.com’s verdict remains unchanged: the software lacks the functionality you would expect of an interactive collaboration tool. With six points, omNovia also failed to make the grade – taking 19th place. The solution is adequate for ad-hoc meetings that require only one-way communications. But when it comes to business meetings and Web conferences involving several participants, omNovia cannot deliver the goods.
Web conferencing portal now features new results and Dimdim test
Travel less, do more online: where cutting back makes sound business sense.
March 05, 2009 +++ www.webconferencing-test.com, the only vendor-independent portal focusing on web conferencing solutions for small and midsize organizations, has published test results for the latest versions of 22 online collaboration tools. Joining the candidates for the first time is Dimdim 4.5 Free. What?s more, in light of the current economic crisis and the drive toward a carbon-neutral meeting culture, the portal now highlights the benefits of online conferencing in terms of time and cost savings.
New test candidate: Dimdim 4.5 Free
Free web conferencing certainly sounds appealing. And in practice, Dimdim 4.5 Free rates highly when it comes to compatibility with operating systems, and ease of use. But free software comes at a price, since users have to do without some key functionality. As a result, the solution is restricted to very specific scenarios. Webconferencing-test.com looks at the tasks Dimdim is suited for ? and examines its limitations.
Cost savings and a carbon-neutral meeting culture
In the current economic climate, many enterprises are wondering how they can cut costs. Webconferencing-test.com provides answers ? showing how businesses can slash their travel budget without compromising innovativeness and flexibility. In addition, the portal explains how systematic use of web meeting solutions can contribute to corporate social responsibility programs.
Microsoft is gaining ground on WebEx and Citrix
Web conferencing comparison portal presents an updated classification of 21 online meeting tools.
July 29, 2008 +++ www.webconferencing-test.com, the vendor-independent comparison portal for web conferencing services, now offers updated test results for 21 different solutions for collaboration over the Internet. The new software review shows that Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 has made substantial progress on the existing test winners from WebEx and Citrix. The new test results at webconferencing-test.com now also offer the "other web conference tools > more test results" category in addition to a comprehensive comparison of the five best solutions. This includes summary information and assessments on the tools tested and the consolidated results for each test category.
New tools in the test
The following solutions were newly included in the test group in order to cover the full range of the still growing market for online meeting solutions: WebHuddle, IBM Sametime Unyte Meeting, IBM Sametime Unyte Share, DigitalMeeting, we:presenter, iVocalize, pcvisit 4 Business Meetings, Bridgit Conferencing and RHUB.
Finding your way in the license jungle
Various license models are offered for web conferencing solutions. In the new "license models" category webconferencing-test.com presents the various approaches and gives advice on which license models are suitable for which usage types and intensities.
Stronger separation between solutions for smaller and large companies
The comparison portal differentiates now even more clearly between tools for freelancers, small and medium-sized companies on the one hand and those for large companies on the other. The aim is to allow SMEs in particular a quick orientation to the ever growing range of solutions in the marketplace.
13 new Web conferencing solutions tested by vendor-independent portal
August 22, 2007 +++ www.webconferencing-test.com, the vendor-independent Website to test and review collaboration and online-meeting tools, has put a further thirteen products through their paces. The performance of many solutions was between acceptable and good. However, a number proved to be a waste of time and money for small and mid-sized companies without a dedicated IT department. Furthermore, the weighting of test criteria has been adjusted to better reflect user-friendliness and real-world needs. This resulted in a slight change in the final scores for the five solutions featured in the comprehensive main comparison.
Comprehensive picture of the current market
wwww.webconferencing-test.com provides visibility into the Web-conferencing solutions market. To provide an even more complete picture, the following solutions were recently tested and included on the portal: BeamYourScreen, Convenos Meeting Center, Elluminate vRoom, FastViewer, LogMeIn Free, Microsoft NetMeeting, Windows Meeting Space, spreed.com (Struktur AG), TeamViewer, Vyew (Simulat, Inc.), and Yugma. In addition, the following tools were also reviewed but not tested as they are designed primarily for large enterprises: Saba Centra Live for eMeetings, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace, Genesys Meeting Center, IBM Lotus Sametime, Interwise, and PGi NetSpoke (Premiere Global Services).
Weighting adjusted to reflect ease of use and real-world needs
Ease of use and real-world needs are the most important criteria for the Website’s target audience - small and mid-sized companies. As a result, the weighting of individual test categories has been adjusted - with those most relevant to user-friendliness and real-world needs accounting for a greater percentage of the overall score.
Hits and misses
The updated results of the five Web-conferencing solutions included in the comprehensive main comparison are: Citrix GoToMeeting (9.3 out of 10), WebEx MeetMeNow (9.1 out of 10), NetViewer one2meet (8.6 out of 10), Adobe Connect (8.2 out of 10), and Microsoft Office Live Meeting (7.1 out of 10). The solutions with the lowest scores were: TeamViewer (5.2 out of 10), a difficult-to-use support tool. This was followed by NetMeeting (4.9 out of 10) - which does not enable the role of presenter to be passed to another participant, and, as peer-to-peer software, is too complex technically to merit a recommendation. And Vyew brings up the rear: ungraded. It was not possible to test this solution, as key functions did not work properly.
Competition between Web-conferencing vendors heats up
How WebEx and Netviewer compare with Microsoft, Citrix and Co.
February 7,2007 +++ www.webconferencing-test.com – the vendor-independent portal for information on Web-based meeting tools – has now presented its latest findings. In the most recent comparison, WebEx MeetMeNow and Netviewer one2meet tied for second place. The new ranking suggests that differences between the top solutions are becoming less marked, and that competition is heating up.
In the most recent tests, WebEx Meeting Center was replaced by WebEx MeetMeNow, which carries a lower price tag, and better matches the needs of the target group addressed by the Website: small businesses and the self-employed. The second newcomer is Netviewer one2meet – the first German-developed Web-conferencing solution to be reviewed. The tool was included because it is gaining international recognition. Other solutions considered included Microsoft Office Live Meeting, Adobe Connect Professional (formerly Macromedia Breeze) and GoToMeeting from Citrix.
Additional test criteria have also been introduced. These include the integration of teleconferencing services, the maximum number of participants per meeting, mute and uninvite options, and whether solution security is certified. Functions are now also weighted according to relevance - i.e. how often they are actually used. Therefore, test results show more clearly which solutions offer the best combination of functions and user-friendliness.
And it’s not just the content of the portal that has been updated – the portal itself has also been extended. New sections provide insight into online meeting solutions not chosen for testing, with explanations of why they were not shortlisted. These include WebEx Meeting Center, which was squeezed out by Webex MeetMeNow, as well as Adobe Connect, and Interwise. There is also a page outlining the test procedure and the criteria used to select tools – international market recognition, worldwide commercial availability, an English-language user interface, plus the option of requesting a free trial versiononline. The portal’s vendor independence and the objectivity of the testing methodology are also documented in detail.
The www.webconferencing-test.com portal provides visibility into the complex Web-conferencing solutions market. It employs clearly defined criteria for comparison, and gives visitors useful information that allows them to rapidly identify the tools that best meet their particular needs. The Website also features links to all vendors’ Websites – so users can sign up for free trial versions, and test-drive the solutions for themselves.
Which Web conferencing solution is the best?
New portal provides vendor-independent product overview, including comparisons and test results
November 9, 2006 +++ The first Website to provide a vendor-independent assessment of online meeting tools has now gone live at www.webconferencing-test.com. The portal provides comparisons of all leading solutions – including Microsoft Live Meeting, Macromedia Breeze (now called Acrobat Connect Professional) Webex, and GoToMeeting from Citrix.
Online meetings used to be costly affairs, relying on video-service and telecoms companies. But that has now changed. Thanks to increasing competition, the growing popularity of PC-based technologies, and a wide choice of providers, today’s solutions are more user-friendly and more affordable. In fact, they are now commonplace office tools. Web conferencing is, for example, typically used for phone- and Internet-based customer and employee meetings, online training and support.
The portal not only compares the functional scope of online meeting tools, it also judges how well they meet real-world needs. Analysis is based on key user requirements such as ease-of-use, security and cost. For example, the need for training is assessed, and how easy it is to organize spontaneous online meetings.
www.webconferencing-test.com compares the potential savings offered by each of the tools in comparison to conventional, on-site meetings. It also reviews pricing policy and cost transparency. While some solutions offer a flat rate, others have complex pricing models based on multiple components.
