Holding meetings over the internet can save time and money, and when you need to meet with team members or clients
in far-flung places, sometimes web conferencing is the only practical way to do it.
The following list of web conferencing products and services most appropriate for small to medium size businesses
has been compiled for SmartBiz.com by
David R. Woolley. As a consultant in the field
of collaborative software, he offers custom-tailored advice
about choosing conferencing services that are best suited to any organization's particular needs.
His comprehensive listings of conferencing and collaborative software
are available at Thinkofit.com.
Inexpensive hosted service, offering real-time web conferencing for work groups.
Can be optionally integrated with the Central Desktop collaborative workspaces.
Full-featured web conferencing software for installation on your own server.
Offered (almost) free for unlimited simultaneous participants -- you only pay for support.
Inexpensive peer-to-peer web conferencing service. Flat monthly rate, unlimited usage.
Features text chat or VoIP, whiteboard, web tours, and application sharing.
A turnkey conferencing system for enterprises and service providers, oriented toward
collaborative work, featuring multiparty video conferencing, desktop and application sharing,
and PowerPoint presentations.
Hosted conferencing service with a simple user interface, featuring remote control,
multiple presenters, and a free audio bridge. Presenters can use Windows or Macintosh systems.
No software download required for guests.
Screen sharing made simple. Glance is a very easy to use tool that lets you instantly
show your computer screen to anyone you choose over the web. The other person needs only a plain
web browser. Free trial.
Inexpensive and easy to use web conferencing service, compliant with restrictive firewalls. Free for one-to-one web conferencing;
incremental monthly fees for additional participants. Might be the least expensive option for meetings of 2 to 4 people.
Offered by the same come company that sells GoToMeeting, this is a simple and inexpensive conferencing
service that permits unlimited webinars and large meetings with up to 1,000 attendees for
a flat monthly rate. The self-service interface offers features for planning, presenting, recording,
and analyzing online events. Free trial.
Offers a suite of conferencing products, variously designed for team meetings, online training and eLearning,
large events and webinars, and online customer support. Uses a small downloadable client rather than a web browser.
Offered as a hosted service or as licensed software on a per-seat basis.
Premise-based conferencing software, featuring multi-point video, file transfer, polling and quizzing,
desktop sharing, annotation, co-browse and record and playback features.
Premise-based conferencing software by IBM. Features instant messaging (compatible with AIM),
whiteboard, and application sharing. A developer's toolkit allows building custom applications.
Requires purchase of the server software plus individual user licenses.
Offers a range of video and web conferencing services, from personal to enterprise level.
Guest participants need only a web browser; no additional software to install. Supports
Windows, Macintosh, and Linux for guests; presenters must use Windows.
Hosted video and web conferencing service for up to 1,000 simultaneous participants and multiple presenters.
Web browser-based, with integrated voice conferencing.
(Very!) inexpensive premise-based conferencing software that can be run on an ordinary web server. Persony's unique
architecture requires no server software, yet is not peer-to-peer, and requires no special client
software for meeting attendees.
Inexpensive hosted service offering a range of online presentation solutions, including mobile webconferencing capability.
Users need only PC or Windows Mobile 5.0 enabled phone or PDA. Slides may be interactive, allowing audience members to respond
to questions, with replies stored for later analysis. No software downloads, virtually all browsers supported.
Audio is delivered over a telephone conference or via Skype.
Real-time sharing of pre-loaded images or instant desktop sharing for up to 20 participants, with
shared whiteboard markup capabilities. Requires a web browser with Java 1.5. In beta testing; free through 2007.
WebEx is the "name brand" in enterprise web conferencing. MeetMeNow is their low-priced instant meeting center, featuring
desktop sharing, annotation, control granting, and an integrated telephone conference.
