Could the handwriting be on the wall for traditional vendors of online web conferencing services?
Customer preferences in online web conferencing may be moving away from standalone solutions, according to the results of a recent report from AMI-Partners, quoted by Mark Cox, writing for eChannelLine. The report states that
over 25% of U.S. small businesses, with under 100 employees, would deploy Unified Communications integrated with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings as paid services, if available from a single provider.
This helps to explain Salesforce.com’s $31-million acquisition of DimDim (which we reported on January 22). They may be able to attract new customers with the integrated offering and help existing customers free up dollars currently allocated to standalone conferencing vendors like Citrix GoToMeeting and LiveMeeting.
My take is that we’re seeing the early evidence of a growing trend. We can look for more mergers and acquisitions involving online conferencing technology, and we can look for more strategic partnerships like the recently announced collaboration between Skype and GoToMeeting. Traditional web conferencing vendors who try to go it alone may be in for rough sailing.
This is a really very good content. It gets you thinking about the subject and speculating. Lets have some more please. Thank you for producing
it.
You’re welcome, I think. It would be nice if you would return here and share your actual thoughts on the subject of the web conferencing business trend toward integration.
Personally, I really like things like GoToMeeting or webinars. One thing that I especially appreciate is the ability to record it and tune in at a later date.
If you are taking into consideration moving to online conferencing, in that case you should be researching online conference vendors. In case you are looking to consider which internet conference company to settle on, you will find several things you need to take into account. The factor you may need to appreciate concerning working with internet conferencing companies is that the web conference provider you choose will display your corporate entity’s image from the instant you deliver the invite. You would like to select an agency that communicates all the stuff you wish your buyers to think of you out of the earliest impact. You need your enterprise to appear excellent , although not way too too much. You do not want it seem that you put in funds carelessly and also pointlessly. You wish to communicate that you happen to be in touch with the latest technologies as well as business selections. Potential clients are looking at your ability and your processes throughout your transactions with these folks. If it appears you just chose on a free online conference company just to save a couple of cash, it might deliver a poor message to possible clients. You would like your internet conferencing supplier choice to speak about that you are a highly regarded provider, who operates intelligently and would not spend improperly. You don’t wish to expend too much on a web conference service provider seeing that a prospective customer could interpret this judgment as a sign that your business is not financially dependable.
RHUB (http://www.rhubcom.com) is an in-hosted appliance for web conferencing and remote support. It allows you to record the session for future use.
Thanks for this information. RHUB looks like a viable alternative to the cloud-based services we’re talking about here. For companies that wish to have more control at the cost of less integration, it may be perfect.
I have attended many webinars and have been considering the use of webinars and conferences in my own business interests. I see webinars are more and more prevalent and in my experience have been a good way to reach not only customers and prospects but employees and vendors as well. They say that video is the big marketing method of the day but I think that video conferencing is not far behind.
I’ve always thought that web conferencing was a very useful tool, but I’m not at all surprised that it has continued to grow in popularity.
I’ve been trying out ooVoo recently and like it, and Skype is always a good option for one-on-one.
Do you have any other services you enjoy using?
Respectfully-
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Thanks for the comment, Ron. I’ve used GoToMeeting for years. Reliable technology backed by a solid company. But I try not to play favorites on this site. I welcome comments, positive and negative, about anyone’s experience with any of the conferencing services.
We are seeing the leading companies in their respective specialty forming strategic alliances, but does this trend indicate some other significant development in new technology for the public sector which we may not be privy to as yet? In some cases, when you see major change such as this trend would indicate, it is due to some information or development which is known only by those with insider access of some sort.
Although the report(s) reflect a trend with companies with under 100 employees, I do not think you can ignore the other trends with the larger companies such as Google which is now vying for a market share in video conferencing. I do not have any official reports or data to cite, but I did hear it on a tv news program. I am a firm believer that this conspicuous trend within the market in general is a presage to a new era – the age of video, when it becomes the primary source of communication – as prevalent as email. Afterall, it wasn’t long ago when email was only available to IT professionals?
As this market trend continues and more key mergers / buyouts take place, I wonder what will happen to smaller vendors such the ones whose affiliate programs are advertised on the left side of this web page. If there a significant difference between the demographic of companies like Skype and the other aforementioned companies and the rest of the video conferencing service providers, then I do not think there will be any sort of noticeable difference. Advertising offers will continue to proliferate the internet for the same companies.
I thought a little levity might help to break up the monotony of so much high tech talk. There is this web conferencing story (more like a cautionary tale) about a small meeting as far as web conferences go 10 people but the embarrassment factor was huge. The moderator was showing applications on his desktop which means everyone could see everything. He was also instant messaging with his girlfriend, planning their evening. And it was straight up pornographic. One of the hosts tried to delicately remind the guy that his applications were visible to all participants, but he didn’t catch on. Finally, she had to say, It looks like you have a very interesting evening planned in your chat.’ And he was like You can see that?’ If this story does not make you chuckle, I hope at least it will serve to remind anyone who might be participating in a future web conference as a host / broadcaster, to keep it strictly business.
We are seeing large businesses in their specific industries using web conferencing a lot due to the fact that a major portion of their business is overseas. Does this indicate some other development in new technology for the public? In some cases, when you see major change such as this taking place it might indicate that they are going to make more available to the public as well. I have heard that schools are going to start using web conferencing as well so I would imagine in no time it will be in everybody’s home .
You bet the trend for web conferencing has accelerated, companies have found out just how much money they can save this way. Instead of sending Joe to China for a meeting with the head of Sony that would cost you, airfare, rental care or taxi service, meals and so on you set it up in your conference room and you simple call them, now you aren’t spending any more over what you would normally spend in a day except the money for the phone call. It is brilliant actually and I wish I would have been the one to come up with it. Do you suppose this is another idea from a college student that who is now very rich? Just saying, thanks for the post it was very informative and I would look for more and more companies to get on board with this as the economy continues to tank.
I don’t have a vast knowledge of web conferencing or the companies that offer such services however recently i have participated in a few and the technology involved appears to be very advanced with both audio/video capabilities. Thus the reason i ended up on this site i’m doing my home work, great resource.
It was only a matter of time before this happened, it was inevitable. Just like Jose said the companies have found out that they can save money by doing this and they don’t have the money to spend any more so they are jumping on board with web conferencing right and left. Who ever started the web conferencing idea will be rolling in it soon.
Even though the slow job market may have changed things for the time being, there still are many Temp agencies competing to match employers with the right talent. I had a discussion with someone who worked in a temp recruiting company. I argued how web conferencing could make the interviewing process more efficient and productive, enabling them to process larger numbers of job applicants. The temp worker argued that part of the perceived value of a temp agency is the footwork and the face to face interviewing they do for their clients, the employers. She went on to say that taking the process into cyberspace would diminish their perceived value and it would also imply they are not doing as thorough a job of interviewing as you can do via face to face meetings. I think there is a happy medium somewhere.
Sharon you were right that story made me more than chuckle I cracked up! That is unbelievable, he had to know that everything he was doing on his computer could be seen by everyone in the meeting, did he just forget that part? The very first thing I do when I am going to host a web conference is make sure that there isn’t anything other than the screen I need open any longer. At any given time during the day I will have five or six different things open and some of them are proprietary information that you wouldn’t want anyone to see out side the company, so I learned that trick really early on it only took one time of being told by the president of the company not to do that and it sticks. That was a good point to point out Sharon thank you for sharing.
Is Google’s play into the web conferencing market considered part of their Google Hangouts feature, or is web chatting for the consumer end classified different from web conferencing service for businesses? Group video chats, like the kind you can do with Google+ Hangouts, are becoming a new way to connect with people. Now days you can do it on the go from your smart phone with free video apps like Fring. Fring’s new Playground feature lets you start your own video chat room or join an existing one to connect with up to three other userswhether random people or people whose faces you’ve actually seen before.
I can fully believe that the plan for web conferencing has accelerated because in today’s economy everybody is looking to pinch pennies any where they can, and that includes small and large businesses. The first thing they are going to do is cut expenses and one of the most expensive things that any business spends money on is travel for the executives to go meet with clients to discuss contracts and such. Well if they can do this by on line web conferencing then they are going to save tons of money, one cancelled trip would pay for the software and the computer needed to do the conferencing. The prediction that 2011 and 2012 will be the years that this explodes, I believe is going to prove to be right, especially 2012 because the economy is not going to get any better any time soon and I believe it will get worse in the coming year.
I can’t believe that the trend for web conferencing hasn’t accelerated before now, companies have found out just how much money they can save this way. Instead of sending anyone on a business trip to Alaska that would cost you, airfare, rental car or taxi service, meals and so on, you set up the meeting in your conference room with all the people that need to be involved, which would be more than what would have been able to go to Alaska anyway,and you simple call them, now you aren’t spending any more over what you would normally spend in a day except the money for the phone call. It is actually a great idea when you think about the savings. Thanks for the post I really appreciate it and I will look for more and more companies to get on board with this as the economy continues to bottom out.
I think the bigger trend has been that of the struggle for survival in these challenging economic conditions. But in contrast to that, the web conferencing software and services market seems to be thriving on the demand from global ‘borderless organizations’. The market is benefiting hugely from businesses striving for qulity which includes enhanced collaboration and reduction in travel costs. I read about an in depth study which showed that the market – covering 13 Asia-Pac countries – earned revenues of US$97.4 million in 2008 and estimates this to reach US$391.8 million by end-2014, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 26.1 percent. This same study also mentions that “Rising concerns about communicable diseases and carbon footprints have encouraged not only multinational enterprises with offices in Asia, but also local companies, both small and large, to invest in Web conferencing,
I think that web conferencing is going to continue to grow by leaps and bounds as long as we are having trouble in the economy. I know that business like to have that personal touch when it comes to meeting with their clients but in today’s world it just isn’t practical anymore. And they shocking thing is that is the standard across the board now even in countries over seas. If we are seeing web conferencing take place in schools now so that parent teacher conferences can take place from the homes in order to let the teacher go home instead of keeping them at school, then we are going to see it grow exponentially in the business world. Your blog was great and you did a fantastic job putting it together.
I am just amazed that the trend for web conferencing hasn’t accelerated before now, companies have found out just how much money they can save this way. Instead of sending anyone on a business trip to Alaska that would cost you, airfare, rental car or taxi service, meals and so on, you set up the meeting in your conference room with all the people that need to be involved, which would be more than what would have been able to go to Alaska anyway,and you simple call them, now you aren’t spending any more over what you would normally spend in a day except the money for the phone call. This is another good idea that will help companies saves thousands upon thousands of dollars every year. Thanks for the information and I would look for more and more companies to get on board with this as the economy continues to bottom out. If the elections go a certain way this next year then maybe some more stuff will change but I wouldn’t count on it, besides once companies realize how much they can save doing this they aren’t going to go back to the old way of doing business.
I really couldn’t get a feel for how you feel about this, do you think that more merges and collaborations are a good thing? To me it would help everybody in the long run because the article stated more people would use it if it was from a single service provider. In order to do that they have to join forces right? Your article gave us a lot to think about and it was put together well. Thank you.
I for one think this is a great idea for the interviewing process, Anita is absolutely right you could double the amount of applicants you interview in a day by just using web conferencing this way. I can’t believe that no one has thought of this before now. I am looking for a job right now and it would help me tremendously if the companies would fo interviews this way. Great idea Anita, thank you for posting her comment.
I think integration of companies doing the web conferencing is going to have to happen because people are going to be looking for a one stop shop for all of their web conferencing needs. So if they don’t join together that there are going to be some companies going under quickly.
Cisco is rolling out new updates to two of its most well-known and used products: WebEx and Jabber. Cisco asserts that the updates for WebEx and Jabber stem from the fact that the “post-PC era continues to evolve and “a desktop centric approach has too many limitations. Because they are powered by the Cisco Collaboration Cloud, Cisco’s efforts seem to be focusing on building tools that boost collaboration from anywhere, anytime, on any device or application. Thus, the major updates for these two solutions can be summed up in two words: more connectivity. From HD video advancements and enhanced mobile capabilities that enable all new ways to prepare, meet and follow-up after a meeting, I think Cisco WebEx is helping to change the web conferencing experience
I think it would be real intelligent to integrate companies together in a case like this because if they don’t then some of them are going to end up going under. All it would take is one of them starting to offer the other service as a package deal. People like convenience, one provider, one bill, etc. so if they can get that somewhere that is where they will go, even if they have to pay a little extra.
Do you think that more merges and collaborations are a good thing? I think it make a lot of sense really because like the article stated more people would use web conferencing if it was from a single service provider. Your article gave us a lot to think about and you did a great job putting the information together.
I think companies are going to have to integrate and join efforts in order to stay in business. Everyone likes the convenience of having everything they want at a one stop shop. This includes the web conferencing system that they use. Great job with the information and getting it all out there.
I don’t have a business to use this with but I do have a foreign exchange student that I like to keep in contact with and I think this is a great way to do that. I am glad to hear that some companies will be joining forces to possibly make this service a little cheaper for the small guy and I know I will be looking for them when I am ready to purchase.
Microsoft introduced the next release of its Office Live Meeting 2007 Web conferencing software. This is no doubt a product they hope will compete with market leader WebEx. It was unveiled at the company’s TechEd conference in Orlando, Fla., the new Web conferencing software includes a unified client that will be shared with Office Communications Server 2007, as well as support for two-way phone communications, including voice over IP (VoIP). The software also supports live webcams and multi-party video via the company’s forthcoming Round Table 360-degree conferencing camera.
An interesting way that companies collaborate would be that of Tiki and BBB. Since the initial integration of Big Blue Button (BBB) into Tiki (first introduced in Tiki 5.0), the Tiki and BBB communities have become strategic partners. Each release of Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware has featured tighter integration, and the Tiki Community extensively y dog foods BBB at each Tiki Fest. I have never used these, but it does demonstrate this market trend at work.