Web conferencing: It's like being there, virtually

WebEx is tailored for general internal meetings, large-scale seminars, sales, training, and support. Yet each event type shares simple setup and a professional experience. For formal meetings, the “Schedule a Meeting” wizard makes all arrangements foolproof -- from specifying user permissions and voice options to sending meeting invitations. To host ad hoc meetings, just fill in a brief form and an Instant Meeting is under way. Furthermore, you can prefill basic information, such as a teleconference number, and then start a One-Click Meeting from an Office application or a desktop shortcut.

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With this version, WebEx addresses feedback from users claiming meeting features are too complicated. For first-time hosts, the system initially asks what you want to do, such as presenting documents or sharing applications. This feature helps ensure that you show only appropriate content -- not your whole desktop or personal files -- and provides a more professional meeting appearance.

As before, sharing options are robust. With one click, I granted specific attendees control of my desktop and Web browser. Straightforward options in the sharing window enabled participants and I to annotate areas on the screen. Other basic functions, such as changing the role of participants or assigning privileges on the fly, are easily accomplished from the main toolbar.

Orchestrating more advanced functions had previously been onerous, with WebEx technology often overshadowing meeting content. Not so with Version 7. Using new floating PowerPanels palettes, which are easy to expand, dock, or minimize, I quickly conducted polls, started a videoconference, and chatted with participants.

Because the WebEx private switched network handles the bulk of Internet communications, visitors to my meetings reported no noticeable lags or breakup in video transmission -- either via Webcam or in movies embedded in Web pages. This was particularly important, as several of my meetings involved colleagues in India and Australia.

Audioconferencing received special attention in this release of the MediaTone network. First, during meeting setup, I offered participants a local toll-free dial-in number. WebEx also allows you to use IP conferencing or a corporate conferencing system. Using the Participant PowerPanel, I had no difficulty controlling teleconferences, muting and unmuting participants’ microphones, and specifying Internet Phone options.

Meeting Center 7 will especially appeal to larger enterprises. First, an expanded API puts the WebEx application within company systems. For example, the Administrative API allowed me to assign employee privileges to an ethics training program and view meeting reports to confirm compliance. This feature also works with customer-facing support applications and CRM systems, allowing you to capture meeting information in Salesforce.com or a Siebel database.

Second, a new EMX (Extended MediaTone eXchange) premises-based node keeps all communications for internal meetings behind your firewall. Having this “last-mile” networking in-house improves overall performance because you don’t have to rely as much on your ISP for Internet connectivity.

This service recorded presentations and archived both notes and changes to documents. It would be advantageous, however, to streamline the process of posting these for later playback; currently this is buried several clicks down in the main interface.

WebEx Meeting Center 7 makes online meetings more engaging. PowerPanels, on-site network extensions, and IP telephony contribute to a very productive experience for presenters and participants. Furthermore, enterprise APIs enable WebEx to integrate smoothly with various in-house systems, reducing duplicate effort and redundant data.

Any of the three offerings tested here will serve enterprises well, but WebEx performed slightly better overall in my tests. Some key factors may sway your decision, however. One factor is platform compatibility. On several occasions Live Meeting attendees with Mac and Linux systems could not get the full meeting experience. Breeze runs on any system with a browser Flash plug-in, taking the crown in this category. WebEx’s Java plug-in comes in second. As expected, Live Meeting did the best job presenting Office documents.

One should also consider network performance and security. All hosted services offer SSL security, but WebEx’s optional premises node contains internal meetings within your firewall. Breeze goes one better with an installed software option. If you rely solely on the ASP, WebEx’s MediaTone network should deliver the most reliable connectivity and smoothest multimedia playback.