Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

A Detailed Look at Products, Services,

and Finding the Optimal Solution

April 2003

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

About the Authors

Andrew H. Nilssen is a Senior Partner at Wainhouse Research, LLC. Andy has over 20 years of

experience in bringing high-technology products to market. At Wainhouse Research, he co-authors many of the firm’s market research reports and has lead seminars on web conferencing technologies & applications and real-time conferencing over IP networks. He is also a consultant to rich media conferencing vendors, network infrastructure vendors, end users, government agencies, and venture capitalists. Prior to Wainhouse Research, Andy was Director of Marketing at PictureTel where he identified strategies and partners to expand business, and was responsible for all market research including end-user, competitive, and market sizing. Earlier, Andy managed the planning and launching of PictureTel's Venue and Concorde group systems and authored the original business plan for SwiftSite. Andy was also Vice President of Marketing at Visual Technology, a maker of IP-based network terminals, and a Product Line Manager at Sun Microsystems. Andy earned his MBA and BSEE degrees from the University of New Hampshire and holds two ease-of-use related patents. He can be reached at [email protected]

Joe O’Donnell is the CEO of Confrasave Consulting, where he personally manages client relationships and executes client projects. Joe, who has over ten years of experience in telecommunications, is a hands-on manager who is intimately familiar with the technologies, the costs, and the people in the conferencing industry. He is the architect of Confrasave’s Assurance™ software, which is designed to manage and measure conferencing costs. Prior to Confrasave, Joe was a member of the management team at Otis Elevator, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, a Fortune 100 company with over 150,000 employees worldwide. At Otis, Joe managed one of the single largest, most diverse videoconferencing deployments in industry by overseeing the installation of videoconferencing equipment, audio conferencing equipment, and digital video technology in over 60 locations in over 35 countries. Included in this project was translation of training documents, ISDN ordering and provisioning, and establishing LAN connections to video equipment. In all, Otis’ videoconferencing network totals 144 systems in over 45 countries. Under his leadership, Otis’ parent company United Technologies Corporation as well as its subsidiary divisions adopted fundamentally new videoconferencing standards that Joe created. As principal author of United Technologies and Otis Elevator Company’s Conferencing Portal, he guided the development of the company's cornerstone web site for conferencing information. Unique to this portal is a conferencing calculator that allows a user to compare conferencing costs across multiple applications, which Mr. O’Donnell designed. He can be reached at [email protected].

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Copyright (C)2003 by Wainhouse Research, LLC. All rights, including that of translation into other languages are specifically reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any method or means, electrical, mechanical, photographic, or

otherwise, without the express written permission of Wainhouse Research.

NOTE: The material presented in this report is based on both primary and secondary market data coupled with our professional interpretation of the facts. We believe that the basic information and

recommendations presented in this study provide a basis for sound business decisions, but no warranty as to completeness or accuracy is implied. All market estimates and forecasts are those of the authors, except as noted. We welcome your comments on this report.

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

List of Figures

Figure 1 – Match the Media to the Message

Figure 2 – Web Conferencing versis Video Conferencing Figure 3 – Web Conferencing Purchasing Options Figure 4 – Web Conferencing Market Map Figure 5 – Web Conferencing Vendors by Tier Figure 6 – Web Conferencing Vendor Trends Figure 7 – Client/Server vs. Peer-to-Peer Architecture Figure 8 – Centra Products

Figure 9 – Centra’s Log-On Page Figure 10 – Centra’s scheduling page Figure 11 – Centra Schedule a Meeting Page Figure 12 – Centra’s main meeting page Figure 13 – Centra AppShare

Figure 14 – Outlook Integration

Figure 15 – The DCL MeetingServer conference desktop Figure 16 – The eDial Home screen

Figure 17 – The eDial One-Time Conference screen Figure 18 – The eDial Document Viewer (Leader’s) screen

Figure 19 – The eDial Document Viewer (Participant’s) screen with scroll bars Figure 20 – Logging on to Click to Meet

Figure 21 – User Configuration Window

Figure 22 – Step 1 Enter Username and Password Figure 23 – Step 2 Enter conference Configurations Figure 24 – Step 3 Invite attendees

Figure 25 – CTM Continuous Presence Skin

Figure 26 – Load a Presentation or Web Tour Dialog Box

Figure 27 – Application Sharing-Choosing an Application to Share Figure 28 – Schedule/Start a Meeting

Figure 29 – Genesys sign on page

Figure 30 – Genesys Meeting Center (Your Personal Meeting Page) Figure 31 – Uploading a Presentation

Figure 32 – Uploading a Presentation using GMC Figure 32 – Accessing your Outlook contact list Figure 33 – Genesys Meeting Center Conference Page Figure 34 – Record a meeting option

Figure 35 – Chat features and settings Figure 36 – GMC Web Tour

Figure 37 – Dial the moderator Figure 38 – The Glance Client Menu Figure 39 – Glance Pricing

Figure 40 – Sametime Log-On

Figure 41 – Sametime Scheduling Page Figure 42 – Loading a Presentation Figure 43 – Lotus Security Options Figure 44 – Sametime Tool Choices Figure 45 – Sametime Modem Optimization Figure 46 – IM Invitations

Figure 47 – Fitting a Sametime presentation to the window screen Figure 48 – Sametime Annotation

Figure 49 – Sametime Interface – Screen Sharing Figure 50 – The Interwise Communications Center

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Figure 51 – iMeeting’s Participant Application, Event Materials, and Participants windows Figure 52 – iMeeting Application Sharing, Participant’s view

Figure 53 – Lead or Join a Show Figure 54 – Mshow Login Figure 55 – Mshow main window

Figure 56 – Uploading a PowerPoint Presentation

Figure 57 – The MeetingPlace “Home” showing today’s scheduled meetings Figure 58 – The MeetingPlace Meeting Room, Presenter’s view

Figure 59 – Audioconferencing controls Figure 60 – App sharing options Figure 61 – The “My WebDemo” screen Figure 62 – Creating a WebDemo meeting

Figure 63 – WebDemo’s ViewPort over PowerPoint, and Session / Keyboard Chat Windows Figure 64 – The Windows Messenger contact window

Figure 65 – Inviting to start a data sharing session Figure 66 – The sharing session menu

Figure 67 – Netspoke logon process in action Figure 68 – Meeting Center main page Figure 69 – Step One: Conference Details Figure 70 – Step Two: Audio Information Figure 71 – Step Three: Conference Content Figure 72 – Step Four: Conference Keyword Figure 73 – Step Five: Presenters

Figure 74 – Step Six: Attendees

Figure 75 – CMC PowerPoint Presentation Figure 76 – My Detailed Reports

Figure 77 – PlaceWare Product / Service Offerings Figure 78 – PlaceWare Schedule a Meeting Figure 79 – PlaceWare Conference Center Figure 80 – PlaceWare Application Sharing Figure 81 – The WebOffice Manager

Figure 82 – Guests browsing my WebOffice URL Figure 83 – WebOffice Meeting Manager Figure 84 – Share Application window Figure 85 – PhoneLink

Figure 86 – Raindance Moderator Menu

Figure 87 – Raindance Moderator Conference Screen Figure 88 – Raindance Sharing Toolbox & ShareWindow Figure 89 – The Bridgit Client & Creating a Conference Figure 90 – Bridgit’s host sharing and annotation tools Figure 91 – Bridgit’s attendee window using full color depth Figure 92 – The ConferenceManager “My Conferences” screen Figure 93 – The ConferenceManager Conference Room Figure 94 – The ConferenceManager Audio Console Figure 95 – The Spectel DataXchange conference desktop Figure 96 – DataXchange with the Audio Console

Figure 97 – WebInterpoint’s very simple presenter console

Figure 98 – The WebEx Meeting Center showing meeting options and the Meeting Calendar Figure 99 – WebEx accurately scales PowerPoint slides to fill the available client window Figure 100 – WebEx Sharing Options

Figure 101 – WebEx Videoconferencing Figure 102 – Size of respondent's enterprise

Figure 103 – Where is your organization located (select all that apply)? Figure 104 – Job title or description

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Figure 105 – Current use of Web Conferencing Figure 106 – Purchase Decision

Figure 107 – Products vs Services

Figure 108 – Top reasons for hosting your own web conferencing server Figure 109 – Vendors Used

Figure 110 – Vendor Experience

Figure 111 – Importance of Specific Features Figure 112 – Characteristics of web conferences Figure 113 – Web Conferencing Applications

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Chapter 1: Executive Summary

The web conferencing tsunami is upon us. Web conferencing is taking the rich media conferencing market by storm by augmenting traditional audio conferences with the ability to share visual content. The resulting productivity gains are immediate and the costs and complexity are low; hence the resulting ROI is easy to justify. Entirely new applications based on web conferencing technology have emerged in just the past year, including sales webinars, software demonstrations, and remote customer support.

Successfully harnessed, web conferencing can increase an organization’s productivity, competitiveness, and ultimately sales revenue.

Web conferencing is unique because it is Renegade. Anyone with a web browser, Internet connection, and a credit card can start holding web conferences. No special equipment (or network) is needed. The individual does not have to wait for the organization to make a formal vendor decision. Thus individual department users everywhere are using web conferencing without waiting for formal blessing by their employers. Within enterprises, this Renegade phase is quickly changing to a Blessed phase, however, as organizations begin to realize the technology’s immediate benefits and evaluate its future potential while being exposed to the underlying risks of web conferencing. Thus the Blessed phase consists of creating an organization-wide web conferencing strategy and making a formal supplier decision. We believe many of the readers of this report are currently involved in making this transition, or soon will be. So what is the optimal strategy and who is the right supplier for a particular organization? The web conferencing marketplace is still maturing and experiencing rapid change. The established name-brand leaders are being challenged by smaller suppliers with fresh perspectives. The usage paradigms are not well established; there is no such thing as a generic web conferencing solution. There are many questions to be answered: How does web conferencing fit with audio conferencing, videoconferencing, and instant messaging? What core features are essential? What unique applications may be important to a particular organization? Should an enterprise buy and host its own server or subscribe to a service? What about firewalls, security, reliability, and other pitfalls? Which vendors should be on the short list? How much should web conferencing ultimately cost?

This report is intended to arm the reader with what’s required to formulate a web conferencing strategy, identify the short list of potential vendors, and make the right decision. Our approach consists of: • Market Overview. The current state of the web conferencing market, recent trends, user priorities, key benefits, and vendor positioning. Topics covered include defining what web conferencing is, what social and technology trends make it possible, and how it fits with other forms of rich media conferencing. Key capabilities and benefits are revealed within a framework of actual user priorities derived from a survey of over 500 end users (full survey results are in the report’s Appendix). We then analyze how web conferencing is sold, and position the vendors covered in the report on an industry “Market Map”. Future technology and vendor trends are predicted.

• Technology Considerations. Several aspects are discussed, including system architecture, specific applets, performance, security, the user interface, and standards – all with a focus on the implications for users.

• Hands-on Look at Key Suppliers. The carefully selected list of 21 suppliers spans from the established name-brand leaders to emerging start-ups vying with break-through offerings. Each vendor’s strategy and product/service is summarized. Our hands-on look includes step-by-step impressions augmented with screen shots so the reader can gain an appreciation for the personality of each offering. Strengths and weaknesses are listed, and a subjective numeric (C) 2003 Wainhouse Research, LLC Page 7

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

rating is assigned in each of five areas – Features, Ease-of-Use, Performance, Reliability, and Value.

• Vendor Selection Process. Our recommended six-step process and criteria to find the right web conferencing solution for a particular organization.

• Appendix. A complete set of up-to-date reference material that includes a summary of our vendor ratings, vendor feature matrices, user survey results, and a full list of web conferencing providers Our research for this report revealed several key findings. First, and perhaps most important: we believe there is no single vendor offering that should be the universal choice for every customer. If there were a hands-down “winner,” you would not need this report. This being said, some offerings are definitely stronger than others, and the industry leaders are the leaders for good reason, but we found the playing field of perfectly acceptable offerings to be rather large. Thus a perfect-fit solution should be chosen from a short list of vendors depending on an organization’s specific requirements, budget, and culture.

Organizations that do not take the time to make this formal supplier decision run the risk choosing tools that fall significantly short of expectations and requirements.

Some other findings:

• Given the pressures of the current economy, it is possible to implement web conferencing on a budget. A whole new breed of low-cost vendors are producing products and services that provide basic web conferencing at an attractive price. These vendors play the 80-20 rule – that 80% of web conferencing users require only 20% of the most-used features. The net result is not only lower costs, but often a solution that is easier to use and support as well.

• Customers should watch for hidden costs. Be sure a service plan includes a technical support hotline, or be ready to implement your own. Software downloads can be a hassle. Understand the impact on network infrastructure. Hosting an internal web conferencing server is usually justified for reasons other than pure economics (security and integration being the top two). If a company chooses to purchase an internal solution, can that solution truly function and perform commensurate with a service provider, while saving money? The first important web conference that ends in failure will be accompanied by some pretty stiff questions for those who selected an in-house solution. The results very well could lead to additional costs to mitigate further disruptions.

• Know the users. Are they internal teams or external partners and customers? Can they deal with software downloads? Where is the firewall? Will web conferences be dependent on dial-up modem connections? Are they power users that will use every last feature? Is the solution easy to use or is training required? Some vendors work better than others in all of these situations.

Finally, the web conferencing industry will continue to be a state of flux for the foreseeable future. Pricing will continue to decline, and new, innovative solutions will be introduced. In particular, many expect Microsoft to make a big splash. Faced with this level of uncertainty many organizations will be tempted to simply wait to let the industry shake-out, or let each department continue to do its own thing. We think this is wrong. There are many fine web conferencing solutions offered today that can yield tremendous and immediate value with minimal barriers to entry – so let’s accept the challenge of finding a solution that is compatible with the unique needs of your organization to ride the web conferencing tsunami. Page 8 (C) 2003 Wainhouse Research, LLC

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Vendors covered in this report:

Centra Software Microsoft Data Connection Limited NetSpoke (iMeet) eDial PlaceWare

First Virtual Corporation Polycom (WebOffice) Genesys Raindance

Glance Networks SMART Technologies (Bridgit) IBM / Lotus Software (Sametime) Sonexis

Interwise Spectel InterCall (MShow) WebDialogs Latitude Communications WebEx Linktivity

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Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

A Detailed Look at Products, Services,

and Finding the Optimal Solution

April 2003

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

About the Authors

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Table of Contents

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

List of Figures

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Chapter 1: Executive Summary

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

Thinkofit

Riding the Web Conferencing Tsunami

3144 10

Avenue South

A Detailed Look at Products, Services,

Minneapolis, MN 55407

and Finding the Optimal Solution

Tel: 612-824-2001

Fax: 612-573-6667

Fax Back and Mail Order Form