Unlocking WebEx Connect

WebEx has launched "WebEx Connect," which consists of the WebEx Connect Grid and the WebEx Connect Workspace. Via the WebEx Connect Platform, people are connected and integrated with their most critical business applications. No longer is there a disconnect among people, process, and technology.

The WebEx Connect Grid, provides a set of "connector" services so that any 3rd party application can be easily integrated with the WebEx suite of services. This platform benefits both partners and individual companies. Imagine if partners or ISV's could use the connectors to make their technologies accessible to the 25,000-plus WebEx customers? Talk about instant reach, credibility, and the potential for immediate breakthrough business results. On the flip side. imagine if WebEx customers could access any of these integrated technologies and select those that will enable them to be successful. If I need a CRM solution, I can choose between Sugar CRM and NetSuite among others. If I need a solution that will help my employees and client better visualize ideas and project plans, I can select MindManager 6.0 from MindJet.com

Here is another way to think about how impactful WebEx Connect will be. Just like you go to iTunes to download your favorite music, scrolling through the different genres of music, WebEx Connect is the same think but you are now shopping for applications. WebEx Connect is the technology marketplace for technology providers and buyers to connect and conduct business. Behind the scenes, WebEx is at the core of every single new business relationship that develops.

“By creating tight, two-way integration between multiple applications, WebEx Connect composite applications are the business equivalent of consumer mashups,” said Roopam Jain, principal analyst for conferencing and collaboration at Frost and Sullivan. "By merging business processes and data from several sources with WebEx collaborative applications, WebEx is eliminating the need to rewrite traditional software simply for the sake of being 'on-demand'.”

"Business Objects sees the launch of WebEx Connect as an excellent opportunity to take part in creating an online community that links people across the entire business ecosystem," said Steve Lucas, vice president of strategic markets at Business Objects. "Individuals can use WebEx Connect to build "mashups" by stitching together and customizing the business applications they need. By contributing the industry's leading business intelligence solutions, Business Objects is giving information workers an easy way to access and use critical data in the familiar environment of today's Web 2.0 applications."

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert