Adobe Connect Re-Run

In the "World Web Conferencing Market Report, 2006, Chart 1.15, by Frost & Sullivan, Breeze/Adobe Connect was listed in the "Others" category for market share meaning that Adobe Connect has less than a 0.3% market share in the on-demand space. WebEx has a 60%-plus market share in the same report. More on Adobe Connect

Many people do not know that Macromedia originally acquired the Breeze technology in 2003 from now defunct, Presidia. Then in 2005, Adobe acquired Breeze from Macromedia and rebranded it Adobe Connect and launched it as a new Adobe product offering. Most analysts have expressed their concerns that Adobe Connect is now part of a much larger product family which could hurt Adobe Connect in terms of resources, budget, and R&D.

According to the TMR Report, Q2 2006 by Helen Gallagher, Breeze received 2 our of 4 stars for ease of use. "Breeze is a challenge to learn, even for those with experience with other synchronous tools. Breeze does not have the ability to create breakout rooms and does not have an e-commerce capability." Overall, WebEx received 4 our of 4 stars, the highest mark of all solutions evaluated in the same report.

In NetworkWorld's recent test of web conferencing products, Breeze was ranked 9 out of 11 competitors, suggesting that the Breeze performance might not be at the same level as some of its peer products. More on Adobe Connect

An interesting comparison might be to look at the number of companies Microsoft has acquired and how many of the technologies generate revenue for the company compared to Adobe. After looking at the list, you'll agree that most of the listed companies and their respective technologies are ones you have never heard.

List of Microsoft Acquired Companies

My suspicion is that something similar with happen to Adobe Connect when compared to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop Suite, Dreamweaver and Flash, etc, it will eventually fall into the abyss of forgotten products. More on Adobe Connect

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert