AT&T Buys Interwise

As predicted, 2007 has been a year of consolidation for web collaboration companies/technologies.

Google and Marratech for undisclosed amount
Cisco and WebEx Communications for $3.2 billion

Now, AT&T acquires Interwise for $121M. Interwise has about 130 employees with $20M in sales revenue and based in Cambridge, MA.

AT&T said that it expects to retain the Interwise management team, which is headed by Frank Zvi, co-founder, president, and CEO of Interwise. The company's domestic and international operations also are expected to be retained, AT&T said.

Thanks,

David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

WebEx and iPhone

WebEx has launched an iPhone compatible version of its PCNow on demand remote access service for wireless devices and desktops.

The iPhone users can access desktop PC files, desktop search tools, Microsoft Outlook corporate mail, contacts, tasks and appointments from their handsets via the phone's Safari browser. The service also comes with SkypeOut functionality which allows users to make outbound calls even if their mobiles are not supported by the Skype mobile client.

WebEx's European vice president, Bert van der Zwan, argued that the service may encourage the adoption of the iPhone among enterprises when it reaches the UK later in the year.

"The iPhone has raised a number of security concerns with employers in relation to staff running and accessing business systems - limiting adoption by businesses. "We are introducing changes so that users can access emails as well as contacts, appointments and desktop PC files whilst on the move, via our secure MediaTone network."

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

International Opportunities for Web Conferencing

The web conferencing market continues to grow at an accelerated rate. According to Frost & Sullivan, the web conferencing market, which was valued at $725M in 2005, is forecasted to reach almost $3B in 2011, a compound annual growth rate of about 25.9%. (Data Source: Frost & Sullivan) Much of the global market capture will be from Small and Mid-sized Businesses and the international markets.

Competition in the US is becoming more and more competitive and pervasive in every sales opportunity. Web conferencing companies need to focus on product differentiation, verticalized solutions, integrated applications, and an aggressive international strategy coupled with a first-to-market mentality will be key success factors for long-term success.

Web conferencing in China is beginning to emerge as an enabling technology and the web conferencing growth potential is enormous. China represents less than 5% of the World’s Total Web Conferencing Revenue while the USA accounts for about 82%, slightly down from the year before. It is evident that the international marketplace presents both opportunities and challenges for web conferencing companies.

GoToWebinar's Limitations

GoToWebinar, an extension of GoToMeeting, has gained some buzz in the market, mainly because it's so cheap. Kind of makes you wonder 1) How Citrix is making money from it? 2) How good or reliable is the solution? The old adage, "You pay for what you get," certainly rings true with all the GoTo products and GoToWebinar is nothing short of this.

Example 1. When sending out email invitations to a webinar, the coordinator needs to manually forward the registration details and invites. Citrix recommends that you Bcc: all email addresses for added privacy. What if you forget to do this? Well, everyone just inherited a email marketing list that you spent years building.

Example 2: GoToWebinar lacks a custom registration page so the coordinator cannot track registration in stages: Pending, Rejected, Approved, Updated, etc.

Example 3: GoToWebinar forces you to use their outsourced 3rd party solution, FreeConferenceCall.com (Click here to read details about Cingular, Sprint, ATT battling this Citrix partner.) (Article 2) GoToWebinar does not offer Audio Broadcasting, Integrated VoIP, or dial-out to attendee capabilities. These three telco giants are looking to block all Citrix audio users from using FreeConferenceCall.com Do you want to be caught up in the chaos? Who do you think is going to win this battle?

Example 4: Speaking of block. GoToWebinar and GoToMeeting are notorious for "blocked URL's." Companies will block the GoTo URL's so their employees cannot join GoTo session, mainly because these GoTo sessions are not backed by any 3rd party security certifications which means companies run the risk of computer viruses, worms, trojans, etc.

Quinlan Eddy, CEO of StarAnalytics, switched from GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar to WebEx because his company had recurring issues where the companies they were trying to meet online with blocked the GoTo URL's. In one instance with Citibank, Citibank simply told them they were no longer interested in seeing the demo. Lost revenue???

Example 5: If you want to record your webinar, GoToWebinar requires that you have an input device like a microphone connected to your computer and then configured to the GoToWebinar audio settings. (I'm already getting lost with what this all means and how to set it up...) Click here for the full list of instructions. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just click "Record," and your webinar would be recorded?

Another thing to consider during the GoToWebinar recording. You are required to have 1 GB of available storage, download a G2M2 recording codec, and are expected to wait 45 minutes for a 60 minute recording to "convert." Citrix recommends that you do nothing on your computer during this 45 minute conversion since the recording/conversion process requires lots of CPU.

Example 6: GoToWebinar CANNOT support the following:

• Lead source tracking ID's
• Automated lead scoring
• Integration into CRM marketing campaigns
• Online calendar of events
• Custom enrollment email messages
• Production services
• Custom animations in PowerPoint
• Virtual whiteboard
• Video streaming
• Integrated VoIP
• File transfer
• Real-time communications as everything relies on their Citrix Metaframe Presentation Server

At the end of the day, with all the GoTo Products, you pay for what you get. If you are willing to risk a failed event, perhaps lost business, damaged reputation, it might be a viable solution. Otherwise, if you are like most companies who are looking to minimize their investment risk and want to do all the right things, go with a market leader, a trusted and proven solution.

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

Cisco Buys WebEx (Podcast)

Cisco to Acquire WebEx: Enabling Collaboration in the SMB Market

March 15, 2007 - CDO Charles Giancarlo speaks on acquisition: The combination of Cisco and WebEx will deliver compelling solutions accelerating this next wave of business communications.

Listen to the podcast

Cisco Acquires WebEx

Earlier this week, Cisco (CSCO) entered a definitive agreement to acquire WebEx (WEBX) for $3.2 billion cash buy out. WebEx CEO Subrah Iyar must have had his negotiation hat on as he delivered a hefty 25% premium on the deal for all WebEx shareholders. It's interesting to me that Cisco is buying WebEx for $3.2 billion when WebEx's 2006 revenue was $380M. The numbers just don't add up unless there is some significant strategic valuations in play...the WebEx Connect Strategy perhaps???

WebEx will operate as an independent business unit with Subrah Iyar reporting to Charlie Giancalo, Cisco Chief Development Officer and President of Cisco-Linksys. Download Charles_Giancarlo_bio_3.2.07.pdf

More details on the story

PC Now 3.0 for Mobile Devices

Imagine having the ability to access your PC from either another remote PC or your mobile device, such as your cell phone!

Key Capabilities of PC Now 3.0:

• You can run any application and access the entire desktop
• You can access your email, files, folders and your computer's network resources
• You can transfer files to and from your remote computer
• You can print a document on the remote computer to your local printer without having to install any applications or print drivers

Key Benefits of PC Now 3.0:

• Avoid commuting and rush hour traffic by working from home
• Demonstrate software products without having to install them onsite
• Travel without taking your laptop - especially useful with the additional security these days
• Check your office email and schedules from an airport kiosk
• Forgot to copy a document or presentation to your laptop before a business trip? Just copy it across using WebEx PCNow.

Multiple Security Layers of PC Now 3.0:

• No need to open any ports in your firewall
• End to end SSL encrypted
• Two levels of authentication
• Unique phone authentication for very high security
• You can protect your privacy
• Blank the screen of the remote computer so no one can see what you are doing
• Lock the keyboard and mouse of the remote computer so no one else can interrupt it
• Logout or screen-lock the remote computer after your session is complete- WebEx PCNow will let you log back in
• You control what folders are setup for remote access and any access can be further protected by a unique password.

PC Now 3.0 is significantly easier to use then VPN or Microsoft Remote Desktop. There is no dependency of computers having to be on "the network" and there are no restrictions on what version of Windows you are running. VPN can be costly, time consuming to setup, require special configurations on the firewall, and are still very manual based.

Try PC Now!!! ($12.95 per month per PC)

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

SMB Predictions for 2007

The other day I was talking to a small business owner of an advertising agency in New York City with about 35 employees. We got into a lengthy conversation about how his company differentiates itself from all the other New York ad agencies, what some of the common marketing mistakes typical businesses make and what he wants people to think about when they hear his company's name.

What I found interesting is that even though his company is "small" and private, he views his company as an industry giant, as a company that is no different than an Omnicom Group.

"Yes I'm a small business but I have the same challenges and concerns as the big guys. I worry about internet security, bad New York weather, and believe it or not...I even worry about federal regulations. In fact, because I'm small businesses I need to address these things even more so because it could put me out of business! One federal penalty, for whatever reason, and I might not be able to recover from it financially. One computer virus could infect the network, infect customer data and equate to lost business. I can't afford that so I need to be proactive and forward thinking."

The conversation sparked my predictions for 2007 for Small Businesses:

1. Internet Security for the real life example listed above
2. Remote communications: wireless internet connections, smartphones, voip, Blackberries. Work smarter and more efficiently.
3. Web Collaboration Technologies like WebEx to increase corporate productivity, shorten sales cycles, increase market reach, improve customer retention and satisfaction while reducing travel time and cost. Do more with less.
4. Asset Utilization and Optimization. Leverage new technologies with strong integration capabilities. Reduce the number of siloed environments, create a seamless and standard platform where back end systems can communicate with one another.
5. Invest in SaaS technologies: zero implementation and deployment costs, minimal IT resources, not tied to a corporate VPN or corporate network since it's 100% web-based, global access, automatic updates, quick ROI, low risk.

It should be an interesting year for small businesses. Following a few of the predictions could be the difference between a good small company and a great soon to be industry leader.

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

Best of Elearning! 2006 Awards

WebEx once again came out on top in the e-learning world capturing the two top industry awards by ELearning Magazine's Best of Elearning! 2006 Awards. WebEx won for Best Virtual Classroom and Best Web Seminar Solution.

Elearning! readers cited WebEx Training Center's reliability, performance, and ease of use as key components. Other big pluses were:

• Seamless integration with multiple learning management systems (LMS)

• Outstanding customer support

• Superior overall quality

WebEx Training Center enables users to instantly deliver interactive online training to employees, partners and customers anywhere, anytime through a standard web browser. Capabilities like Hands-On Lab, Break-Out Sessions, Integrated E-Commerce, Test Library, set Training Center apart from all other solutions.

WebEx Meeting Center was named the Best Web Seminar Solution and recognized for its superior customer service, ease of use and comprehensive set of features to help users present efficient, effective presentations. With WebEx Meeting Center, users can present information, share applications, and collaborate on projects with customers and co-workers around the globe.

Like all WebEx solutions, Training Center and Meeting Center leverage the WebEx MediaTone Network for the highest level of reliability, availability, performance and security. Read what the Credit Suisse Analysts had to say about MediaTone.

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert