Web meetings rival the real thing

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By Cathleen Moore

(IDG) -- Aiming to further engrain virtual meetings into the enterprise, WebEx and PlaceWare are readying services and partnerships designed to make Web-based conferencing more riveting and easier to initiate.

WebEx on Tuesday rolled out new technology and a related service that expands the use of multimedia content in Web-based meetings.

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The San Jose, California-based company is sprucing up its existing Web conferencing switching network with Mediatone, a new technology designed to allow the network to share complex media types such as video, data streams, applications, and three-dimensional objects.

For example, Mediatone lets users share rich media within PowerPoint presentations while retaining control over presentation delivery, according to Praful Shah, vice president of strategic marketing at WebEx. Rather than guiding meeting attendees through a set of slides, Mediatone allows the sharing of presentation animations and transitions. In addition, within PowerPoint, users can chare Windows Media Player or RealPlayer content, Shah said.

Other features include the ability to share and control the delivery of embedded Flash files, to share and manipulate three-dimensional CAD objects, and to share previously recorded WebEx meetings, company officials said.

To help Web conferencing rival the spontaneity and productivity of face-to-face meetings, the technology needs to let users easily incorporate a variety of media types and applications, according to Shah.

During virtual team meetings, "as the conversation gets longer, the key issue is how [to] keep it engaging for remote workers. Multimedia content and more interaction will let people see the real value of Web meetings," he said.

Additionally, WebEx launched a new version of its Meeting Center service that leverages the Mediatone functionality and extends meetings to wireless devices.

Meanwhile, Web conferencing competitor PlaceWare later this month plans to partner with Microsoft to integrate PlaceWare Web conferencing into Outlook and Windows Messenger.

The deal, which expands a previous relationship with Microsoft, aims to simplify the process of launching virtual meetings. The integration will allow users to quickly initiate meetings within either Outlook or Messenger applications, thereby saving time and encouraging the use of e-meetings, according to PlaceWare officials in Mountain View, California.