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Web Conferencing is a powerful, cost-effective way to "meet" with prospective clients, update salespeople, or brief members of the press. It combines the personal interaction of a conference call with the power of Web-based presentations and collaboration. In theory, conducting meetings over the Internet is a great concept. You can save a bundle on business travel and still keep far-flung clients and employees engaged and up to speed. In practice, however, Web hosting services like WebEx and Microsoft Live Meeting cost a lot more than many SMBs can pay. Plus, learning how to setup and use one of these services can be an exercise in frustration.
Citrix GoToMeeting is the fastest, easiest and most secure way to present, train and collaborate online. Now you can host unlimited meetings for as long as you want with up to 10 attendees per meeting — all for one low monthly rate. Hold on-the-fly or scheduled presentations with prospects, perform live demos in real time and collaborate on documents with your colleagues. Features include Full Desktop Viewing, One-Click Meeting Setup, In-Session Presenter Switching, Shared Keyboard and Mouse Control, End-to-End Session Encryption and remarkably fast performance. There is free integrated conference calling, Microsoft Outlook integration, instant-messaging integration, chat and true 24-bit color. Best of all, GoToMeeting’s exclusive All You Can Meet flat monthly price lets you host as many meetings as you want — without any extra charges. the pricing structure that provides unlimited meetings for a flat fee; a user-friendly interface; and a hosted service model that takes the effort out of implementing, maintaining and scaling a conferencing solution.
Addressing the growing demand for a greater level of security and control, GoToMeeting uses industry-standard SSL and U.S. government-standard 128-bit AES encryption that ensure login information and meeting sessions are always secure. The service also allows meeting organizers to grant and revoke attendee privileges before or during a meeting session. A key difference with Citrix GoToMeeting Corporate is its exceptional ease-of-use. No pre-installation, training, or configuration by administrators or IT staff is necessary. The service can be deployed in minutes via its secure online Administration Center.
The streamlined interface makes it extremely easy for users to begin meeting right away. The service is conveniently integrated with audio on the phone to share documents, view presentations, collaborate and launch any application on the presenter's computer. With Citrix GoToMeeting Corporate, attendees easily meet, conduct sales demonstrations and collaborate with team members around the globe, anytime on demand.
The new version, GoToMeeting 2.0 which is free to existing GoToMeeting users, is designed to be more competitive with Microsoft Live Meeting 2005. The new tools in GoToMeeting 2.0 include desktop recording and playback; annotation tools that let meeting attendees draw on screen and highlight areas; and specific application sharing so that one particular application can be shown without letting users get distracted by other applications or features.
How It Works
First, you start by registering at the GoToMeeting Web site and creating a user name and password. The setup takes a few seconds as the GoToMeeting software downloads onto your PC – no configuration required. A couple more clicks to verify password info, and you're ready to host a meeting. Initiate a meeting by going to the Web site, click Host a Meeting, and send invitations to attendees via Outlook or Instant message. GoToMeeting is tightly integrated with Outlook, but it also works with any other e-mail client.
The people you invite to your meeting don't have to register or need any pre-loaded software. Once they click Join a Meeting on the Web site, the software downloads and within a few seconds, they'll be looking at the meeting host's PC desktop.
Competition Compared
Here's what you get – and what it costs – for Web conferencing from GoToMeeting, WebEx and Microsoft.
GoToMeeting
• $49 per month or $468 per year (20 percent savings from monthly plan)
• Up to 10 attendees and one organizer per meeting
• Unlimited usage and meetings
• Sold online
GoToMeeting Corporate
• $39 per month per organizer
• Minimum of five organizers
• Maximum of 25 attendees per meeting
• Central administration and control
• Unlimited usage and meetings
• Sold through Citrix Online direct sales force
WebEx
• $375 per month
• Maximum of five people
• Unlimited usage and meetings
• Additional person: $10 per 15 minutes
Microsoft Live Meeting
• $375 per month
• Maximum of five people
• Pay extra to upgrade to 128-bit security
The 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for Best New Web Conferencing Service was given to GoToMeeting based on its demonstrated excellence in developing and introducing a new class of service. Criteria used to determine the Award winner included: significance and competitive advantage of the new service; innovation in technology and pricing; pace of adoption; and number of competitors.
For further information on Citrix GoToMeeting visit http://www.GoToMeeting.com/
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