Yaas -- I'm responsible for the core server engine in ASAP. Go to http://www.convoq.com/ for full details. Pardon a brief ad, but it seems relevant.
Summary: we have a free version (ASAP Express) for 1-to-1 meetings. For larger conferences it costs actual money (ASAP Pro), but we're still a small fraction the cost of things like WebEx. We don't have absolutely every fancy feature (eg, Remote Control) yet, but our bang for the buck is better than anything else out there. And since the meeting client is pure Flash (and pretty much everyone has Flash), it means that meeting invitees don't have to download or install anything -- you send them an invitation, they click on it, and *poof*, they're in the meeting. The result is that we work in a lot of environments where nothing else does.
Whether we're the absolute best depends on what you need -- I'll freely admit that there are a few things WebEx does better than us. (So far.) But we have a lot of powerful meeting-convocation features that no one else on the market has, and we're one of the few reasonably-priced systems. So check it out: if you're in the market, get a copy of ASAP Express and play with it -- it's pretty much the complete product, limited only in terms of meeting size...
I'm still trying to get a handle on what features we need, and what pricing model will work best for us.
Our current plans don't call for using it very often, but if we buy a package that could change (as opposed to a pay per use set up). Primarily we will be using it to demo software and UI mock-ups. In some cases remote control would be useful.
For a 1-to-1 meeting, what advantage is there to using web conferencing software over something like pcAnywhere?
Again, depends on what you're looking for. Honestly, I don't know pcAnywhere well enough to be able to compare. From the online information, it looks like it has very strong remote control, but relatively weak direct interaction. (Does it even have voice & video? They're not mentioned in the feature list.)
I will say that we work better than most for software demos, specifically because of the no-download thing. You start the meeting, send an email or IM invitation to the person you're demo'ing to, then screen-share the software being demo'ed. Since they just click and they're in quickly, it tends to reduce the barrier to entry to the demo. Most other packages have a download step that is a hassle in a sales situation.
But yes -- it'll depend on which features you decide you need. Include it in the evaluation, and feel free to drop me a note (mwaks at convoq) if you have questions...
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-16 06:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-16 08:15 pm (UTC)Summary: we have a free version (ASAP Express) for 1-to-1 meetings. For larger conferences it costs actual money (ASAP Pro), but we're still a small fraction the cost of things like WebEx. We don't have absolutely every fancy feature (eg, Remote Control) yet, but our bang for the buck is better than anything else out there. And since the meeting client is pure Flash (and pretty much everyone has Flash), it means that meeting invitees don't have to download or install anything -- you send them an invitation, they click on it, and *poof*, they're in the meeting. The result is that we work in a lot of environments where nothing else does.
Whether we're the absolute best depends on what you need -- I'll freely admit that there are a few things WebEx does better than us. (So far.) But we have a lot of powerful meeting-convocation features that no one else on the market has, and we're one of the few reasonably-priced systems. So check it out: if you're in the market, get a copy of ASAP Express and play with it -- it's pretty much the complete product, limited only in terms of meeting size...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-17 01:51 pm (UTC)Our current plans don't call for using it very often, but if we buy a package that could change (as opposed to a pay per use set up). Primarily we will be using it to demo software and UI mock-ups. In some cases remote control would be useful.
For a 1-to-1 meeting, what advantage is there to using web conferencing software over something like pcAnywhere?
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-17 04:58 pm (UTC)I will say that we work better than most for software demos, specifically because of the no-download thing. You start the meeting, send an email or IM invitation to the person you're demo'ing to, then screen-share the software being demo'ed. Since they just click and they're in quickly, it tends to reduce the barrier to entry to the demo. Most other packages have a download step that is a hassle in a sales situation.
But yes -- it'll depend on which features you decide you need. Include it in the evaluation, and feel free to drop me a note (mwaks at convoq) if you have questions...