Teamslide could disrupt WebEx
Michael Arrington
55 comments »
Munich, Germany based Teamslide is a new and very low cost alternative to services like WebEx, Placeware and GotToMeeting that allow people to share applications (like power point) online.
A typical use of WebEx, Placeware, GoToMeeting, etc. is a sales call. The host, or presenter, sets up the call using WebEx software. The attendees click a link in an email at the scheduled time, and everyone is joined in a virtual meeting. The host is able to share applications (powerpoint, browser, pdf, Word, etc.) and make the pitch.
A drawback of all of the existing services is price and the need for browser plugins for both hosts and attendees. WebEx and Placeware both have minimum pricing of $375/month, and GoToMeeting is a minimum of $50/month. And anyone that has used these services knows that they kill you on usage fees, over and above the minimum prices.
Teamslide, which just launched, has many of the features of the other services, is much easier to use (no plugins or other software for host or attendees) and is a fraction of the price. The downside is that, at least in its current implementation, it requires a server-side software installation.
The service requires only a browser for both host and attendees, has an Ajax interface and can be used to share presentation slides (in a proprietary Teamslide format). They’ve created a plugin for easy conversion from powerpoint. See more details of the service in their demo.
Based on the demo (linked above), which is a live implementation of the service, Teamslide is significantly easier to use than WebEx (I’ve been the victim of many failed WebEx presentations). A clear limitation of Teamslide is that it only shares presentation slides, whereas WebEx really shines when sharing a browser and other applications. But until now the only real alternative to WebEx, besides an in person meeting, was emailing of files before the presentation. Services like Teamslide, as well as online versions of powerpoint like Thumbstacks, are starting to change that.
Are you familiar with Macromedia/Adobe Breeze: http://www.macromedia.com/software/breeze/ its been out for a few years now. I think it is also fairly expensive, but it is pretty slick.
Is it just me, or does the mention of the name Adobe/Macromedia set off alarm bells in your head? Instinctive fear of .PDF loading time/ shockwave security, I suppose. I used to own a pentium 2, and the accidental clicking on a pdf link, would bring tears of frustation, as my connection to the lifeline crashed.
One very big queston: Does it allow desktop sharing. It’s a big thing for one-on-one presentations. It doesn’t seem that way. One of the main reasons companies don’t switch is because many of the newer services don’t offer this feature.
Also, browser based webconferencing platforms have one big drawback. You cannot truly share full screen because the browser takes up a portion (even though it may be small) of the screen.
Other than Breeze, check out convoq and vyew.
Hopefully these services are just a stepping stone towards true online collaboration. The pricing sounds like it’s an enterprise/biz play. See also Vyew.com.
There’s no way I can agree that a service like Teamslide could “disrupt WebEx”. TeamSlide requires you to upload a document to the server — this is static document sharing, not live destop sharing. The free version of Teamviewer/VNC is useful, but it’s limited to 15 minutes per session, which gets limiting very quickly. I would _love_ for someone to undercut WebEx, GoToMeeting, MS Live Meeting, etc., but this ain’t it.
I have successfully used a product called eBLVD (http://www.eblvd.com). This has most of the functionality of webex at a fraction of the cost. I have hosted several successful training sessions. It’s a great product and a great alternative to webex/livemeeting.
I personally know of a better service than all three of these. It’s called MyIvo. I’ve chatted with the creator, Vincent. The service is free and allows users to have up to 10 computers per account. Also, you can remote in, send files back and forth, and SSL Tunneling for FREE!
http://www.myivo.com
I agree that there’re such many personal colletcions, in packets. But a stand or fimilar coummunity version will be a better one.
There is no way Teamslide to replace WebEx (unless you don’t use it just for power point presentations). But if you are doing just powerpoint, you can just save the presentation as series of PNGs and upload them to any web site as I did here and then use DerTandemBrowser plugin for mozilla or any other synchro-browser tool to show it.
I wish it was that simple to replace WebEx (I was going to try myivo.com, but the site looks so amateur, so I can’t be sure there is no virus in the downloadable)….
This is ain’t no live collaboration, and using the phone for communication and no desktop sharing. Ridiculous…
Yes Breeze does support desktop sharing.
C’mon Mike…there are hundreds of players in the space that are as good as WebEx if not better.
As Pete said, there is Macromedia Breeze.
I personally have used RainDance, Genesys, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Live Meeting, and many others.
We use LiveMeeting from BT (a reseller of PlaceWare) - it’s free to sign up, no monthly cost, and starts at 22 pence per minutes per person, discounts available. We use it in my firm for lots of web demos and application sharing, it is full featured and reliable. Take a look.
I must say that this article is completely useless, lacks any depth and I am sorry Michael, but your research is non-existent. I have to stress a point here is that I am a WebEx user and often keen to explore the market, hence I landed on this article.
My points:
“WebEx has a minimum pricing of $375/month” Inaccurate, by 250% percent!
“And anyone that has used these services knows that they kill you on usage fees, over and above the minimum prices” Overagw occurs on only 1 service model, and this is highlighted and charges set with client before any agreement. WebEx actually runs mostly as a non-overage service.
“Teamslide is significantly easier to use than WebEx (I’ve been the victim of many failed WebEx presentations” Last calendar year WebEx experienced 0.19% downtime in over 1 billion people minutes of usage!
Yes I am a fan of WebEx for the very reason that it is absolutley and completely nothing like Teamslide, teamslide can only perform to meer shallow percentage of the functions WebEx can and many many other leading collaborative services. It is a real shame that bad reporting is allowed, I am not normally an advocate of pointing out mistakes, but in this case it angers me to see such bad reasearch, and professionalism. People do rely on advise from writers such as Michael, and in light of this readers are being informed of totally inaccurate information. There is nothing wrong with an opinion, but fact have to be that very thing, a fact!
I must say that this article is completely useless, lacks any depth and I am sorry Michael, but your research is non-existent. I have to stress a point here is that I am a WebEx user and often keen to explore the market, hence I landed on this article.
My points:
“WebEx has a minimum pricing of $375/month” Inaccurate, by 250% percent!
“And anyone that has used these services knows that they kill you on usage fees, over and above the minimum prices” Overagw occurs on only 1 service model, and this is highlighted and charges set with client before any agreement. WebEx actually runs mostly as a non-overage service.
“Teamslide is significantly easier to use than WebEx (I’ve been the victim of many failed WebEx presentations” Last calendar year WebEx experienced 0.19% downtime in over 1 billion people minutes of usage!
Yes I am a fan of WebEx for the very reason that it is absolutley and completely nothing like Teamslide, teamslide can only perform to meer shallow percentage of the functions WebEx can and many many other leading collaborative services. It is a real shame that bad reporting is allowed, I am not normally an advocate of pointing out mistakes, but in this case it angers me to see such bad reasearch, and professionalism. People do rely on advise from writers such as Michael, and in light of this readers are being informed of totally inaccurate information. There is nothing wrong with an opinion, but fact have to be that very thing, a fact!
There is no way this will disrupt Webex - it’s just too niche. What about the phone call cost? - you still need a voice bridge which are expensive. We use Interwise which does all of the usual doc sharing, desktop sharing, remote control, etc. AND it includes a VoIP client built in which shows who’s speaking etc. Downside is the need to download a small client - but it offers excellent features - which is what the enterprise market wants.
> Downside is the need to download a small client
Aha. Exactly, thats why teamslide shines as an AJAX app, no plug-in’s, no Java (WebEx), no ActiveX download.
> What about the phone call cost?
Use Skype = free phone conferencing.
Patrick
Let’s see. Software I install on a server to convert PowerPoint slides into a static format I upload and view in a player…not very Web 2.0.
No thanks, I’ll keep my $49 WebEx account.
18 - does interwise require a client download for attendees? That’s the killer, and what breaks webex so often.
I’ve found the comments more helpful than the article. Thanks everyone.
I’m quite impressed with vyew for four reasons: 1)doesn’t require a plugin or a special client 2)great functionality 3)intuitive interface 4)it’s free
MyIVO looks promising also (allows for remote desktop access), but you have to download and install a separate client.
It’d be nice to see a follow up of this article done, with a more comprehensive look at this space.
Amazing to what extent people are willing to write complete bull in those comments sections…probably in the hope that people never check up on them. Of course vyew requires a plug-in. In reality it is even worse: it requires Flash 8 and Java 1.4.
I haven’t had the chance to go real deep with this teamslide app, short of their online demo, but it looks solid and really polished. And it does not require any player, no idea where Charlene got that from.
Glance, Screen sharing made simple!!!
http://www.glance.net
Check out On24. They’re the best when it comes to scalable, high quality, customizable streaming presentations. They handle Cisco and IBM. Enough said.
No proprietary downloads. Windows and OSX compatible. Real support that knows what they’re talking about. Hands down the most reliable out there
I think the great thing about this thread is that it’s flushed out a lot of other similar apps that I’d not heard of previously. I agree with the folks who are saying this is not a real threat to Webex, GoToMeeting, NetMeeting and/or Placeware due to the lack of the desktop and application sharing. However, I also strongly agree that it’s huge to get away from client side apps and bulky plugins and the like. So I hope this is just the beginning for Teamslide…
Saleel (Seal?) wrote: “Is it just me, or does the mention of the name Adobe/Macromedia set off alarm bells in your head? Instinctive fear of .PDF loading time/ shockwave security, I suppose.”
Not me.
For Adobe Reader load time, please be sure to use the current version, because it does not load all capabilities at startup as the 6.0 generation did. Makes a big difference.
Macromedia Breeze relies upon the Adobe Flash browser extension, which likely has a wider support base among consumers than does literal “AJaX” (ie, XmlHttpRequest vs DHTML). Flash Player’s security record is actually quite strong, as you can verify via the following resources:
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/security/
For the main topic, AJaX provides ongoing refreshes of text data, yet today’s communication apps use many more media types than just text. Positing an equivalence is easy enough to say; a bit more work to support.
I tried that site’s demo, but it required a password. Here’s a whole bunch of resources on different ways to use Breeze, whether as presentation, collaboration, or training tool:
http://www.macromedia.com/software/breeze/
jd/adobe
Hello,
I have read the previous posts with interest as I have been researching alternatives to WebX and MS Meeting and The Macromedia offerings for 2 years. The best solution I have found has VOIP & Text Chat, web serfing, whiteboard, Desk Top Sharring, Session Recording, File Sharing, and Remote Administration all combined in one very affordable package with (unlimited seating) that is available for only $30 per month. Visit http://www.startmtg.com to learn just how valuable this new conferencing solution is.
Clarence
I agree with the overall comments that this is hardly a WebEx or GoToMeeting killer. I’ve used WebEx (loved it) and now use GoToMeeting (cheaper) because it is so much more than just a powerpoint presenter. The ability to highlight, point and share all application (especially since I embed website URLS in my presentations as examples) is vital and very much worth GoToMeeting’s $49/mo.
I agree someome is going to upset webex soon, but probably not TeamSlide. Their functionality is a fraction of webex, but you get what you pay for. Teamslide doesnt even have whiteboarding!
You should do a review on http://www.Vyew.com. This service is free, no-plugins, no downloads, you can import powerpoints and screenshots of your desktop then draw over it.
Interesting. It looks like there’s plenty of lemmings chasing rainbows in online collaboration.
teamslide is US$99 flat, no subscription from what I gather. Why should I pay yet another hoster 50 bucks every month or 600 US$ a year? But maybe that is just me.
Jo
check these guys out, ajax all the way even works in firefox..no plugin
http://www.propoint.com/ppi/in.....rodkpshows
It’s amazing how much incorrect information is posted on this site. Two months ago I purchased WebEx for only $39 a month. Unlimited meetings, free audio, desktop sharing, etc…
Why would you spend $49 on GoToMeeting or any other tool when WebEx is clearly the best and most robust product on the market. Now it’s one of the most cost effective.
http://meetmenow.webex.com/buy.....tings.html
Mark Wilson
AllStarTix
Mark, thank you for the webex pitch. It’s true that they have a single host product for $40/month. That’s still vastly more expensive than Teamslide, and still doesn’t work with a mac, and still requires plugins.
Whenever I see way too much product knowledge from random people who engage in personal slams, I tend to check IP addresses and usually find exactly what I expect to find.
Look, it’s perfectly fine to be proud of webex, its a decent product (I fired up my pc today for a new company pitch on webex), but it’s not a good idea to leave posts that are obviously biased and make personal attacks. I’ve seen enough of these to spot them in a second, and it’s bad for your company image.
I have to agree with a number of the comments, this looks like someone who hasn’t used webex much comparing it to something that doesn’t do completely what webex does.
Demonstrating a non-web app webex can do.
Colloboration on a document, webex can do.
Webex is client only, Teamslide is not.
Feel free to check my ip out, I’m nothing to do with them apart from a user of their software.
I’d like Teamslide to be a webex killer, or at least a good competitor, as it would push webex to improve their game and lower their prices, but I don’t seem Teamslide doing that, at least not right now. Perhaps later.
Ian
Ian, I agree. Except with the pat that I am not familiar with webex - I’ve run sales teams and used it extensively as a host, and as a blogger am pitched constantly using it.
But back to your main point. You are right that teamslide has nowhere near the feature set of webex. Teamslide doesn’t share a browser, for instance, so you can’t surf the web together.
But a lot of sales calls are nothing more than power point sharing. When services start to nibble away at the core features, at a small fraction of the price, it can hurt the established players.
Maybe the only thing we’ll get out of this as consumers is lower webex pricing, a webex that works properly with Macs, or perhaps a webex with less or no software installations, but all of those would be good things.
You’re correct in that a number of sales calls are death by powerpoint, but beyond that when a bid or sale starts to get technical, then unless you’re selling something totally web based, then showing an application for real only webex can do.
As you say, we can hope it pulls the price down, or they build their features up.
Now I have tried MyIvo and it works fine so far. Now one customer is using MAC. Does anyone of you a free Remote-Desktop-Sharing-tool which supports MAC. Would be excellent if the tool could handle firewalls & proxyserver.
It was only the inaccurate information that I was dissapointed in. I think in this case it is your publication that is biased and your in the position of a reporter who should have a balanced view of the products and services available to the market. Had there been a little more evidence that you were leveraging one product with another with solid facts then I would have no motivation to repsond. If I work for WebEx, then I have a right to be biased, reporting on a subject on the other hand should not lean towards any single motion.
PS: WebEx does with work with Mac
PPS: It is obviously more expensive than Teamslide, it is a completey different and a more feature rich product.
Finally, I do appreciate the work you do and the knowledge that you make available to us, but at this end of the day a person that displays work has to be open to criticism.
Sincerley,
reporter? balanced viewpoint? Have you ever read this blog before this post? Do you realize your email changed between comments? Ridiculous.
Just because webex says that it works with mac on its website doesnt mean it works with a mac in reality. I have one. It doesn’t work.
There is probably enough of a market for the Webexes of the world — with full desktop-sharing — and more focused applications like teamslide and Thumbstacks.
It remains to be seen how the latter category — web-based presentations — will shake out. teamslide and thumbstacks are both contenders. Both players focus only on presentations, not full desktop-sharing, at lower price points than Webex. Depending on your needs and budget, you could go with either Webex/GoToMeeting/Glance etc or something smaller in scale. There will be a new contender, coming soon: Exhibit.
You heard it here first!
Shameel at
exhibitanywhere dot com
Here is the final word on the subject. WebEx just had a great quarter and that is just the beginning. They have just hired a master sales person who is going to leave the competition with their mouth’s open, wondering what in the world just happened! Too bad all these other companies did not find this person first! Sales is a thinking persons game! There are no software, application, money problems, just idea problems!
I’m not sure about signing lengthy contracts with webex? Hopefully the sales master will change the “sales strategy”. As another option you should check out Batipi.com, they offer a variety of online meeting services, such as oracle web conferencing, multiparty video conferencing , & managed web events.
You are wrong about GoToMeeting - there are no ‘usage’ charges, as there are with WebEx and other solutions. You pay one price per month, period.
No, I don’t work there, but I have used the product and it is far more reliable than crap like VNC.