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ABSTRACT:
While NetMeeting has played an important role in the early adoption of web conferencing – primarily by being a "free" component of Windows that fulfilled early data conferencing needs – it has at least two major shortcomings as identified in this paper that can severely limit the adoption of web collaboration in organizations. The fact that Microsoft has discontinued the product, combined with the reality that the industry now offers second generation web collaboration products and services with very competitive flat-rate pricing, provides further incentive for NetMeeting users to switch sooner rather than later. As shown in the three illustrated cases, removing the constraints of NetMeeting can unleash adoption – enabling organizations to begin to realize the full potential of the latest web collaboration solutions for increased productivity and competitive gain. Those who wait to make the transition are being penny wise and pound foolish.
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Authors
Andy Nilssen
Senior Analyst & Partner
,
Wainhouse Research
Andy Nilssen is a Senior Analyst & Partner at Wainhouse Research, where he is a consultant to rich media conferencing vendors, network infrastructure vendors, end users, government agencies, end users, and venture capitalists. Andy is a co-author of WR's annual three volume series Rich Media Conferencing, the firm’s thorough analysis of the conferencing industry, is co-lead analyst for the Wainhouse Research WebMetrics web conferencing research program, and leads the WR web conferencing and IM & Presence practice. Earlier in his career, Andy managed the planning and launching of PictureTel's Venue and Concorde group videoconferencing systems. Andy has 25 years of experience in high-technology product marketing and market research, earned his MBA and BSEE degrees from the University of New Hampshire, and holds two ease-of-use related patents.
Alan D. Greenberg
Senior Analyst & Partner
,
Wainhouse Research
Alan Greenberg is a Senior Analyst & Partner at Wainhouse Research. Alan has worked in the telecommunications, videoconferencing, software and services, and multimedia arenas for more than 20 years, holding marketing positions with VTEL, Texas Instruments, and several Austin, Texas-based startups. He has conducted research into dozens of distance learning and e-Learning programs and covers managed services, 3G wireless conferencing, and management software for WR. He is co-lead analyst on the Wainhouse Research WebMetrics research program, and has authored many research notes on web conferencing and e-Learning vendors at www.wrplatinum.com. Alan holds an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from Hampshire College.
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