GoToMeeting and GotoWebinar Review and Interview

October 17, 2007

Gotomeeting and Gotowebinar is one of the best technology tools software that I have seen. Webex says that their webconference software is for small and mid companies. But I personally use their web conference software just to make online meetings. When I am traveling I don’t use any phone line which will cost me hundred of dollars to call my family, parents and friends. I told all my contacts to download this web conference tool and use their free trial when I am traveling, but some of them already bought as some of them that travels a lot are usefull because they can save a lot. Here is an interview with the most important questions about Gotomeeting and Gotowebinar Citrix Online company.

Q. Can you explain these programs?

A. What you have is a combo phone program with screen chat, where you can broadcast everything to your meeting attendees. Allison can share whatever she wishes with you. Allison was presenting the interactive web tool. GoToMeeting makes it easy for individuals and organizations to meet, present information and demonstrate products in secure online meetings. Its cost-effective pricing delivers unlimited meetings for one flat fee. GoToMeeting and GotoWebinar increases productivity, decreases operational costs and generates sales opportunities more than any online meeting solution available.

Q. When did Citrix Online decide to get into the online meeting business with GoToMeeting and GotoWebinar, and how does it fit with its overall corporate strategy?

A. Our mission at Citrix Online is to enable individuals and companies to securely and easily collaborate with their customers and colleagues. We launched our company with a screen-sharing technology that connects computers over the Internet, allowing people to easily collaborate and share documents from remote locations. Our first product was our remote technical support solution GoToAssist (formerly DesktopStreaming), followed by our remote access solution GoToMyPC. Both products quickly became the leaders in their respective categories. Our screen-sharing technology provides a natural fit for online meetings and web conferencing. With strong growth projected for online meetings, we knew we had a lucrative business opportunity that is consistent with our overall company strategy.

Q. Who are the major consumers of your online meeting services, and how do they use your products?

A. With GoToMeeting and GotoWebinar, individuals and corporate organizations can save time and money with the easiest-to-use online meeting solution. For one flat fee, users can meet for as long as they want and as often as they want. This disruptive solution is changing the way professionals meet and web conference to deliver presentations, review documents or images and provide training on demand.

Q. What was your motivation behind this website?

A. Allison: It’s not just a website, it’s a meeting tool, meant to be an interactive service. I can change presentation services, and provide the ability to meet and collaborate together on a document. This is great for presentations, trainings, and testing products.

Eric: What’s been going on in the marketplace, with the invention of the Internet, is the world has gotten smaller. A ma and pop store can have a website and compete with large, corporate companies. It leveled the playing field, every small biz can be a player. We started to see more and more players, which increased competition and led to now. You have to work 24/7. Workers have to work harder and can’t waste any time on communications. Everyone has to be increasingly efficient. That’s what drove the motivation.

We are starting to see everyone use web conferencing, in a matter of years, it will be just like email.

Q. So, how easy is this software to use?

Eric: Ease of use is one of our prime differentiators. It is easy to use and cost effective, flexible. Simpler is always better.

Eric and Allison walked me through a presentation of the software giving me a power point demonstration. What I learned is:

It’s easy to use. As an attendee, I did not have to download any software. I just clicked on a link they emailed me, and dialed into the conference room.

It’s fast. Just like the phone conversation, I was able to see everything they showed me in real time.

It’s flexible. They offer different options based on your needs. They have a program for up to ten participants and a different one for up to 25. For larger meetings, they offer a different service called webinars.

It’s secure and reliable. You don’t have to worry about anyone “spying” on your meeting.

I was impressed how this software incorporates different learning styles: audio, visual and hands-on.

Q. How does GoToMeeting compete functionally with the major web conferencing providers? What are the features which, in your view, provide competitive advantage?

A. We unleashed GoToMeeting as a disruptive technology, built on our “Simpler is Better” platform. Market research indicated that 90% of online meetings are for application sharing from a desktop, and that the main barriers to more frequent use were due to complexity, cost and integration concerns. We built a model to address this. By making it extremely easy to use, affordable and secure, we ‘ve opened up a whole new way for individuals to communicate.

The features our customers like most are the flat-fee pricing, the ‘easy-as-e-mail ‘ simplicity, the high performance and reliability, and the iron-clad, built-in security. With our pricing model, subscribers get the advantage of meeting as often and for as long as they want, without the worry of overage charges. Our simplicity is unsurpassed. E-mail doesn ‘t come with an instruction manual and neither does GoToMeeting. Everything you need to get the job done is right there on the screen. Our small, fast downloads and easy interface let you focus on the meeting and not the set-up. As for security, end-to-end encryption ensures that every online session is fully protected from eavesdropping. And unlike most other online meeting services, our security is built-in and cannot be turned off. Together, these features make GoToMeeting an attractive proposition.

Q. Expound on the “Simpler is Better” philosophy touted by Citrix Online. What are some concrete examples of features or user-design in which the “simpler is better” credo is manifested?

Our philosophy is to develop sophisticated screen-sharing solutions with an extremely easy interface that will enable people to be as productive as possible. We took the computing world by storm when we introduced GoToMyPC, which gave mobile workers the ability to access their office or home computer from any other PC – and work as if they were at their own desktop PC. Here was a new application for technology that was also easy to use, extremely secure and very affordable. GoToMyPC continues to be the market leader. Everywhere I go, people still tell me how much they love it. That ’s the power of our “Simpler is Better” philosophy.

With GoToMeeting, we ‘ve stripped the non-essential bells and whistles, focusing only on the features used most frequently for online meetings. This makes it extremely fast and reliable. And it builds customer confidence because they can master the service quickly and use it more frequently for impromptu meetings, contributing greatly to their efficiency and productivity.

Q. Do subscribers have to download anything with GoToMeeting / GotoWebinar?

A. Sticking with our “Simpler is Better” approach, the set-up is really very simple. Invited attendees don ‘t even need to be GoToMeeting subscribers to participate fully in a meeting. All that the invited individual has to do is click on the link in the invitation from the subscriber. The software is automatically downloaded, and they ‘re in the meeting.

Q. Are there live customer-service operators who can assist new users of GoToMeeting / GotoWebinar?

With our simple interface, there is no need for training or IT assistance. I compare the process to pressing a button on a telephone. It ’s that simple. However, Citrix Online has customer service technicians available should someone need assistance with any of our products.

Q. What’s unique in the underlying technology of GoToMeeting?

A. Our simple interface and procedures make starting and joining a meeting easier than any competitive offering. We are the only service with true built-in end-to-end encryption, resulting in the highest level of security. And our patented bandwidth adaptive compression technology means that performance during meetings is exceptional.

Q. What are the prices?

A. There is a 30-days free trial to use both web conferencing software. We offer two versions of the product which are licensed per organizer. Citrix GoToMeeting is for individuals and small businesses that require a single-user account and up to 10 attendees per meeting. Citrix GoToMeeting Corporate is available as a company-wide solution for businesses that require a minimum of five user-accounts with 25 attendees per meeting, and optional event-license upgrades for up to 200 attendees per meeting. Customers can subscribe on a monthly basis, or pay annually and save 20 percent. For the single-user version, the cost is $49 per month, or $468 when paid annually. *Check the current prices it may changed*