Top 5 WebEx Alternatives

In our previous guides to web conferencing solutions WebEx came out trumps. However, there are many viable alternatives to this fantastic package. Whether it is for basic presentations, screen sharing or holding a teleconference, here are some of the best WebEx alternatives out there.

• GoToMeeting
  The GoToMeeting web conferencing solution is a worthy contender to the WebEx crown. It has a whole raft of features suited to every day business usage. Multiple presenters can lead the meeting, it integrates with Outlook and Lotus Notes for easy reminders and organisation, you can hide all other desktop icons and open documents when presenting and the presenter can share their keyboard and mouse. GoToMeeting also integrates with popular IM clients so you can simply invite friends on your contact list. Above all, it is affordable and reliable. Versions are available for Windows and Mac OS X.
• Dimdim
  Dimdim is an example of what web 2.0 can do to web conferencing. With an open source model, Dimdim lets attendees and presenters communicate with chat and VoIP, screen share, present slides and collaborate while presenters can broadcast your webcam with ease. Dimdim has 2 flavours: onsite where you install and run on your servers or the hosted version that Dimdim administers for you.
• HearMe
  Although not as widely known, HearMe is a solid web conferencing solution for businesses. It has all the usual conferencing features as you would expect such as 24/7 web-based meeting rooms, video conferencing in Internet Explorer with H.264 quality, the ability to share and application, 1-to-1 attendee chat and file transfer as well as the ability to share pre-recorded video in real time. They’re also ideally suited to use in SMB scenarios as HearMe is particularly adept at handling large meetings.
• Live Meeting
  If you’re in a predominantly Windows environment then it is worth looking into Live Meeting. Microsoft’s hosted web conferencing solution has some attractive features, with the tight integration with the Office suite being trump. It allows for easy brainstorming on shared documents with annotation and whiteboarding. Live Meeting supports VoIP and PSTN, attendee-to-attendee IM, live and recorded video presentation and more.
• Yugma
  This web collaboration solution has a free basic version that should cover all the basics. Yugma can handle multiple presenters with ease, anyone can become the presenter at any stage with the click of a button. There is good integration with Skype in the Yugma Skype Edition allowing you to easily invite friends from your contact list to join the conference. Other notable features include a set of presentation tools allowing you to brainstorm on a whiteboard and annotate documents as well free teleconferencing where you only pay for the call. Yugma performed well for us and is a worthy alternative to WebEx.