Video Conferencing Services

[ToryRodgers]

Very soon our company will be conducting multiple meetings simultaneously. Honestly we rely on Skype for our web meetings but since we have an important partner that is a little sensitive when it comes to security our company decided to upgrade. I am looking for an efficient video conferencing service provider that can be able to provide us the following requirements: We want something that can invite outsiders, like a client, by providing a URL and holding the meeting in a cloud-based video conference. Any recommendations? Preferably something that you have actually tried and tested.

[sanctus]

Well, depnds how much you wanna invest :-)

Cisco  is amazing http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/conferencing/video-conferencing/index.html ,where I work they have it and we used it sometimes; but with that quality a huge price comes (as you can guess by the fact that a price is not written on the linked page but it contains only a link to "request a price") Actually here is a pdf where there are prices, not sure which components you might need: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/solutions/industries/government/mississippi3760/docs/Cisco-MS-EPL-3760-VIDEO-CONFERENCING-Pricing-Guide-20160206-1.pdf


Otherwise we used appear.in quite a lot, works also from linux systems, downside is that you need chrome.

We also used hangouts (google).

I remember both having advantages and disadvantages but they do their job and allow for this sending an url to invite people outside team etc.

 

[CraigD]

Any recommendations? Preferably something that you have actually tried and tested.

Almost all of my experience as a user of remote meeting (or as its better know, web conferencing) software is with Webex, owned since 2007 by Cisco. It’s been a good experience – I’ve rarely had any problems with it.

 

As my company is in the process of moving to Microsoft’s Skype for Business, I have a little experience with it, less good, but I know too little about this product to have a credible opinion.

 

I have 3 key criteria for acceptable meeting software are:

• Meeting can be joined by anyone with a laptop or desktop computer with a common-place browser running under Windows, Mac, or Linux by opening their browser to a short URL.
• “Personal rooms” allow you to use the same URL to host any meeting – for example, https://{mycompany}.webex.com/meet/{myname}
• Has a legally sound (gives a visible indication to all participant when active) recording/playback feature.

[wiseshopper]

We also use WebEx.  So far, we never had an issue.

[ToryRodgers]

Thank you for the recommendations guys. Anyway, a consultant also suggested me a company that objective is to secure video conference. Hope it helps.

[CraigD]

Anyway, a consultant also suggested me a company that objective is to secure video conference. Hope it helps.

I’d describe my company’s experience with video conferencing (which is the title of this thread) as an expensive flirtation. Ca 2001, nearly every business and clinical (mine is a health care organization) building had a special “teleconferencing” room with built-in cameras and multiple display screens, which were rarely used, and fraught with technical problems when they were. By 2004, all the gadgetry was gone, and the space converted into something else. Our large rooms now have single high-up-mounted cameras and projectors, but what’s on the big screen is usually a shared desktop, and the camera is rarely used.

 

My experience, while I think it’s typical of the not-for-profit healthcare industry, may not be typical of other business. I’m curious of others have found the kind of teleconferencing our long-gone special rooms were intended for useful, and still use them, or individual desktop equivalents.

 

This is the first I’ve heard of the linked-to “OmniJoin” product, which looks to be part of Brother’s “cloud” products suite. Though I don’t know the deep technical details of products like WebEx and Skype for Business, I know that as most admins configure them, they use SSH-based encryption, so are reasonably secure. I don’t know what, if any, security improvements products like OmniJoin have over them.