Yuuguu, who previously provided only screen sharing and web conferencing services has integrated the GoogleTalk client to expand its reach in the online collaboration market. Yuuguu users can simply connect their Google contact list with their Yuuguu contact list and instantly communicate with Gmail’s 92 million users. The Google Talk IM network is accessible through the Google client.

Yuuguu CEO, Anish Kapoor:

We have always been focused on building a service that integrates community, messaging and collaboration. By opening up our service to Google Talk IM network users, even more colleagues and friends can message and chat while they share screens for enhanced collaboration. Typical IM clients don’t allow screen sharing and have limited collaboration capabilities and typical web conferencing and screen sharing services have no presence or instant messaging capabilities. We wanted to bring these features into one application to ensure that users see, chat and control from one simple interface.”

With a single, click Yuuguu users can chat, screen share and collaborate in real time with any colleagues and friends on the Google Talk IM network without those people needing to download the Yuuguu application or install any additional plugins. In addition Yuuguu supports group sessions of Google Talk IM contacts, so several participants can easily join the secure conference or screen share.

Key features of the Virtual Classroom Pack include:

Support for up to 40 students per virtual classroom

Customization for teachers, including landing pages, logos, and other images

Integrated support for video chat

Built-in VoIP service, plus 10 free audio conferencing accounts.
Dimdim CEO, DD Ganguly:

Dimdim was launched with the goal to bring the world together, across all disciplines, whether in a business environment or on an academic campus. We feel it is our responsibility to provide easy to use, low cost collaboration tools like Dimdim Virtual Classroom Pack for schools and educational causes worldwide, and we are thrilled that several academic leaders have already embraced Dimdim to interact and share knowledge and ideas.

Gartner Research Analyst, Bianca Granetto:

This is the fifth consecutive year that the market has exhibited greater than 20 per cent growth year-on-year as more organizations have moved from an experimental phase to a richer experience and engagement phase of use

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the total market for web conferencing and collaboration technologies is set also on pace for record growth with a 2008 jump of 28.6 percent to reach $500.3 million in 2008. Western Europe, which holds 90 per cent market share of the web conference and collaboration market in the Europe/Middle East and Africa market, is expected to grow 26.5 percent while the Middle East and Africa will increase 45 percent over last year

Over the last couple of years, there has been a strong trend in growth among web conferencing, video conferencing and collaboration technologies. Gartner anticipates that instant messaging will become as popular as email by 2010, and videoconferencing will evolve to the desktop to support ad hoc conversations and become more cleanly integrated with web conferencing, IM and voice over IP systems.

Videocall CEO, Rob Portwood:

MyPresence represents a true step change in desktop video communications and the feedback that we’ve already received has been phenomenal. The addition of features such as gateway calls and firewall traversal adds further to the extensive list of benefits that the service brings. We believe that MyPresence is unique in providing a managed, scalable, high definition personal telepresence solution and in today’s economic climate the cost and efficiency savings that it brings have never been more relevant.

Additional MyPresence upgrades include firewall traversal using a border controller which allows the MyPresence service to be used within corporate networks without modification to the network infrastructure. When MyPresence detects a firewall, it automatically engages its firewall traversal system without the user even being prompted about the event. MyPresence’s internet portal is now available in multiple languages.

The Novo Minoru 3D webcam looks a lot like Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E robot, and according to the company will bring 3D video into your home or office. The animated looking camera has two lenses, roughly spaced the same distance as human eyes. The two images are recorded together in a single stream to create the 3D effect, much the way the human eye processes the images.

Viewers of this 3D video will have to wear the classic blue and read glasses to decode the 3D video which otherwise is too blury to see. The camera will come with five sets of 3D glasses and more will be available for order through the vendor. The Minoru can also record video in regular 2D format.

the Minoru, which literally means “reality” in Japanese, can be used with most instant messengers and video conferencing packages according to the British designers who created the product. The camera can also be used for still pictures or to record 3D video for YouTube. The webcam has been developed for the i-stage competition run by the Consumer Electronics Association and while still in prototype testing, the company expects the product to be available in December for $80.

Packetel President, Frank Tam:

Turbo Meeting has made conducting and attending meetings easier for thousands of users and we invite anyone who wants to save time and money to try Turbo Meeting. Our Web conferencing tool makes meetings more efficient and customers tell us the flexibility is just what they need.

Turbo Meeting offers an array of web conferencing options, and the application does not require a software download. Online presenters can email or message the link to their target audience and they can instantly be in the meeting.

Features of Turbo Meeting include:

• Meeting roles of Presenter and controller of keyboard/mouse can easily be assigned and controlled.
• Annotation over the entire screen/desktop.
• White board and chat functionalities.
• Optimized for different Internet connection speeds - Broadband to 28KB dial-up.
• Multiple participants can share screens/desktops.
• Schedule or hold ad hoc meetings and Webinars via verbal invitations.
• Unlimited number of users can host a Web meeting.
• Integrate with Outlook for sending e-mail invitations.
• Firewall compatibility.

Turbo Meeting also allows you to record your web conferencing sessions for later viewings, training, or to send to people that were not able to participate in the web conference. Packetel offers Web conferencing plans starting as low as $10.90 per month.

Collaboration tools usually find a niche in a specific category. Online presentation applications include big names like GoToMeeting and WebEx. There are whiteboarding applications like Twiddla’s brainstorming solution and Adobe’s Connect Now which lets you whiteboard and web conference at the same time. Or there’s Vyew which lets you whiteboard and screen share. OpenACircle contains a set of these tools, all in one convenient package. The suite however, does not include a dedicated white boarding feature.

There aren’t many applications that combine all these functions into one. OpenACircle, however, makes a good effort at at the complete package. The only feature that they seem to be missing is a dedicated whiteboarding tool, but considering the support for everything else from file sharing to screen sharing, it’s not worth dismissing the app solely due to that one missing feature, however it is puzzling why they didn’t include it. Apparently they’re looking to include this feature in a future release.

There are applications out there that do include all of the features including dedicated white boarding and online powerpoint uploads and presentation such as InstantPresenter. Instantpresenter has a complete set of web conferencing, video conferencing, webinar and collaboration tools at competitive pricing.

Premiere Global Services VP, Joan Kratz:

We are thrilled to be honored with this prestigious award from Frost & Sullivan. The power of audio and Web conferencing integration and the strength of our reseller partnerships have contributed to the growth of our conferencing and collaboration business. Our own Web conferencing product, Netspoke, continues to resonate with small- and medium-sized businesses, allowing customers access to robust collaboration features.”

Consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan believes that award winner, Premiere Global has significantly increased its presence in the competitive market of communication technologies. Frost & Sullivan  credits the company’s intuitive and easy to use products as an example of their focus on excellent user experience. Customers have full control over the products interface and can manage audio and web conference details simultaneously.

Frost & Sullivan Principal Analyst, Roopam Jain:

As evidenced by the company’s growth, Premiere Global Services’ product and marketing strategy continues to build momentum in the Web conferencing market.

The growing popularity of web-based social networking and video sharing sites has become an increasing threat to broadcasters, affecting their ratings and in turn their revenues. Viewers want the ability to be more interactive with the shows they watch and be able to contribute their own content. Broadcasters have been ineffective at meeting these needs as they lacked the tools for ingesting, moderating and publishing UGC into their TV formats, but that will all change with the introduction of iPoint-Media.

IBM Global Media and Entertainment VP, Steve Canepa:

Broadcasters are seeking solutions that help them respond quickly to a more complex, fast-paced and fragmented market. MediaHub offers a foundation to enable business transformation by linking interactive, business and content systems together for effective content management. Integrating iPoint-media’s high-performance video application delivery platform with MediaHub further enhances our ability to provide the speed and flexibility that our media clients demand.

iPoint-media and IBM are working together to address the needs of broadcasters for interactive, UGC-based content with GOliveTV and MediaHub. Visitors at the International Broadcasting convention will see GOliveTV in action at the IBM booth, ingesting multiple simultaneous live video callers and recorded content, moderating the content, then publishing it to a live TV show or distributing it via MediaHub. Visitors will also be able to see how GOliveTV’s content management interface offers broadcasters a simple, unified view of all forms of content, including SMS, MMS, e-mails, live and recorded 3G video calls and live or recorded webcam calls.

The findings about the web conferencing services market are based on a a study conducted by the agency covering 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The analysis finds that the market in Asia Pacific earned revenues of $25.3 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach $237.4 million by the end of 2014, at a compound annual growth rate of 37.7 percent from 2007 to 2014.

The research also indicates that the eb conferencing market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow by an estimated 38.8% this year, to reach a market size of $35.2 million by the year’s end. Australia, Japan and Greater China are the top three countries contributing revenue in the Web conferencing services sector. The main adopters of Web conferencing include high technology services and banking, financial services and insurance firms.

Web conferencing solutions have been widely used for meetings with clients in disparate locations, sales and marketing, and training purposes. The study also found specialized applications such as investor relations and webinars, enabling businesses to communicate with audiences beyond the company’s physical location.