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MaestroConference vs. West Collaboration (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    MaestroConference

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AMaestroConference is a web conferencing platform with the capability to run small break-out sessions within the main group. It incorporates voting and social capabilities.

    $49

    per month

    West Collaboration (discontinued)

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/ALaunched in October 2020, Hoot Meetings from Intrado was a client-free service used to host and join video meetings. Since rebranding to West Technology Group, the company is discontinuing its collaboration technologies. Hoot Meetings is no longer available.N/A
    Pricing
    MaestroConferenceWest Collaboration (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    MaestroConferenceWest Collaboration (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    MaestroConferenceWest Collaboration (discontinued)
    Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
    Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of MaestroConference and West Collaboration (discontinued)
    Feature
    MaestroConference
    -
    Ratings
    West Collaboration (discontinued)
    8.5
    2 Ratings
    7% above category average
    High quality audio00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    High quality video00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Low bandwidth requirements00 Ratings7.62 Ratings
    Mobile support00 Ratings8.42 Ratings
    Screen Sharing
    Comparison of Screen Sharing features of MaestroConference and West Collaboration (discontinued)
    Feature
    MaestroConference
    -
    Ratings
    West Collaboration (discontinued)
    8.3
    2 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Desktop sharing00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Whiteboards00 Ratings8.62 Ratings
    Online Meetings / Events
    Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of MaestroConference and West Collaboration (discontinued)
    Feature
    MaestroConference
    -
    Ratings
    West Collaboration (discontinued)
    8.4
    2 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Calendar integration00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Meeting initiation00 Ratings8.62 Ratings
    Integrates with social media00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Record meetings / events00 Ratings8.62 Ratings
    Slideshows00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Online Events Collaboration
    Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of MaestroConference and West Collaboration (discontinued)
    Feature
    MaestroConference
    -
    Ratings
    West Collaboration (discontinued)
    8.3
    2 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Live chat00 Ratings8.42 Ratings
    Audience polling00 Ratings8.42 Ratings
    Q&A00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Online Events Security
    Comparison of Online Events Security features of MaestroConference and West Collaboration (discontinued)
    Feature
    MaestroConference
    -
    Ratings
    West Collaboration (discontinued)
    8.7
    2 Ratings
    7% above category average
    User authentication00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings8.42 Ratings
    Confidential attendee list00 Ratings8.62 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    MaestroConferenceWest Collaboration (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    ClickMeeting
    Score9.5 out of 10
    ClickMeeting
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    JioMeet
    Score9.8 out of 10
    JioMeet
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Webex Meetings
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Webex Meetings
    Score8.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    MaestroConferenceWest Collaboration (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (3 ratings)
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    5.9
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    MaestroConferenceWest Collaboration (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    MaestroConference
    This is best suited for webinars where you want increase participant engagement. Maestroconference has helped us avoid the type of webinar where the presenter has no idea if people are listening and participants often lose interest and end up checking email. The interaction level can become extremely high leading to increased engagement, satisfaction and buy-in.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    It is a great choice if someone wants to add a large number of participants and have a large team. I have been using it and haven’t found it ruining the quality of video because of participants. Furthermore, My team found it easy to join the link . Something that bothers me is that it doesn’t work well with a weak internet connection and this is troublesome for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    MaestroConference
    • The number one strength of Maestro Conference is the ability for the host to create "break out" groups where members of the call can interact with each other in smaller groups as if they were in an in-person conference.
    • Another quality of Maestro Conference that I love is the fact that the host can then "weave in and out" of the different break out groups, listening in, providing support and getting feedback. It's an incredibly tool that Maestro offers.
    • Lastly I think Maestro Conference has excellent customer service.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Its integration with [Microsoft] Outlook is very helpful for us.
    • It provides the best quality of video and audio.
    • Its pricing is so fair and justified.
    • Its mobile application works quite smoothly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    MaestroConference
    • The call sound quality was often pretty poor, and we had a lot of trouble with calls being dropped. Over the years I would periodically throw in the towel and go back to Free Conferencing just to have reliable quality. But they only have 3 of 4 breakout rooms and I couldn't conduct the rooms easily. Then I try MC again to see if the engineering had improved. It was like a wave. Sometimes better, sometimes worse.
    • The conductor interface has an annoying glitch wherein we could not change a persons attribute fields on the fly. I would interview my callers and assign them to one class or another based on their answers, and the partner up people into breakout rooms based on their answers. This meant editing the two attribute fields , and it just plain didn't work 75% of the time.
    • Maestro Conference repositioned its business away from small educators like me, to large organizations like political action committees. The price became too high for me, and it just no longer made sense. I repositioned my product to work with less expensive and less complicated solutions.
    • The add on features, like recording each conference room, were insanely expensive.
    • VOIP and MC didn't mix. The MC dialer never worked. Neither did Skype. This meant that my international callers were out of luck. This was FRUSTRATING to say the least. Now I just use Skype. A picture is worth a thousand words.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • It requires a profoundly strong internet connection or else it stops working.
    • It is buggy.
    • There should be an update on it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    MaestroConference
    we have found no other company with the technology that allows us to conduct webinars with this level of interactivity. We've also been watching as the company has added on addtional functionality and are very please with how it is developing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    MaestroConference
    Maestro Conference is the only service I know that allows you to create break out groups and allow participants to actively engage with each other and with the host. It is the most like an "in-person" event of any service I have used. And the customer service has always been excellent
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I was not satisfied with the quality of video Zoom used to provide us. Furthermore, my team didn’t find the Zoom link easy to join and above all creating link for the meeting was very hard and tricky in Zoom which is easy in Hoot and Hoot works well even with a large number of participants, and my teammates find it easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    MaestroConference
    • When the monthly call with breakout rooms was working well I had a lot of good conversion. When it was not, because of sound quality of dropped calls, I was giving people a poor experience. Since I was using MC as the centerpiece of my TRIAL calls, it was a two edged sword.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • My team and I can better coordinate.
    • I am able to bring my team on one page and can communicate freely.
    • I can add my whole team and the quality of the video remains the same.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    MaestroConference Screenshots

    Screenshot of Social Webinar exampleScreenshot of A "breakout group" discussion - where you can see the faces of the other people you talk with by phone or using VOIP/your computerScreenshot of You can poll your participants with Poll View in Social WebinarScreenshot of Share links with other participants in a Social Webinar chat window, while you talkScreenshot of Crowdsource ideas with Idea Board View in Social Webinar