Item: Webex Webinars
Rating: 6
Author: Taylor S. Shelberg, MBA

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Webex Events was one of the first platforms we pivoted to back in March 2020. Our Admissions office quickly researched how to use the platform in the Support section of the software. Then, we flipped all of our on-campus experience into virtual offerings using Webex Events. Since the university already possessed a Cisco Webex enterprise license, it made it easier to know which software to utilize. At the time, the online programs were the only ones that had used the software regularly. I leaned heavily on our in-house ITS system administrator with other questions. We used Webex Events for weekly virtual experiences from March 2020 to December 2020.

Pros and Cons

Automated email templates.
Integrating post-event surveys.
Categorizing various event types.

Event recordings.
Event creation features are missing.
Wish the interface was more intuitive and user friendly.

Return on Investment

During early adoption, we were able to provide virtual experiences to all of our prospective students and guests who otherwise had no alternative options to learn about the university.
At first, we were one of the only universities in the area that had pivoted as quickly to virtual experiences. This made us distinct and separated us from our local competitors.
We quickly received feedback from our clients (prospective students/parents) that they had issues figuring out how to use the platform since they were only familiar with Zoom in the early stages of the pandemic.

Alternatives Considered

Zoom and Zoom Events

Honestly, Webex Events didn't stack up that well against Zoom. The backend event details section was not as robust, the interface is not very user-friendly and the audio/video quality was not as good. The primary reason I chose to use Webex Events was that we already had an enterprise license with Cisco Webex. Since using Webex Events, we've now shifted all of our ongoing, virtual experiences to utilize Zoom or Zoom Events.

Key Insights

Do you think Webex Webinars delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Webex Webinars's feature set?

Did Webex Webinars live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Webex Webinars go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Webex Webinars again?

Other Software Used

Google Drive, Sling, Slack, Asana, Box, Salesforce CMS, Zoom, Attendify

Usability

It was just really challenging to figure out how to use it. I think the biggest issue was that it wasn't aesthetically pleasing or intuitive. It felt like an old software from the early 2000s. It can get the job done and if your organization already has an enterprise license, then go for it. But otherwise, I would look elsewhere.

Support Rating

The support I received was not that great. I've never spoken to a live person before, instead, I've only used their support portal. It answers a few FAQs but for the most part, it's lacking lots of potential information. This section titled "Popular Topics" could be improved upon and would help users to self-correct versus reaching out to someone at Webex with their issues.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you're primarily putting on a webinar or information session, I think Webex Events can perform well. If you're trying to put together a virtual event with multiple sessions, it may not be the best platform to use. You can definitely tell that the quality isn't as good as Zoom, Google Duo, etc.

Not the best experience with Webex Events. More of a virtual info session platform than events.

Overall Satisfaction with Webex Webinars (formerly Webex Events)