Item: Webex Meetings
Rating: 8
Author: Dan Butler

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Webex Meetings in several scenarios. Many of our team members are currently working remotely, so we use it as a platform to have traditional meetings and bring the team together. We also use it as a training platform to present full training classes to our end-users. In many cases, we use it as a support tool to engage directly with our end-users, who [can] share their screen with us and receive direction or support from our team. This has addressed many issues with traditional support models in that we are able to not only support users remotely but increase the number we are able to support. By cutting travel time from location to location, we are able to do more classes and presentations in a normal 8 hour day.

Pros and Cons

Audio and video are very high quality. This is especially important in [a] real-life demonstration or support presentations where visual detail and audible instruction are key.
The collaboration tools inside the meeting are very easy to use. Being able to change presenters on the fly, whiteboard tools, and advanced screen sharing tools are very helpful when we are working on a problem as a team.
There is a great deal of control over the meeting inside the meeting itself. Being able to add break-out rooms, mute individual participants, change control permissions, and even access recording options makes this a full featured meeting platform.

While being able to access the meeting from a web app is incredibly helpful, the implementation is a little lengthy and sometimes a little confusing. Clicking on a meeting link will ask you what you would like to do and walk you through the process; however, I would like to see this automatically determined based on whether or not the desktop app is installed on your computer.
The chat feature is incredibly powerful. You are able to chat with different groups or individuals in the chat. While this is incredibly powerful, it is not easy to use while in a meeting.
Having video controls within the application would be a big help. Currently, in order to adjust zoom or pan issues, you must go outside of the meeting to the camera's native app.

Return on Investment

Training engagement is up across the board. We are able to reduce travel to and from locations to 0 while maintaining a high-quality learning environment. We have discovered that most students are learning effectively when they are in a familiar environment, whether it is their home or office.
Because we are able to share soft copies of documents, we no longer have to include printing costs for materials when figuring a budget for training.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting, Zoom and Google Classroom

Webex [Meetings] is definitely a top-tier platform. Overall its choice boils down to ease of use and engagement tools from the end user's perspective. While many of the other platforms integrate better with our team or offer easier to use [the] functionality on the administration side, WebEx's ability to allow presenters to offer many options to the participants is [of] incredible value. In the learning environment, the most important thing is the experience of the student. Webex [Meetings] offers more of these opportunities than the other platforms.

Key Insights

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

Yes

Are you happy with Webex Meetings's feature set?

Yes

Did Webex Meetings live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Webex Meetings go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Webex Meetings again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Cubase, Epic, OneNote

Reliability and Availability

I have never had an issue with Webex Meetings. It is a pretty rock-solid platform, and even when I have had local computer errors that prevented the application from launching, the web application is always available as a backup. Many of the other applications I have tried can be very difficult to maintain stable audio or video connections. I just do not have these issues with WebEx [Meetings].

Scalability

I have used Webex [Meetings] in many organizations and found that we are able to have a solution regardless of the audience size. I am able to present in a one on one scenario one day and a group full of 50 people the next. The functionality is the same and consistently stable across audience sizes.

Performance

One of the most impressive things about Webex [Meetings] is using the web application as a fallback. The web application loads very quickly, and even more impressive is that the web application doesn't lock out certain features. I am as at home in the web app as I am in the desktop app. There have been a few times where I have had to switch which app I am using in the middle of a presentation. I can be back up and running during a coffee break and still have time to get a cup of coffee.

Likelihood to Recommend

Webex Meetings is a great platform for presentations. I use it specifically to present training and demos for software implementations. Being able to present my screen as well as give participants the ability to control my screen makes for a very engaging demonstration. I also have the ability for participants to use the chat feature for ongoing discussion or place questions they have into a questions panel to be answered on a break, so the discussion is not interrupted. Overall this is a very easy-to-use platform even for guests that do not use it on a regular basis. Most of my students and participants find [it] very easy to use the first time. While I do find Webex Meetings to be one of my top platforms for presentation, there are other platforms that integrate much better into full communication workflows. Webex [Meetings] does integrate with email platforms like Outlook or Gmail, but it tends to be a little less smooth than other meeting platforms on the market.

Powerful Presentation Platform.

Overall Satisfaction with Webex Meetings