40 posts tagged “yugma”
It's good to see that the Yugma desktop sharing tool has made it to Skype's very own short list of valuable "extras" for Skype users. Skype lists their list of "handy tools and plugin's" at http://skype.com/business/tools/extras/ . Yugma is listed first as one of the two desktop sharing tools mentioned.
It's interesting to note that Unyte, a screen sharing app that was heavily promoted by Skype in 2005/2006, and was subsequently purchased in 2007 by IBM, is lo longer listed or mentioned.
(Disclosure: Being as I helped to launch the company's web based service back in 2006, I own some shares in Yugma.)
On a scale of evaluated features ranging from 1 to 10, Yugma 3.0 Professional achieved a score of 9.0, barely behind the 9.1 received by WebEx MeetMeNow 2.1 and the 9.5 awarded to Citrix GoToMeeting 4.0, according to www.webconferencing-test.com reviews of online- collaboration products.
Robin Good recently reviewed the new version of GoToMeeting -- version 4. The new version comes with some a couple of significant new features like Mac compatibility and VoIP support. Looks like GoToMeeting has been carefully watching Skype and Yugma in their rear view mirror. Skype provides free and low cost VoIP for Windows, Mac, and Linux) and Yugma provides free and low cost desktop sharing tool for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
With gas prices at an all time high, it's no surprise that more people are waking up to the benefits of online meetings and web conferencing. Just look at year of year growth of traffic for top players Webex and GoToMeeting. Now... see below...
Yugma quietly released it's new Enterprise Service feature a few months ago. They released the new web conferencing feature but never actually announced it in a press release, newsletter, or blog post. But they did recently publically release information on their website, and start talking about it on their daily live online demonstrations.
The new feature allows a user (an "administrator" type) to easily and quickly create free Yugma web conferencing accounts for an entire organization in a matter of minutes. This can can done by simply importing an entire organizations user list (csv format) using the new import feature. I'm not aware of any specific system limits to the import feature... so theoretically, you could import/create as many accounts as you would like to create.
While Yugma has not promoted this feature actively, they did recently publish a tutorial for adminsitrators. The tutorial is buried in Yugma's new tutorial page and can be found at http://www.yugma.com/support/tutorials/enterprise.html. The key advantage behind this new feature is that it lets a user to quickly set up free Yugma accounts for their entire team, company, group, etc.. The free accounts are instantly activated with all of the premium features enabled for the first couple of weeks, and then then the accounts automatically revert to the basic online meeting service level for free, forever. The basic version allows users to instantly launch real-time desktop sharing sessions for virtual project team meetings, online presentations, sales training, customer training, contract reviews, budget planning... you name it. According to the tutorial, to create a group of accounts, a user must first create a "group admin account" at http://yugma.com/Enterprise/. After you create the admin account, you then create or import multiple user accounts.
By the way, after the accounts revert to basic accounts, you (the "admin") can upgrade any or all of the accounts to the premium service level by simply contacting Yugma's sales team and purchasing a group subscription.
BTW: One of my personal favorite "free features" is the customizable widget that lets you create a co-brand Yugma button for your website, blog, intranet portal, or email signature. Click here for an example. You can create your own customizable widget at https://www.yugma.com/share/widgets/share_tools.php
Jeff Brenman put this presentation together for Yugma. Jeff has a keen sense for clear simple expression. He did a great job capturing the shift that is happening in the web conferencing space, and the unique advantages that Yugma provides to users. Fact is that people need tools that are super easy to use, can be used on the fly... in an impromptu fashion. Flip though his deck at Slideshare (slideshare.net)...
You can find his other works at his website www.apolloideas.com
Robyn Greenspan, ExecuNet's Editor-in-Chief, recently wrote about telecommuting:
If you're already checking email from a mobile device, developing presentations on the weekends, and taking international calls during the night, why not take your remote accessibility one step further and regularly work from home? With technology advancing at the same pace that gas prices are increasing and environmental concerns are mounting, a couple of days per week at the home office can save time, money and the planet.
Back in 2006, when $10 bought roughly four gallons of regular gasoline, companies were already adjusting their benefits to accommodate for rising fuel prices. According to research conducted by WorldatWork through The Dieringer Research Group, 12.4 million Americans were allowed by employers to work from home at least one day per month — up from 9.9 million in 2005 — and a 2007 study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that more than half of surveyed employers offered some form of telecommuting option. If employees worked from home just one-and-a half days per week, research from the University of Maryland found a cost savings of $4.5 billion annually (based on gas at $3.33 per gallon).
Web 2.0 services like Skype and Ring Central for voice communications, Yugma for web conferencing, and SiteSpeed, Eyejot, and Ekko.TV for video make it easy to work virtually.
I see a lot of people now using Yugma web conferencing, but many of them have not ventured past the basic screen sharing features. Here is a useful tutorial that people can watch to get a quick introduction to all of the other Yugma features like instant messaging, scheduling, whiteboard, annotations, shared project workspace, recording, and more. If you don't already have a Yugma account, just click here to get a free account. The basic version is free forever.
PS - (6/24/08) More helpful tutorials have just been added at http://yugma.com/support/tutorials/tutorials.php
I recently spoke with Michael Malloy at IntellaCore. He's got it right.
He says "It is a simple fact that every company operates and competes in a global, and an internet, marketplace.
The answer is not to “Go Global.” The answer is to “Be Globally Competitive.”
His company IntellaCore engages small to large companies across the borderless environment of today’s intelligent, world economy. This makes all the sense in the world when oil is reaching $130+ a barrel. Michael is knitting together a great set of must-have tools for businesses working across borders; tools like Qmail, Ojo, Yugma, and CorePlayer.... with more to come. He is on the right track. Take a look at www.intellacore.com.
