Competition in the Web conferencing market continued to grow on Monday as two more companies announced new services and software for holding real-time online meetings.
Elluminate Inc. launched a new name and a new version of its Web conferencing software as it aggressively seeks corporate business, while Intranets.com Inc. added a Web and audio conferencing option for its hosted collaboration suite for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Both companies are taking on Web conferencing leaders such as WebEx Communications Inc. and Microsoft Corp., which had acquired PlaceWare Inc. last year.
Elluminate, of Pompano Beach, Fla., renamed its Web conferencing software, formerly known as vClass, to Elluminate Live. The company comes to Web conferencing with an e-learning focus and strong academic customer base, but with the Version 5 release Elluminate is targeting corporate business by offering to buy out customers’ contracts from competing Web conferencing offerings.
Elluminate Live Version 5, to be available on March 1, will be offered in three editions—enterprise, academic and team (for smaller groups). The new release will include a new audio wizard to help users select volume preferences, improvements to the whiteboard functionality and other usability enhancements, the company said.