Microsoft Live Meeting Misses The Mark

If there is one thing consumers, integrators and users should know up front is that the Office add-in tool will not be available until June, so those eagerly awaiting the promised tight Office integration will be somewhat disappointed. Integrators who have partnered with Microsoft and deployed the meeting portal into their customers' infrastructure should expect some questions and pressure from their customers, since Office add-in is on a different release cycle than the core Live Meeting 2005 service. The staggered release cycle is the reason the tool will not be available until the June timeframe.

Audio integration is the second issue Microsoft wanted to address with this release, but Test Center engineers discovered that unless an integrator or customer partners directly with an audio conferencing service provider like MCI, BT or Intercall, the tool offers no two-way audio call control integration.

The audio conference call controls that are integrated in Live Meeting are geared for smaller collaborative meetings and enables the control of an audio bridge when partnered with an audio provider. The premise behind the audio conference control is that when set up correctly, the bridge eliminates the need for the user to dial a separate conference number and then click on a URL. In other words, the tool gives the user access to both a visual and audio connection in one fell swoop. The audio bridge and the video URL are combined so the user does not have to dial out. Users can buy Live Meeting and an audio bridge as a bundle from a Microsoft partner or the two can be purchased separately from the company or from a service provider, such as MCI, BT or Intercall or from such a company such as Accute, ASAP, Brainshark, Ecco Solutions or Sprint. Either purchase method provides integrators plenty of installation, integration and service opportunities.

Prices on the service vary from licensee to service provider. Microsoft offers both a pay-per-use license and fixed licensed model, which can safely predict the cost for the customer. The Presenter Edition costs $75 per user per month while the Premier Edition runs $150 per user per month. On a per minute basis , the two cost $.35 per minute and $.45 per minute, respectively.

VoIP can be used to make Live Meeting function as a broadcasting tool rather than a conferencing tool using the product's one-way integrated audio features. The Live Meeting service captures audio codes in a streaming format and broadcasts the presentation to all attendees signed into the URL. Live Meeting is compatible with almost every VoIP service offered by VoIP provider.

Live Meeting does not offer any videoconferencing capability however, Microsoft has made advancements with PowerPoint slide presentation features. A PowerPoint viewer is built into the Live Meeting meeting console, so users who are showing or viewing a presentation see the actual native slides, which are not converted. Using the console, users can access all the functionality PowerPoint has to offer. Animation and full-screen viewing enables the presenter to provide a slide show as if they were using the actual application and it can be conveyed across the application within the actual meeting.

One feature users can look forward to when the add-in is available is the ability to launch a meeting directly from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Project and Microsoft Office Communicator 2005. In addition, the enhanced Live Meeting Add-In for Outlook will give customers two-way synchronization with the Outlook calendar and the ability to schedule a meeting offline. According to Microsoft, seamless integration with productivity applications was the company's number-one goal for the new release. Why this goal was not met is beyond CRN Test Center engineers.

Mirosoft's 5-year-old channel program includes four tiers of resellers: Microsoft resellers, ISVs, and system integrators make up tier one. The second tier includes strategic partners, followed by tier three depth resellers and breadth resellers (through audio conferencing distributors) comprise tier four.

Partner level is based on the amount of partner resources--sales personnel, marketing personnel, technical integration personnel, for example-- partners commit to Live Meeting. Partners must also meet monthly or annual revenue commitments. According to Microsoft, the average reseller margin varies based on program level and licensing model.