Macromedia goes beyond Web conferencing

Local Macromedia distributor, Dax Data, has announced the release of Macromedia Breeze, a Web communications system that enables more than 400 million Web users to immediately engage in online meetings and experience rich content without downloading special plug-ins or media players.

"With Breeze, Macromedia is not only setting a new standard in Web conferencing, but also introducing the first true rich Web communications system," says Jeremy Matthews, MD of Dax Data. Breeze allows organisations to communicate, collaborate and train via a single, easy-to-use, integrated solution that includes everything from live meetings to on-demand presentations.

"The Internet has brought down the costs of communication, but today`s Web conferencing solutions still leave a lot to be desired," says Matthews. "With Breeze, we want to change how people use the Internet to communicate. Not only does Breeze effectively enable meetings without travel, presentations without meetings, and training without delay, but, most importantly, it can be deployed seamlessly throughout a large organisation."

Macromedia Breeze solves problems that organisations face every day, from wanting to avoid the expense and hassle of travel to the need to deliver time-sensitive information without scheduling multiple people across multiple geographies for a single meeting. Online meetings in Breeze allow anyone with a Web browser to share information in real-time. A Breeze presentation or "Breezo" adds audio to PowerPoint content to put rich, multimedia presentations within the grasp of the average user.

New collaboration features in the release include application sharing, trackable live polls, editable vector-based whiteboards and file transfer. Recorded meetings are now indexed and searchable, along with presentations stored in the content library. New customisation options include a brandable user interface and custom pods for data display or new functionality. This release also exposes the application`s Web services framework to enable integration with existing portal and enterprise applications.

Because Breeze leverages the ubiquitous Macromedia Flash Player, anyone can instantly access live meetings, presentations and rich content (including video, audio, documents, animations, graphics and voice over IP) without lengthy downloads or extensive configuration.

"Web conferencing is gaining a lot of traction as companies use it to streamline costs and communicate more efficiently," says Matthews. "While many solutions focus solely on adding value to live meetings, there is a significant opportunity for companies to achieve even greater value from best-of-breed solutions that provide the ability to archive and search content from previous sessions and to maintain persistent online meeting areas for regular meetings."