Discover which web conferencing services offer mobile clients.
The growth of mobile devices and applications has exploded over the last five years. In fact, some experts are predicting that more people will access the web on mobile devices by the year 2015, than with desktop computers.
This technological shift has changed everything. Making products and services available on mobile devices is a top priority for every company. It’s no surprise that leading web conferencing companies are investing millions of dollars, and dedicating their best employees to their mobile products.
Web conferencing and mobile go together like peanut butter and jelly. One of the primary reasons people and organizations gravitate to web conferencing software is mobility. What good is a remote office or offsite meeting if you’re shackled to your desk?
When evaluating web conferencing services it’s paramount to consider their mobile products. Even if mobile meeting applications aren’t important to you, chances are you will have a vendor, customer, or employee who will want to participate from their mobile device.
Web Conferencing Services with Mobile Clients
Here’s a list of top web conferencing services that offer mobile software clients, including device compatibility:
| Vendor | iOS | Android | Blackberry |
| GoToMeeting | Yes | Yes | No |
| WebEx | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adobe Connect | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fuze Meeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Join.me | Yes | Yes | No |
| iMeet | Yes | No | No |
| Microsoft Lync | No | No | No |
| Skype | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AnyMeeting | No | No | No |
| Intercall | Yes | Yes | Yes |
As you can see, the big three (GoToMeeting, WebEx Meeting Center, and Adobe Connect) all offer mobile clients on the most popular smartphone platforms. As you might expect, these mobile clients are stripped down compared to their desktop counterparts.
Meeting Attendees
As a meeting attendee, your mobile meeting experience will be similar to the desktop (just smaller). You can use your mobile device to dial-in to the teleconference, or use your WiFi connection for audio, so you don’t use your mobile minutes.
Once you’re logged in, you can view the desktop or presentation of the meeting organizer. You can chat with other attendees, and collaborate.
Meeting Organizers
If you’re a meeting organizer, we recommend sticking with the desktop clients (for now). The mobile web conferencing clients lack features you need to share your screen, record meetings, and control the meeting.
If you just need a simple teleconference, without the need for screen sharing, the mobile client works well.
Let People Know You’re Mobile
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you test out the mobile client for your online meeting provider. This will help you know the capabilities and limitations on each platform. Once you’re up to speed, let your clients, partners, and vendors know they can connect to the meeting from any device, they’ll appreciate the flexibility.