Centra 7 for Self-Service Meetings. Centra Software: 800.414.3591; www.centra.com. Pricing: Starts at US$80 per month per concurrent seat for a self-service meeting; ASP subscription with an annual commitment. For on-premises installations, customers pay a single fee, starting at $50,000 for up to 50 seats. Voice-over-IP (VOIP) is included, no additional fee. Usage charges may also apply. 

Whether you like to conduct a meeting using a whiteboard, sharing documents and donuts, while collaborating on strategy, you can get it done in a fraction of the time with Centra 7 e-meeting software.

Workers are pressured to keep in contact with customers and produce revenue. At the same time, travel budgets are diminished, and people don’t want to travel. They yearn to be home with their families at the end of the workday. Can you blame them?

By now, most agree the novelty has worn off of email communication, especially for staying in touch with clients and projecting a proper corporate image. People are deluged with email and dread receiving a message that requires a lot of attention. Many sincere efforts to stay in touch are greeted with the Delete key or a spam filter. “Did you get the email with the presentation of our services?” is not seen as a genuine way to court business.

For these reasons, Centra 7’s e-meeting solution is far superior to awkward electronic communications and traditional meeting styles that eat time and money. It can easily replace everything but the donuts. At the same time, you will pay something of a premium for this technology by comparison to other providers.

Centra’s Self-Service Meetings is scaled to fit the needs of small businesses, with a recommended maximum of 500 users. The default selection for each meeting is five users.

Here’s how I tested the program in small but successful experiments:

• A research consultant provided data analysis to a client visually instead of a conference call.
• An investigative agency shared time-sensitive data on stolen cargo with field personnel.
• I reviewed a PowerPoint presentation for a manager who missed a meeting.
• A kitchen and bath designer gave a product demo to a customer.
• Five people worked together to agree on contract language.

How it works

Centra’s e-meeting software does require some time to learn how to put a meeting together. You have to know what you want to accomplish, know who should attend, what information needs to be shared, and what outcome is desired.

Tools to create a productive and well-organized meeting include a self-service meeting scheduler with an invitation process that’s a snap to use. The invitation arrives by email, and the participant sees a link to log in with a meeting code. Each participant needs only basic web-browsing skills. Centra does the rest, starting with a System Check wizard to be sure the user’s computer is configured for both video and audio. An agenda builder application pulls together each meeting’s agenda. None of my tests took even five minutes to construct. Every file on my computer was instantly available to be shared.

During the meeting, a leader has tools to hand over speaking rights (the microphone) to other participants and make use of such features as the Application Sharing tool with mark-up ability, real-time feedback, whiteboards, instant surveys, and text chat. Application sharing enables users to jointly edit files, such as changing budget figures during a regional sales meeting, revising and agreeing on language changes, or editing Web content together.

The Centra system does not support Macintosh computers unless they run the Virtual PC Windows emulator program, which is now owned by Microsoft. This makes little difference in the corporate market, of which Apple has a tiny share, but it is significant in the academic market that commonly uses Apple computers. Some of Centra’s competitors do support Macs, however.

Noteworthy features

VOIP. Voice-over-Internet-protocol (VOIP) has been around for several years but is only now becoming widely used. VOIP works by converting voice to digits, bundling the digits into packets, and sending those packets over the public Internet.

VOIP can replace the high cost of conference calls and the need to gather participants in one room. Centra has engineered its VOIP technology to very low bandwidth at 28.8 Kbps (kilobytes per second) for efficient transmission. Centra’s technology provides hassle-free access through firewalls and proxy servers.

My home office broadband connection isn’t as fast as a typical office, but I found the VOIP offered quality real-time performance for all calls with up to four participants at my connection speed. During a VOIP session, each speaker presses the Control key on their keyboard to activate his or her microphone. Users lacking VOIP can participate via conference call. Expect some degradation with a larger number of users, including greater lag time between each speaker. Audio delays and dropouts can be significant obstacles for online sessions.

Video. In replacing face-to-face meetings, Centra’s built-in multipoint videoconference capabilities allow live video of participants to appear in the upper left corner of the screen as each person is speaking. Experienced users might prefer to turn the camera on for introductions and familiarity with other attendees, especially people outside the organization, and then turn the video off after five or 10 minutes. In my initial testing, I was glad to put a face to the voice but later didn’t even notice when it was turned off.

Multiple languages. Global meeting needs are augmented by the inclusion of 13 different languages for the participant interface. Centra allows participants to connect and read the toolbar in their language. The content is not translated automatically, however. Text and audio are rendered in the original language unless you have provided for translation.

Meaningful meetings

Centra’s Self-Service Meeting screen designs are clean and intuitive, and users do not need programs loaded on their computer in order to view files. All meeting attendees can use a whiteboard, participate in text chat and instant messaging, view Websites and intranet documents, and mark up screens while discussing the content. Users can even click an icon to “raise a hand.” Not bad for an ad-hoc meeting.

Because of the ease with which you can conduct a spontaneous session, you can quickly find people, invite them via email using your own address book, instant messaging, calendars, Microsoft Office applications, or add someone on-the-fly. You can load content in advance, provide data as you need it, or share files to resolve an issue. The meeting leader can even transfer files from his or her computer to a participant.

In my opinion, the flexible structure forces presenters to be more prepared and organized, creating a more productive meeting. It encourages spontaneous meetings and offers new avenues for communication. I expect some may people even find the computer interface less intimidating than traditional meetings because all participants have an equal voice, with no power struggle or filibustering around a conference table.

Because each participant sees and hears the same material, with a lot of screen interaction, it should be easy to keep attendees engaged. Users should be aware of the need to recognize each person, not letting a quiet attendee wander off. Inviting each participant to make a contribution or comment might help make up for the absence of a physical presence and keep everyone active. A virtual paper trail, including summary and detailed attendee reports, is recorded automatically. Authorized users can log in and view meeting histories.

What total self-service means to you

The program is available as a Web-based ASP (application service provider) or installed on your own server. In either case, it is integrated into desktop tools with Microsoft Office or Lotus Notes. Click the Centra icon from the system tray or directly from Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to enter your personal meeting space, load up content, and invite others to join.

Meeting invitations include conference call instructions unless VOIP is selected. The message can include instructions to log in 30 minutes before the meeting and download any large files. Similarly, if the boss is listening in but doesn’t need the documents, he or she can participate and skip the download. Pretty slick.

Supported file types include .TXT, .HTM, .HTML, .GIF, .JPG, .DOC, .XLS, and .PPT. HTML files can include JavaScript and Flash files (.SWF). Users may need the appropriate plug-in to view content. Total file size should be less than 10 MB. Not all PowerPoint animation features are supported, and PowerPoint 2002 slides can only be imported as .JPGs or .GIFs.

Content catalog

The content catalog allows you to archive meetings and associated documents, have authorized users replay them, and create metatags, allowing keyword searching of the catalog. This feature scores very high with me because it takes a step toward knowledge management. The Self-Service Meeting service includes the catalog, which creates value for others in an organization who might have missed a meeting or need an archive for knowledge or compliance purposes. I see this as a big advantage when acquainting new staff with procedures and policies or getting up them up to speed on product development and marketing strategies. Instead of all the intellectual property walking out of a room at the end of a meeting, it’s captured in a repository that has tremendous potential for a firm over time.

Centra offers SSL (secure socket layering) with full encryption for e-meetings. For security, administrators can prohibit storage of content on Centra servers and can automatically remove content from participants’ computers at the end of a meeting. Password protection is available and meetings can be designated as private or unlisted.

An on-premise installation has built-in security. Meeting leaders control all content pushed to a user’s desktop. Centra’s ASP service is in an operations center that is both physically and network secure. The 80-page online help document includes information on how to prepare for a meeting and how to facilitate a meeting as well as technical information.

Technical requirements

This is a test almost any 21st century office will pass.

• Windows 98, 2000, or XP (Macintosh operating system only with Virtual PC)
• Internet Explorer 6
• CPU: Pentium 500 MhZ or better
• Memory: 256 MB
• Disk: 200 MB free space
• Connection: 128+ kbps
• Soundcard, headset with microphone 

Recommendation

Centra 7 for Self-Service Meetings is an excellent platform for a wide variety of imaginative uses, including sales and customer training, product demos, online collaboration and brainstorming, and ad hoc meetings.

There is always a need in the software industry to serve the small and medium-size market with appropriately priced products. Centra is not a bargain; it charges the premium of a market leader. Still, it wins points for scaling Self-Service Meeting to a small number of users and backs it up with the ease of use and thoughtful architecture built in to enterprise-scale products. With the “Start a meeting now” choice, ad hoc ability to invite participants, and quickly drop in documents, there’s no reason not to click the Centra icon and hold a meeting. This program is a wonderful alternative to windshield time, airport delays, and meetings that lack focus. We may not have been ready to accept technology to replace in-person meetings a few years ago, but today, the lure of greater productivity with time and cost efficiency promises great rewards.