Biba, an Internet conferencing startup that came out of stealth last spring, today launched a new desktop app with screen-sharing capability and HD audio. The service, designed originally to be used on iOS and Android operating systems, is now available on both Mac and Windows machines.
Biba follows the concept that today’s services are more than ever dependent on how well they work on the device itself. By adding desktop support, Biba can extend the ways people participate on different devices across various platforms.
The core of the service revolves around a user’s contact list. Events are scheduled and attendees are notified. In contrast to traditional conference-call services, Biba takes an active approach once meetings are scheduled, reminding attendees to register for the Biba service and again two hours before the meeting begins. At the scheduled time, Biba calls the participants; there is no need for a user name or password, and people who do not register receive a toll-free number five minutes prior to the call.
With Biba, a customer can launch a conference call from their mobile apps to call participants and then move to the desktop without having to re-enter the call. A user leading a Biba call can see who is on the call and the person talking. The organizer can mute individuals who may have lots of background noise.
The new screen sharing service adds to the collaboration that the customer can leverage. A user can do a video call and switch to screen sharing and do that between different devices. Biba has also added HD audio. The company argues that their audio quality is six times better than traditional cell phone calls.
For the most part, services like WebEx don’t work between devices like other communications technologies and business services. For example, a person can use Gmail or a storage service like Dropbox between their tablet and their phone without disrupting the experience.
Biba shows how useful apps and mobile devices have become for people. The combination is what’s killing the PC market and – by proxy – the world of IT. The demise is further fueled by cloud services. Internet conference calls and other telephony services can use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the foundation for programming a service that can work in almost any part of the world.
Businesses once had the most sophisticated telephone networks, which then evolved into sophisticated conference call services. In the client/server age, Webex and other providers automated the process and served as some of the earliest pioneers in web-based collaboration technologies.
Today, Biba represents a new generation of services that bypass the old switches, fueled by the demand for Internet-based calling and conference-call services.
Biba faces stiff competition, such as Microsoft Lync, but there is no doubt it is riding the right tide. The move is to mobile-first Internet conferencing and there is no going back.
(Feature image courtesy of Bogdan Migulski on Flickr via Creative Commons)
Read more : Biba Adds A Desktop Version To Its Mobile-First Internet Conferencing Service
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