ON24 Announces Webcasting for the Business User

New Webcast Elite Edition Combines Ease of Use with Powerful Features

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – November 16, 2011 – ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual events, today announced a new webcasting solution, ON24 Webcast Elite, that combines the rich functionality of ON24 Webcasting Platform 10 with unprecedented ease of use – making it possible for business users to produce their own fully branded, professional-quality webcasts and webinars.

Delivering an engaging user experience – anywhere, from any device

“Webcast Elite is our simplest product to date, but it is also a powerful content development tool that allows us to fulfill our commitment to both buyers and users with simple setup and an immersive, engaging audience experience that is available from any device,” explained ON24 CEO Sharat Sharan. “The most powerful webcasting platform is now the easiest to use.”

He added, “As the leader in webcasting for more than 10 years, ON24 has brought to the market both basic webcasts and, most recently, next-generation Platform 10 webcasting. The game-changing Webcast Elite edition makes ON24 webcasting a viable, affordable solution across all enterprise departments and for all businesses, both large and small.”

Webcast Elite reflects a growing trend: the adoption by business users of “do-it-yourself” technology tools. Because of this emerging trend, reports Forrester Research, Inc. in the October 2011 report, Market Overview: 2011 Social Media Platforms For B2B Tech Marketing, B2B marketers require platforms that are simple to use and deploy. They “seek self-service platforms that provide rich functionality through a simple, intuitive user interface.”

Webcast Elite benefits and features

ON24 Webcast Elite puts Platform 10 webcasting tools directly into the hands of business users, empowering them to create, publish and analyze state-of the-art audio and video webcasts at their convenience. “In just a few simple steps, you can build high-quality webcasts with your branding, right from your computer, with no experience or training required,” said Sharan.

“Webcast Elite is especially appealing to customers who feel they need something more than web conferencing and meeting tools can provide,” he continued. “Why would they run webinars, for example, with inflexible meeting or conferencing tools when they can turn them into powerful webcasts with the Elite edition of Webcasting Platform 10?”

Early adopters of Webcast Elite include SAP and Yammer. John Morris with SAP Global Marketing praised both the robustness and reliability of the ON24 platform.

“Because we can trust our webcasts to work, we can focus on making them better and more engaging, with greater use of rich media.” Enhanced engagement is an advantage cited by Yammer as well. “ON24’s new approach to webcasting allows us to quickly and easily connect with Yammer users in a new and engaging way,” said David Stewart, Yammer’s Vice President of Platform, Partnerships and Marketing.

Webcast Elite features:

• Branding options – Customizable user console to promote the producer’s identity throughout the webcast and not just in the PowerPoint slides
• Interactivity – With tools such as integrated social media and group collaboration apps
• Analytics – ROI-based analytics for detailed, real-time reporting
• Scalability – Enterprise-level scalability and reliability
• Accessibility – An easy-to-use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, requiring no downloads, deployment resources or plug-ins, with full mobile support

Webcasting in six simple steps

“With Webcasting Platform 10 we changed the way webcasts are viewed. Now we are changing the way they are created,” Sharan said. “You can set up a webcast yourself in a few minutes without sacrificing the power of webcasting.” Webcast Elite offers step-by-step tools to guide producers as they:

• Plan and schedule the webcast
• Design a custom registration page
• Choose how presenters will appear in the webcast
• Create a unique and engaging audience experience
• Present the webcast and publish it for on-demand access
• Analyze the results

About ON24 Webcast Elite

Webcast Elite will be unveiled tomorrow, November 17, in a presentation by ON24 Senior Director of Webcasting Product Management Mark Szelenyi during the VUE2011 Virtual Events User Experience; sign up here. Szelenyi can also be seen discussing Webcast Elite in a video interview on Interactive Media Strategies’ “Business Video Today” on TMCNet; view the video here. To discuss Webcast Elite with an ON24 solutions expert, call 1–877-202 9599.

About ON24, Inc.

The recognized global market share leader, ON24 provides webcasting and virtual environments for corporate communications and demand generation. The ON24 platform is a complete Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud offering; no deployment resources or audience downloads are required. ON24 offers fully integrated, enterprise-wide solutions for applications ranging from partner expos, user conferences and trade shows to training and company town hall meetings. More than 750 organizations, including IBM, Cisco, CA Technologies, Merck, AstraZeneca, Fiserv, Credit Suisse, GE and Oracle, rely on ON24. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit www.ON24.com.