Vapps is on the move. While early experiences with the service were less than stellar, the company is working hard to improve the user experience when it comes to on line voice conference calling.
Their new reporting feature sounds great because for someone who has multiple calls each week using a combination of the soon to be extinct free conference services and my paid AT&T CallVantage conference bridges, I have no real way of billing back to the clients for whom the calls are held with analysts and reporters. What’s more I don’t know other details that Vapps is now going to offer.
I see this offering as a great step, but one that unless they found a way to patent the process of capturing and reporting the CDR (call detail record) that this is something the big guys will likely have, or already do.
All of the above said, with voice costs dropping to almost zero, are we going to see the same in the audio conferencing space? My feeling is that some smart cookie will devise a way for users to get business grade services, at consumer prices, without charging prix-fixe like rates, and instead will offer a la carter pricing that benefits the user, both small business, SOHO and even the enterprise. With Cisco buying WebEx and Microsoft already in the game, conferencing becomes the next bastion of growth. With Vapps and client WebDialogs in different part of game, the time to pay attention to companies like them is now.