WebEx was founded in 1996[under the name ActiveTouch. Zhu had co-founded Future Labs (one of the first companies to produce multi-point document collaboration software) in 1991. Zhu met Iyar, then a vice president and general manager of ,Quarterdeck when Quarterdeck acquired Future Labs in 1996. Iyar was named president of Future Labs, which had been made a Quarterdeck subsidiary, and the same year Iyar and Min went on to co-found WebEx. On March 15, 2007, Cisco Systems announced it would acquire WebEx for $3.2 billion.
Traveling Software, now known as LapLink, originally owned a software product called WebEx, which shipped to the public in June 1996. The LapLink product called WebEx was a utility to be run as a companion to be used for offline web browsing, a feature which is now integrated inside of most commercial modern day internet browsers.
Traveling Software originally registered the WebEx trademark in May 1996.
However, in 1999, after the original founder of LapLink returned as CEO, Traveling Software/LapLink.com sold the rights to the WebEx name to the company that is known today as WebEx.
On March 15, 2007, Cisco Systems announced that it had agreed to pay $57 per share to acquire WebEx. The deal values WebEx at about $3.2 billion, or $2.9 billion when WebEx's cash reserves are factored into the price. WebEx's largest stockholder is Jan Baan with 9% of outstanding shares. In a press release Cisco said WebEx would "become a part of Cisco's Development Organization while maintaining its unique business model". Cisco has also said that its long-term plan is to absorb WebEx at both a technology and a sales level.
There is also increased use of WebEx as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers. The platform has worked for educational institutions because of real-time collaboration using an interactive whiteboard, chat, and VOIP technology that allows audio and video sharing. In distance-learning situations, while replacing the classroom with features, institutions have also looked for security features that are inherently strong in a Cisco powered collaboration environment. WebEx is not a free platform like WiZiQ or Moodle and fees are paid per "host" of a classroom or a meeting. Some organizations are, however, beginning to integrate WebEx with Moodle.
Traveling Software, now known as LapLink, originally owned a software product called WebEx, which shipped to the public in June 1996. The LapLink product called WebEx was a utility to be run as a companion to be used for offline web browsing, a feature which is now integrated inside of most commercial modern day internet browsers.
Traveling Software originally registered the WebEx trademark in May 1996.
However, in 1999, after the original founder of LapLink returned as CEO, Traveling Software/LapLink.com sold the rights to the WebEx name to the company that is known today as WebEx.
On March 15, 2007, Cisco Systems announced that it had agreed to pay $57 per share to acquire WebEx. The deal values WebEx at about $3.2 billion, or $2.9 billion when WebEx's cash reserves are factored into the price. WebEx's largest stockholder is Jan Baan with 9% of outstanding shares. In a press release Cisco said WebEx would "become a part of Cisco's Development Organization while maintaining its unique business model". Cisco has also said that its long-term plan is to absorb WebEx at both a technology and a sales level.
There is also increased use of WebEx as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers. The platform has worked for educational institutions because of real-time collaboration using an interactive whiteboard, chat, and VOIP technology that allows audio and video sharing. In distance-learning situations, while replacing the classroom with features, institutions have also looked for security features that are inherently strong in a Cisco powered collaboration environment. WebEx is not a free platform like WiZiQ or Moodle and fees are paid per "host" of a classroom or a meeting. Some organizations are, however, beginning to integrate WebEx with Moodle.
