Mikogo is a

desktop sharing Desktop sharing is a common name for technologies and products that allow remote access and remote collaboration on a person's computer desktop through a graphical terminal emulator. The most common two scenarios for desktop sharing are: * Remot ...

software application for

web conferencing Web conferencing is used as an umbrella term for various types of online conferencing and collaborative services including webinars (web seminars), webcasts, and web meetings. Sometimes it may be used also in the more narrow sense of the peer-l ...

and remote support, and is provided by the online collaboration provider, Snapview GmbH. Mikogo provides its software as native downloads for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Android. The software is

cross-platform In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software ...

which allows a presenter to host the online meeting on a Windows computer and meeting attendees could join from a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, as well as from smartphones or tablets. The software interface is multi-lingual and can be switched between one of 35 languages.

History

In 2004, entrepreneurs Erik Boos and Mark Zondler founded BeamYourScreen GmbH (now Snapview GmbH) in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The company then launched a few different online collaboration tools for corporate customers. However BeamYourScreen was approached by individuals who asked whether a free version of its software was available, for small-time use on an irregular basis and due to these requests made primarily by private users, BeamYourScreen then launched Mikogo as a free online meeting tool. Mikogo has received praise for its friendly approach to online meetings as opposed to the corporate look and feel of other web conferencing solutions. On March 11, 2009, Mikogo announced the release of its free software for the Mac. The release of the Mac version enabled Mikogo to function as a cross platform screen sharing tool. In June 2009, '' Macworld'' UK posted a review on their website and gave Mikogo an Editor's Choice 4-Star Award, complimenting the software for its

screen sharing, features and security. In February 2014 Mikogo Launches Version 5 with Cross-Platform VoIP for Online Meetings

Controversial press

In April 2009, amidst the

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...

outbreak, Mikogo was criticized for promoting its software as a form of swine flu prevention. Mikogo blogged about this topic and sent out an e-mail to subscribers touting the benefits of having virtual meetings in order to avoid swine flu.Avoid Swine Flu: Hold Your Meetings On The Interweb
, Laura Northrup, The Consumerist

References

{{reflist Web conferencing German companies established in 2007