Expertcity Announces 'GoToMeeting' Service With the Power To Transform Online Meetings

Unsurpassed Ease of Use, Simplicity, Performance and Security Puts Online Meetings in Everyone's Grasp

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Feb. 16, 2004 -- Expertcity, Inc., the leading provider of managed remote-access and support solutions, announces GoToMeeting(TM), a next-generation technology that provides the easiest, most secure and cost-effective means for conducting meetings and demonstrations online. GoToMeeting is being previewed today at DEMO, the world's launch pad for emerging technology.

"Online meetings are the natural next step for Expertcity," says Klaus Schauser, founder and CTO of Expertcity, Inc. "The success that our market-leading GoToMyPC(R) remote-access and GoToAssist(TM) support solutions have is based on their ability to quickly, seamlessly and securely connect desktops. We will leverage this value proposition to deliver an online-meeting service that is reliable, easy, secure and cost effective for putting online meetings in everyone's grasp."

According to industry analyst David Alexander, of Frost & Sullivan's multimedia conferencing and collaboration group, the demand for low-cost, easy-to-use meeting productivity tools such as GoToMeeting is sizable and driving the market into a strong growth phase: "With only a small portion of the market having been penetrated, there is sizable growth opportunity ahead as businesses seek increased levels of efficiency and effectiveness in their communications through enhancements in collaborative-meeting solutions."

'Simpler is Better' Drives Productivity

GoToMeeting's "simpler is better" model for staging online meetings enables higher levels of satisfaction and productivity. "Our research indicates that many small online meetings and product demonstrations are impromptu and that there is a high level of frustration among users with the existing product offerings due to complicated setups, availability issues and the high cost," says Brian Donahoo, senior vice president of client services for Expertcity, Inc. "GoToMeeting addresses these frustrations with an easy and intuitive interface that enables participants to focus on the meeting, not the setup."

With GoToMeeting, sessions start quickly, even for novices, as there is no pre-installation or configuration of software. Participants can easily join through email or instant-messaging applications and quickly access all the features necessary for successful interaction, including desktop viewing and sharing, keyboard and mouse control and chat. Integrated audio conferencing is available free to meeting organizers, or they can use their own conferencing provider. Administrative tools enable easy reporting and tracking and access to billing information.

'All You Can Meet' Model will Drive Adoption

GoToMeeting has a distinctive, value-added "All You Can Meet" flat-fee subscription model so businesses can meet as often and as long as they like, without incurring any additional costs. This predictable invoicing is an industry first and will encourage product adoption and use. "Customers in our market-validation tests reported higher usage rates with GoToMeeting than their previous online meeting services," reports Donahoo. "We're confident that higher levels of adoption will lead to increased productivity and a more rapid return on their investment. Furthermore, our "All You Can Meet" concept will dramatically cut the need for travel, reduce internal administration costs common to other online services and reduce the high cost of customer acquisition by making the sales process more efficient through fast, spontaneous presentations and demonstrations."

GoToMeeting is the most secure online-meeting solution on the market and the only solution with end-to-end AES encryption. It is compatible with existing network infrastructures and firewalls, and because it is a managed service, IT rollout and administration costs are minimal.

Two versions of the product will be available: GoToMeeting is positioned for individual professionals and small businesses; GoToMeeting Corporate is for organizations requiring central reporting and administration of multiple accounts. A free preview of GoToMeeting and GoTo Meeting Corporate will be available in May.

About Expertcity

Expertcity, Inc. is the leading provider of managed real-time Web-based remote-access and customer-support technologies. The company's award-winning screen-sharing technology enables users to securely view and control a remote computer. Expertcity offers two products: GoToAssist(TM), a complete managed service that enables support centers and help desks to rapidly and seamlessly deliver virtual on-site support, and GoToMyPC(R), a remote-access solution that enables individual users and enterprises, through the GoToMyPC Corporate managed service, to access and work on their PCs from any Internet location. The products consistently win best-in-class awards and reviews, including PC World's World-Class Award, PC Magazine's Editor's Choice Award, Customer Inter@ction's coveted CRM Excellence Award, Network World's Category Breaker Award and CNET's prestigious Editors' Choice Award. Expertcity has more than 4,000 corporate clients worldwide, including Cisco Systems, Siemens, Sun Microsystems, Verizon, Best Software, Intuit, Cablevision and Microsoft Business Solutions. Founded in 1997, Expertcity is privately held, with financial backing by Sun Microsystems, CNET, Bertelsmann Ventures and SoundView Ventures. The company is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with its European operations based in the UK. In December 2003, Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS) signed a definitive agreement to acquire Expertcity. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2004.

SOURCE Expertcity, Inc.