This document compares the virtual training capabilities of Adobe Connect, WebEx Training Center, and Skype for Business. It finds that Adobe Connect provides more flexibility and customization options than the other platforms. Key advantages of Adobe Connect include persistent training rooms, unlimited layouts, separate note pods, object-oriented annotations, and strong mobile functionality. In contrast, WebEx and Skype for Business offer less flexibility and customization and have limitations like fixed layouts and annotations. The document recommends evaluating which platform best supports desired training elements and experiences.

1. 1
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Like comparing apples to oranges!
Yes, all can be used for delivering virtual training, but the experiences
for learners and faculty are very different….

2. 2
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Like comparing apples to oranges!
At Virtual Gurus we are finding that many organisations are being asked to deploy virtual classroom training using
technologies that are designed as communication tools.
With the advent of Office 365 subscriptions providing Skype for Business as a communication tool, we are finding
that many training teams are now being asked to use that platform to deliver their virtual classroom offerings.
IT departments and CIO’s are effectively ‘handcuffing’ those training teams into having to fit the training into the
specified technology, something that often feels like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
The training that the training team wants to create and deliver cannot be fully realized in every platform and it is key
that training teams are provided the right set of tools to be able to effectively design and deliver highly engaging and
interactive training for the learner audience.
At Virtual Gurus we very firmly believe that you need to evaluate what are the various elements of training that you
provide and which platform supports the learning most effectively.
This white paper serves to highlight the key differences from a functionality and usability perspective between two of
the most widely used virtual classroom platforms – Adobe Connect and WebEx Training Center, and the Office 365
‘equivalent’ Skype for Business.

3. 3
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
A persistent room vs a session in time
Adobe Connect mirrors the face to face classroom
With Adobe Connect you create a persistent
meeting room - one where you can setup the
room with content in advance of the training
session and everything in the room persists even
between sessions.
Go back into the room and as long as the content
has not been deleted it remains as you left it.
You can review chat, annotations, breakout
content as it was when you ran the live session
allowing hosts the option of going back in and
capturing outputs and data.
If you are running multiple sessions of the same
content you can ‘clean’ the room of all
annotations and chat, then re-use same room link
without having to set the room back up again.
With WebEx Training Center the session to be
used for the virtual training sessions is only
accessible 30 minutes in advance of the start
time, during which time you can load slides,
content and polls.
As soon as the session is closed by the host, all
content is deleted automatically.
This forces the facilitator/host to have to capture
all outputs before closing the session.
If you are running multiple sessions of the same
content then you need to create a new session
and start the process of loading content from
scratch
With Skype for Business the session is
accessible when you start it, a little like WebEx
so as a host of the meeting/training you need to
start the event and then load slides/content ready
for your audience joining.
As soon as the session is closed, all content is
deleted automatically.
This forces the facilitator/host to have to capture
all outputs before closing the session.
If you are running multiple sessions of the same
content then you need to create a new session
and start the process of loading content from
scratch

4. 4
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
More flexibility vs Less options
Adobe Connect has more flexibility of what can be shown
Adobe Connect’s pod structure allows facilitators to
share a slide presentation AND an image AND a
document AND a whiteboard AND even my screen
all at the same time.
Pod’s can be resized and moved around the screen
WebEx allows facilitators to share a slide presentation
OR an image OR a document OR a whiteboard OR my
screen in the same view
Again with Skype for Business it only allows facilitators
to share a slide presentation OR an image OR a
document OR a whiteboard OR my screen in the same
view

5. 5
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Fully customisable vs little ability to customise
Adobe Connect is customisable, WebEx is fixed
Adobe Connect can be customised in many different
ways:
You can add your company logo and information to the
log-in screen so that learners see familiar logos and
information.
You will be assigned a customisable URL for learners to
access – at sessions are accessible with a recognisable
meeting URL: -
virtualgurus.adobeconnect.com/meeting_name
In Connect you can also add your company logo to the
room menu bar, and add an image as a background to
your meeting rooms.
Joining a WebEx session means learners navigate to a
WebEx branded log-in which you can add your logo to.
Skype for Business has personal branding where you
can have a thumbnail photo of yourself, but
customisation is limited.

6. 6
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Unlimited layouts vs fixed view
Adobe Connect has layouts, WebEx is static
Adobe connect has layouts – a feature that allows
facilitators to create different views based upon what they
want to do with the audience.
Layouts lets facilitators bring preconfigured pods into any
layout needed to teach the content, brainstorm, run the
activity and be able to change and move those layouts at
the click of a button
WebEx Training Center does not have layouts and has
a very fixed canvas - able to display content, attendee
panel, chat and polls in the same fixed view throughout
the session
Similar to the WebEx platform – Skype for Business
has a very fixed canvas - able to display content,
attendee panel, chat and polls in the same fixed view
throughout the session

7. 7
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
More flexibility vs Less options
More attendees, presenters and hosts
An Adobe Connect enterprise account allows up to 100
attendees in a session at the same time, from that 100 as
many can be named as hosts or presenters as you wish.
This means we can have others joining the session
sharing the host and presenter duties.
Presenters can hand off to one another without any
control needing to be provided.
A second host can be using Preparation mode and
secretly adding content, changing polls, assigning
breakout rooms while the session is going on.
WebEx allows one person to have host control, and
only one person has the ball as presenter at any time.
While someone has the ball (presenter role) another
panelist can be loading additional content or polls.
Skype for Business allows one person to have the
presenter role at any time.

8. 8
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Separate Note Pods vs Limited space to display notes
Adobe can display more information for learners
In Connect facilitators can use the note pod to display key
information such as dial in details for participants to join
the audio line, information reminders and tasks, group
assignments and whatever else you can think of
For WebEx to come close to doing the same you have
to annotate onto a whiteboard or slides or to put it into
chat (but beware that when the attendees start using
the chat the information you type scrolls up out of view)
Skype for Business has limited toolset such as chat –
and if you put dial in details in chat and attendees are
chatting then that information gets scrolled out of sight.

9. 9
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Time to set them up in advance vs Must load content when you start breakouts
Set up breakout rooms in advance
With Adobe Connect being a persistent room that
facilitators can enter and load in advance – all content
needed to run the breakout activities can be prepared and
loaded.
Once in the session, attendees are assigned to the
relevant breakout rooms, and they are started – attendees
can then get on with the activity – there is no time lost
with Adobe Connect
WebEx Training Center will only allow you to load
breakout room content after you have started the
breakout activity.
So attendees will be in their breakout rooms awaiting
the content to be loaded before they can start the
activity that has been assigned to them
Skype for Business does not have a fixed breakout
room option.
There is a workaround which is very clunky and
confusing - you can create separate Skype for
Business sessions for each breakout group and advise
the breakout group which room they will be assigned to
and provide them the relevant link.
If you have 4 breakout rooms you now have 5 session
links to work with.
In terms of managing the groups activity and then
sharing back session content this approach would be
very complex to manage smoothly in a live training
event.

10. 10
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Holding area for content vs No holding area
Adobe has a holding area – the presenter only area
The Presenter Only Area (POA) in Adobe Connect acts a
holding area for various pods, notes and content that the
facilitator and host may want to bring onto the screen at
various times of the session.
In the POA facilitator and host can communicate secretly
without the attendees knowing – allowing the ‘delivery
team’ the ability to adapt content as needed.
Eaxmple: Dial in details can be held in the POA and
shown briefly again after a break or after an attendee has
dropped from the audio line.
WebEx Training Center has nothing like the Presenter
Only Area.
Skype for Business has nothing like the Presenter Only
Area.

11. 11
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Object oriented annotations vs Fixed annotations
Object oriented whiteboard versus fixed text
Adobe Connect annotations and whiteboards are ‘object
oriented’ meaning that all annotations can be moved
around the screen allowing the facilitator or host to group
comments made by the attendees showing
trends/similarities, or attendees may have typed in the
same spot but because of the ’object oriented’ nature of
annotations they can be separated and displayed for all to
read.
WebEx Training Center’s annotations are fixed –
wherever they are typed they remain.
If attendees have typed over the top of one another it
becomes very difficult to see what the contributions
may be.
Similar to WebEx Training Center, Skype for Business
annotations are fixed – wherever they are typed they
remain.
If attendees have typed over the top of one another it
becomes very difficult to see what the contributions
may be.

12. 12
Prepared by David Smith - Virtual Gurus
Adobe Connect vs WebEx Training Center vs Skype for Business
Take Adobe Connect mobile vs limited mobile capability
Adobe is mobile – WebEx more limited
Adobe Connect has a very strong mobile app where
facilitators, hosts and attendees can join an Adobe
Connect session from an iOS or Android device.
Host and presenters can present from their mobile device,
sharing presentations, videos, pdfs, documents and
webcams from wherever they are.
There is some loss of functionality from the desktop
experience but in the most part attendees can contribute
well if mobile is the only option.
WebEx Training Center’s mobile app is very limited.
You can attend a virtual session from mobile but pretty
much as an observer
Skype for business does have a mobile app but it is
limited in functionality and user feedback suggests
there is much improvement needed for it to be seen as
an effective way of joining an event