PlaceWare

PlaceWare was an American provider of web-conferencing software founded in 1996 by Xerox PARC researchers Pavel Curtis, Mike Dixon, and David Nichols. The company emerged from research into virtual environments and computer-mediated collaboration at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, applying ideas from shared online spaces to the developing market for internet-based business presentations and remote meetings. Its central proposition was to let a presenter conduct an online event through a web browser while allowing a large audience to participate remotely. A host could share presentation content, manage the event, collect questions, conduct polls, and control the flow of interaction. This approach distinguished PlaceWare from simple point-to-point video calling: the service was designed particularly for structured presentations, corporate communications, training, product demonstrations, and other events in which one or a small number of presenters addressed a much larger audience. PlaceWare's first product, PlaceWare Auditorium, launched in March 1997. It supported presentation sharing, live audio, audience polling, and question-and-answer functions. The browser-based model reduced the need for participants to install specialized client software and made the service suitable for geographically distributed audiences. Early customers included Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Sun Microsystems, and PBS, demonstrating applications across technology, business, education, and media-related events. The company's founding team brought experience in online collaborative environments. Pavel Curtis was previously associated with LambdaMOO, an influential multi-user virtual environment created at Xerox PARC. PlaceWare translated that earlier interest in persistent shared spaces into a commercial communications product aimed at organizations adopting internet-based collaboration. Microsoft acquired PlaceWare in April 2003. Following the acquisition, PlaceWare's core technology and service were renamed Microsoft Office Live Meeting and incorporated into Microsoft's business productivity and communications portfolio. The PlaceWare name consequently ceased to operate as an independent commercial brand. Live Meeting was later overtaken by Microsoft's subsequent collaboration products, including Microsoft Lync and Skype for Business, while online meeting capabilities were eventually incorporated into Microsoft Teams. PlaceWare is therefore historically significant as an early commercial web-conferencing provider and as a predecessor technology within Microsoft's enterprise collaboration product lineage.

PlaceWare originated within Xerox PARC's research environment and was founded in 1996 by Pavel Curtis, Mike Dixon, and David Nichols. The founders drew on research into virtual environments, computer-supported collaboration, and shared online spaces. Their work addressed an emerging business need: enabling people in different locations to attend a common presentation or meeting through the internet without being physically co-located. The company's technology was designed around a presenter-and-audience model. A host could distribute or control shared presentation material, while participants joined through a web browser and interacted through questions, polls, and other response mechanisms. This architecture made PlaceWare particularly relevant to large online events rather than only small conversational meetings. It could support corporate presentations, training sessions, product demonstrations, internal communications, and public-facing online programs. PlaceWare Auditorium, the company's first identified product, launched in March 1997. Its feature set included slide sharing, live audio, audience polling, and question-and-answer capabilities. The product reflected the company's effort to combine the reach of internet broadcasting with a degree of audience participation. Early customers included Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Sun Microsystems, and PBS, giving the company visibility among technology companies and organizations using online delivery for business or public communication. The company's technical background was closely connected to Xerox PARC's experimental work in networked social and virtual environments. Pavel Curtis was known for creating LambdaMOO, an influential early multi-user virtual environment at PARC. PlaceWare did not simply reproduce that environment, but its commercial service carried forward the idea that geographically separated users could participate in a shared online space with structured interaction. Microsoft acquired PlaceWare in April 2003. The acquisition ended PlaceWare's independent identity and transferred its technology into Microsoft's business software portfolio. Microsoft renamed the principal service Microsoft Office Live Meeting and connected it with the wider Office-oriented productivity ecosystem. In later years, Live Meeting was superseded by Microsoft Lync and then Skype for Business, with Microsoft's online meeting capabilities eventually becoming part of Microsoft Teams. PlaceWare's direct brand presence therefore ended after the Microsoft transaction, but its product lineage continued through successive generations of Microsoft's enterprise communications software. Historically, PlaceWare represents an early phase of commercial web conferencing, before browser-based remote collaboration became a mainstream feature of general productivity platforms. Its importance lies both in its standalone service and in its role as an acquired technology that contributed to Microsoft's long-term development of online meetings and enterprise collaboration.

• 2003

  Microsoft completes acquisition

  [1]PlaceWareen.wikipedia.org

  Microsoft acquired PlaceWare in April 2003 and rebranded its core service as Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

• 1997

  PlaceWare Auditorium launches

  [1]PlaceWareen.wikipedia.org

  PlaceWare introduced its first product, a browser-based service for large online presentations and events, in March 1997.

• 1996

  PlaceWare is founded

  [1]PlaceWareen.wikipedia.org

  Pavel Curtis, Mike Dixon, and David Nichols founded PlaceWare as a spin-off from Xerox PARC research.

Early enterprise web-conferencing technology focused on large-scale browser-based presentations, remote meetings, audience polling, and interactive question-and-answer sessions.

• Web-conferencing software · 1997

  PlaceWare Auditorium

  PlaceWare Auditorium was the company's first major product, launched in March 1997. It enabled a host to conduct an online presentation for a large browser-based audience. The service combined shared slides or presentation content with live audio, audience polling, and question-and-answer functions. Its design addressed structured online events such as corporate presentations, training, public programs, and product demonstrations, where a presenter needed to manage content and interaction across a geographically distributed audience.

• Web-conferencing software · 2003

  Microsoft Office Live Meeting

  Microsoft Office Live Meeting was the post-acquisition continuation and rebranding of PlaceWare's core web-conferencing technology. Microsoft integrated the service into its business productivity and communications portfolio after acquiring PlaceWare in 2003. The product was later superseded by Microsoft Lync and Skype for Business, followed by the incorporation of online meeting capabilities into Microsoft Teams.

• 2003

  Microsoft acquires PlaceWareM&A

  Background

  PlaceWare operated in the developing market for browser-based web conferencing and online presentations. Microsoft acquired the company to bring its technology into Microsoft's business communications and productivity portfolio.

  Action taken

  Microsoft completed the acquisition in April 2003 and renamed PlaceWare's core product Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

  Aftermath

  PlaceWare ceased to operate as an independent brand. The product lineage continued through Microsoft Office Live Meeting and later Microsoft Lync, Skype for Business, and Microsoft Teams.

  Source

• 2003

  Microsoft acquires PlaceWare[1]PlaceWareen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Product generation

  Microsoft completed its acquisition of PlaceWare in April 2003 and subsequently renamed the company's core web-conferencing product Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

1. 1PlaceWareen.wikipedia.org