Meeting tools are usually priced per host or per seat. For a school that runs many classes, that adds up, and every class carries someone else’s brand. An education company asked us for something different: classes and webinars under its own name, paid for by use.
Rent the network, own the app
We did not build video servers. We built the app on a global cloud network and pay only for what each call uses:
- A video network built for live calls carries the audio and video. Each person sends their video once, and the network forwards it to the people who need it. No phone has to send ten copies.
- Each room keeps its own record of who is in it, who is on stage and whose hand is raised.
- A small database stores accounts and settings.
- The app itself runs close to every user, so pages and buttons answer fast.
There are no servers to patch, and when nobody is in a call, almost nothing runs.
Webinars: a small stage, a big audience
A class is not a meeting. Most people watch and a few speak. So webinar mode keeps a small group on stage and lets 50+ viewers watch. The host decides who is on stage.
Calm on screen
People should forget the software is there. The call is a dark stage, so faces stand out. All the controls live in one floating bar. Chat, people and notes share one panel. Keyboard shortcuts cover the common jobs, and the app remembers your name, so a returning guest joins in one click.
Real networks are messy
Phones lock, Wi-Fi drops, tabs reload. So the app checks its connection with a heartbeat, reconnects after a drop, resumes after a reload, and repairs a video that stays blank. A data saver helps on slow connections.
The client’s brand, not ours
The name, the logo and the colour come from an admin panel. We designed every screen to look right in any brand colour, because we never know which colour a client will pick.
What we learnt
Test on low-cost phones and bad networks early; that is where calls break. And when use goes up and down with a timetable, paying for use beats paying for seats.
Want something like this for your school or company? Our software team builds it.