Happy 1st birthday Samba Live!

One year ago, on 7th February 2019, we launched Samba Live as the successor of OnSync.

It was time to get fit for the new decade, so we created an entirely new user interface, built entirely in HTML5 rather than flash. We stayed true to our goal to create a system that runs in your browser on any device.

Today we want to take this special occasion to celebrate one year of Samba Live, reflect on what we have achieved, and look on to the next 12 months.

HD video in HTML5 is incredibly empowering technology and lays the foundation to create seamless user experiences from the third party systems you already use in your day-to-day. It will allow you to pull in content from the web just as quickly as you will be able to access sessions from your favorite LMS, LXP, CRM, or e-commerce system.

Our unique approach to OEM makes us the ideal partner to create experiences across systems that feel natural to users as they do not need to switch from one branded system to another.

Since our launch, we introduced many exciting features to make webinars, video conferencing, and virtual classrooms better. We launched collaboration features like Breakout rooms, Lobby, Shared Notes, and the highly praised and unique Layouts. Distributed teams and online tutors are using these features to work together every day seamlessly.

Mobile was a big focus in 2019, and you can now launch Samba Live from your desktop computer or mobile device directly from your web browser – no downloads required!

Our releases over the last year improved the way you and your stakeholders interact and engage with your audience. This makes Samba Live a feature-rich but easy-to-use solution for many use cases. Whether you are a freelancer or a Fortune 500 company, our features have got you covered.

None of this would be possible without you, and the feedback we received from all of our users on our new features is amazing:

Loving the video quality

It's better than hangouts

The new release looks really, really good

An enjoyable experience for our teachers and students

The last of these comments is the most important to us. We strive to build a system that is fun to use. Technology must empower you by being a natural extension of the self.

Your honest feedback and feature requests helped us improve Samba Live on an ongoing basis. We are thankful for every comment we receive, good and bad, and work hard to implement your wishes.

We are taking our mission to make beautiful software that's simple to use and forever up to date, so you can always do your best work very seriously – it's what we enjoy and what makes us get up in the morning – and what makes us go to sleep late at night!

Some of the things you asked for that we are going to bring you in 2020: New pricing plans, higher scalability for sessions into the thousands, a mobile responsive interface, saved layouts, Outlook and Google Calendar plugins, plug & play integration into third-party LMS, LXP, CRM, and marketing systems, inbuilt e-commerce, a brand new account centre, beautiful landing pages and a whole lot more.

Here's to Samba Live and see you in 2021.