Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Cisco WebEx, and Skype: Choosing the Right Video Conferencing Applications for You

Companies forced to work remotely due to the coronavirus have relied heavily on video conferencing software in recent months. As companies seek tools that can support staff in their roles and help them stay in touch with their colleagues, the market for collaboration and video chat applications has intensified significantly.

Zoom, Google Meet
and Microsoft Teams have perhaps been the most competitive services for users in recent weeks. Each vendor has been keeping tabs on its rivals and posting updates on what it appears to have become almost weekly, in order to give them an edge over the competition. The good news for users is that continuous improvement has led platform providers to
improve security,
add new features and
Make some of their services free.

Video conferencing services: which one should I choose?

Of course, Zoom, Microsoft and Google are not the only companies competing in this space, far from it. There are a number of well-established providers that have been offering video conferencing software for years, with equally rich feature sets. This includes Cisco WebEx, a webinar platform widely favored by organizations around the world, as well as BlueJeans, which was
recently picked up by Verizon
to be part of the telecommunications company’s 5G portfolio.

SEE: Cross Training Toolkit (TechRepublic Premium)

Each video conferencing service comes with its own list of pros and cons, as well as a variation on what it offers. Still, with a little research, you can be sure to select the right service for your company’s particular requirements. The following table, which is by no means exhaustive, represents six commonly used video conferencing platforms and chat apps, along with some of the features worth considering when buying.

Divulge: TechRepublic may earn a commission on some of the products featured on this page. TechRepublic and the author were not compensated by this independent article.

* Skype for Business is being replaced by Microsoft Teams

What to consider when selecting a video conferencing tool

1. Price

Price should not be the determining factor in your decision, but it is a good place to start. Many video conferencing tools offer a free version, although they are often limited in their features and may include limits on the number of participants that can participate in a video meeting, as well as a time limit for the meetings themselves. Getting a subscription generally means that you can include more people in a meeting at once, get better administration and user management controls, and take advantage of third-party application integration, to name just a few benefits.

2. Security

Remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic
has raised all kinds of problems
around IT security, that is, that companies have lost great visibility in the devices that access their networks. With this in mind, organizations should ensure that the video conferencing tools they select have robust security controls, and consider the need for things like meeting passwords, encrypted chats, and robust management controls that allow hosts to allow, deny, and kick participants out of the meeting where necessary.

SEE: Virtual Hiring Tips for Job Seekers and Recruiters (Free PDF) (TechRepublic)

3. Number of participants.

It goes without saying that any video conferencing platform must have the capacity to support the size of its workforce. As mentioned earlier, most services offer a free plan that will have a lower limit on the number of people who can participate in a meeting, usually around the 100-200 mark. If you anticipate that you will need more people involved in the meetings, especially if it is a medium or large organization, you may want to find a plan that allows this.

4. Application integration

Beyond video calling and chatting, if you plan to use software to collaborate on documents and team projects, you’ll want a platform that makes this easy. Most business video conferencing tools allow users to share files, while others provide additional collaboration tools such as screen sharing, live document annotation, and integration with popular workplace productivity software, for example, G Suite. and Microsoft Office. This type of integration is particularly useful for collaborating on projects as a group in real time.

5. Recordings of meetings

The ability to record meetings can be useful for reviewing notes and ensuring that no key conclusions are missed. It is also useful if you need to conduct an interview with a candidate or client remotely, which again is something increasingly common in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Many video conferencing tools
allows you to record meetings
and store them in the cloud (although storage may vary by service), while others also provide captioning and live transcription tools to make note taking even easier.

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