Video Conferencing is a technology that allows users to hold face - to - face meetings sitting in different location. This technology is convenient for business users to save time and money and travelling problems.
The Quality and Stability of the Video conferencing may fluctuate with Electricity and speed of the internet connection.
Below are some of the uses of the video conferencing :
Training
Conduct Regular Meeting
Announce significant changes in company
Video conferencing videos give services to the guests who need such service
List of best Video Conferencing Apps :
Zoom
Skype
Slack
BigBlueButton
Bluejeans
Whereby
GoToMEeting
Cisco WebEX
Google Meet
Microsoft Teams
Zoom vs Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Skype
Zoom
Zoom is a cloud-based video communications app that allows you to set up virtual video and audio conferencing, webinars, live chats, screen-sharing, and other collaborative capabilities. You don's need any account to attend zoom meeting. Zoom supports various platforms, and they include the likes of Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS
Features:
Virtual backgrounds: One of the platform's more lively features, virtual background allows you to display and image or video as your background.
Raise your hand: Zoom has a feature that lets you virtually "raise your hand," which notifies the meeting organizer that you have a point to make or question to ask, without disrupting the flow of the class or conference.
Remote support: A helpful feature that allows you to take control of another participant's screen.
Personal meeting ID: Only available for Pro accounts or higher, a personal meeting ID will make your meetings more secure, while also making it easier for your friends and colleagues to connect.
Waiting room: A feature that lets you control when participants join a meeting.
Advantages:
Easy to use and deploy
You can connect to virtual meeting vis desktop, laptop and mobile devices.
It is free for personal use for small business.
Zoom make work more flexible whether you are travelling or staying at home.
Better service on slow connections.
Users can communicate through live chats in the middle of the conversation.
Disadvantages:
Delayed customer service
Security Issues because of which hackers easily hack user-password and took over the virtual meeting and allegedly post offensive content to disrupt the business
Cyber Attacks lower down the number of users.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is cloud-based team collaboration software that is part of the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suite of applications. The core capabilities in Microsoft Teams include business messaging, calling, video meetings and file sharing. Businesses of all sizes can use Teams. Microsoft Teams is usually deployed across entire organizations and not just within certain company departments. In some cases, Teams could replace email for internal company communication among employees.
Features:
Users can elevate a group or one-on-one chat to a voice or video call.
Teams provide voice calling.
You can customize the virtual backgrounds, meeting recording, transcription and whieboarding and breakout rooms.
Can share desktop screens including file, meetings and calls.
Microsoft Teams can store, share and edit files.
Users can keep track their workweek, meetings and other daily appointments.
Upto 1000 users can attend meeting at the same time. Teams webinars can accommodate 10,000 people in a view-only broadcast. Larger broadcasts of 20,000 people are available through the end of 2021
Advantages:
It enables a more modern form of communication out of the box– with support for likes, gifs, emoticons, live link previews, etc. that enriches your communication.
You can easily focus your attention on work-related topic and prioritize your time better
You can keep the track of what is going on ; making Microsoft Teams transparent.
As it is Cloud based, you can access information from anywhere on any device.
You can quickly get new team members up to speed and engaged in the teamwork – no matter where in the world they are located.
Disadvantages:
Currently, Teams does not support Group calendars, so to see your Team/Group calendar you have to switch to Outlook.
If you are editing a document in Word and send a sharing link to a team member, there is no option to send this via a Teams chat, the link is sent via email.
Storage of file in Teams is quite confusing.
You can create private channels in a team to create unique permissions for a specific channel, but you don’t have the ability to invite “guest users” to selected channels.
When you start working in Teams you don’t have the structure ready from start. You don’t know which channels you need, you might not know exactly what Teams you need to create.
Google Meet
Google Meet is a video-conference-calling platform designed primarily for professional use, which links remote colleagues together for real-time interaction. On a basic Google Meet call, up to 25 people can speak and share video with each other at once. If you subscribe to higher Google Meet membership tiers, the number of people who can join a call goes up to 50 or 100. It won't function in Safari and works best in Google Chrome.
Features:
You can use different types of layouts where you can see 16 participants at once along with the presented content.
Google have introduced "Raise Hand" button to make the conversation smooth. People having questions or have something to say can use that button.
You can customize your background.
You can track more video meeting activity in your organization using google meet report.
Breakout Rooms where you can easily split into smaller groups for specific discussion and reunite afterwards.
Can ask questions without disrupting the conversation.
Google is launching to engage more participants and make it easier to take quick decisions by starting a real-time poll during a video call.
Advantages:
Free for all google users.
The screen-sharing feature allows a speaker to present a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or browser tab to participants.
It is relatively easy to use. Joining a meeting is as simple as clicking or tapping a link.
Resolution for both incoming and outgoing video call is 360p by default but you can adjust to 720p.
Security is guaranteed through the established global IT infrastructure of Google.
Disadvantages:
Key benefits are less as compared to other apps
The platform is only accessible via web browser for desktop operating systems like Windows, MacOS and Chrome OS.
It consumes a considerable amount of hardware resources. Devices with outdated processors and random access memory would have a hard time running a video conference.
Skype
Skype is proprietary telecommunications application that specializes in providing VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debit-based calls to landline and mobile telephones (over traditional telephone networks), and other features. Skype is available on various desktop, mobile and video game console platforms, and is operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft. As of March 2020, Skype was used by 100 million people on a monthly basis and by 40 million people on a daily basis,
Features:
Below are the features of the Skype but some of the features are discontinued.
Skype keeps user instant messaging history on user's local computer, and on Skype's cloud for 30 days
Users can send about 254 emoticons that are displayed either statically or animated, depending on user's settings.
Users are able to quote other messages by copying them and pasting them into a new message
Voice Mail service allow users to leave voice mail messages for skype users who are learning.
Video Calling and Screen sharing option
Skype Wifi allows users to pay a per-minute charge for Internet access at commercial wireless hotspots using Skype Credit
Advantages:
we have Screen sharing option in skype
It is Easy to Install
24/7 service
Multiple people can speak with each other on single connection without any equipment.
The Paid subscribe of the Skype is quite cheap
Secure calling facility.
Better call quality
Disadvantages:
It offer little access to emergency services
There is no real face to face interaction
No Language translation service available
Sound quality is based on the bandwidth
Background Noises
Use whatever video conferencing app is included with your plan - but if not, there's free access to Zoom and Google Meet to support you.
Sofia Sondh
The Tech Platform