Comparing popular video conferencing platforms

Videoconferencing and its benefits

Videoconferencing is a form of online communication that allows two or more people who are in different geographical locations to meet via the Internet using video and audio links. This can range from face-to-face conversations to work meetings, webinars, presentations, school classes, student lectures, etc.

The introduction of video communication into the workflow makes it possible to:

1. Reduce the cost of commuting to the office.

   With the advent of video calling tools, daily presence in the office is no longer mandatory (we are talking about specialists who can do their work remotely). If necessary, the whole team can also meet in real life, but it will be less frequent, which will allow spending less money on commuting.

2. Increase engagement and improve collaboration.

   Unlike text messages or audio calls, video conferencing creates a sense of personal presence and interaction, even if people are physically far apart. Under these conditions, everyone gets information from the gestures and body language of others, which makes communication more accurate and helps overcome problems with miscommunication.

3. Save time and increase efficiency.

   Many video conferencing services have such a useful feature as screen sharing. With this feature, you can demonstrate something you're working on on your screen much faster than explaining it in words. Additional features such as recording the broadcast and sharing notes are useful for even greater efficiency.

4. Attract the best specialists to work remotely.

   The ability to use specialised video calling software allows companies to hire cool professionals regardless of the locations they're in, without the need to relocate.

In general, modern video communication tools help to improve work-life balance. It seems that this is already a good enough argument to use them.

Specialised online conferencing platforms or messengers: which is better?

If you need to hold a small meeting or quickly discuss some personal issues, messengers are a convenient and fast option. Like WhatsApp for example, which provides easy access from your smartphone and end-to-end call encryption. But due to the limited number of participants (up to 32) and not enough features to work with, this and other similar options are not suitable for large meetings. In addition, messengers do not have extensive features for organising structured events and do not provide stable communication, especially with a large number of participants.

Therefore, if you plan to hold an online conference, training or working meeting with several dozens or even hundreds of participants, it is better to choose a specialised platform. Here are some popular solutions for video calls.

Zoom

Launched in 2013, the platform is cloud-based and compatible with all major devices and operating systems. Zoom became particularly popular during the pandemic, when it had around 300 million daily users. That's when the app's vulnerability to hacking was discovered and its security was enhanced.

Currently, Zoom is one of the leading conference platforms for Zoom Meeting. To use it, all you need to do is download the installer and run the software. And you can join a meeting with a single link, without having to create an account, using your webcam or phone.

During a Zoom Meeting, you can send files to other participants via chat as well as screen sharing.

Zoom offers a variety of tariffs:

• Free, which allows meetings of up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes.
• Two paid plans, which are suitable for group calls of up to 100 participants lasting up to 30 hours and up to 300 participants with no time limit.

A comprehensive solution based on Zoom is the unified business communications platform Zoom One. It allows not only video conferencing, but also offers other collaboration tools: telephony (VoIP), call transcription, text chat, mail and calendar integration, note taking, virtual whiteboards, and others. There's also a marketplace with a large catalogue of apps that integrate Zoom One with third-party software. A good option for those who like to spend most of their time in one programme.

Microsoft Teams

The Microsoft Teams video conferencing service was launched in 2017 and is now available to users around the world. It is a web-based desktop application that allows you to invite anyone with an email address to join a meeting by sending them a message.

During a video conference, participants have access to screen sharing and chat functions. Within the team, they can customize channels and create direct messages. Integration with third-party services such as Facebook Pages, Twitter, and others is possible.

Microsoft Teams offers several tariffs:

• Free, designed for up to 100 participants for up to 60 minutes, with partially available meeting and call features.
• Two paid plans for up to 300 participants for up to 30 hours, with full meeting and call support.

Google Meet

Google Meet (until 2017 Google Hangouts) is a fairly easy-to-use service available to anyone with a modern web browser (regardless of OS platform). To sign in to Google Meet, just use your G Suite account, if you're a G Suite user, or your Gmail account.

For business, however, you'll need a Google Workplace account. Once you sign in and create a meeting, you get a link to it, a code, a connection number, and a PIN. These can be shared with those who want to join the meeting.

During a video conference, a recording is available that covers the active participant and everything that is shown on the screen. The recording is saved in the organiser's Meet Recordings folder in My Drive.

Google Meet allows you to attach various files (PDFs, videos, etc.) to a call, which will be automatically accessed by all participants of this meeting. You can also send messages during a video call, but when the call ends, the chat history disappears. Plus, you can't see messages from other participants until you join the call.

Google Meet offers users these tariffs:

• Free, which includes calls with a maximum of 100 participants lasting up to 1 hour (there is no time limit for one-on-one online meetings).
• Three paid plans that allow you to invite up to 100/150/500 participants to a meeting.

Slack

It is a platform for webinars and other types of meetings with a simple interface that is suitable for employee communication within teams of any size. Slack supports voice and video calls, private messaging, and group chats.

The software simply integrates with external resources (Trello, Dropbox, GitHub, Mailchimp, etc.). It supports Android, iOS, Windows, Windows Phone, Mac OS, and Linux devices. It also offers many useful features: various search options, drug-and-drop (uploading and moving files in channels), mentions, easy editing of messages, displaying local time for each team member, and others.

Users have access to video calling via Slack Calls, as well as integration with Zoom/Google Meet for more serious meetings. But since video conferencing is not a core feature of Slack, it may be inferior to other specialised platforms.

The tariffs available for using Slack are:

• Free, designed for one-to-one video calls.
• Three paid ones (two fixed-price and one with individual pricing), designed for group meetings.

Discord

This platform was launched in 2015 and first gained popularity among gamers as a free alternative to Skype and TeamSpeak. And at the time of the pandemic, Discord already had a wide range of users (more than 140 million monthly), helping them to work, learn and communicate.

On the Discord platform, you can communicate via voice, video or text. Video conferencing options are built into the desktop app, web browser and mobile app. Discord video chat allows you to make individual and group video calls, screen broadcasting, and server-based video conferencing. The latter provide interaction with large communities: one user can join a maximum of 100 servers, and one server can have up to 500,000 participants.

Discord offers several tariffs:

• Free, which supports video calls for up to 25 participants at a time and allows you to upload files up to 10 MB in size.
• Two paid plans that allow you to upload files up to 50/500 MB in size.

Cisco Webex

It is a cloud-based video conferencing, training session and webinar software known for its security and stability. It also allows you to chat, make audio calls, and share files.

By integrating Cisco Webex with Outlook and other Microsoft Office solutions, users can view text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in chat. The application also supports screen sharing, allows drawing with the workspace's virtual whiteboard feature, and sends different reactions during a meeting that all other participants will see.

Webex by Cisco offers the following tariffs to choose from:

• Free, targeting up to 100 attendees per online meeting of up to 40 minutes.
• Three paid plans that allow you to invite up to 150/200/1000 attendees for an online meeting lasting up to 24 hours.

GoToMeeting

It is quite a popular tool for video communications in a business environment. GoToMeeting allows you to organise online conferences in high HD quality and offers a good balance between functionality and cost.

The application includes such useful features as meeting recording, calendar integrations, screen sharing, artificial intelligence-based intelligent transcription, unlimited recording to the cloud. The app also integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 calendars, and is adapted for Android and iOS gadgets.

Several tariffs are available for using GoToMeeting:

• Three paid tariffs with the ability to invite up to 150/250/250 participants to a meeting of unlimited duration.
• A 14-day free trial is available for a subscription, which allows you to join up to 3 participants per meeting of up to 40 minutes.

Jitsi Meet

It is a free, open source video conferencing platform that allows you to make video calls, screen share, chat and record meetings. Jitsi Meet works directly in the browser and also has mobile and desktop applications. The programme offers the ability to create conferences without limits on the number of participants and time. All calls are encrypted to ensure privacy.

Self-Hosted tariff users can deploy Jitsi Meet on their own servers or in the cloud. It is also possible to configure the platform to work with a large number of participants, depending on the hosting capacity. If you choose the Commercial Hosting plan, integration with other tools is available.

BlueJeans

This online service is suitable for corporate or personal video calls. It is available as a standalone programme and web application.

BlueJeans allows meetings with high quality audio and video for up to 100 participants who can chat, transfer files, display a screen and record the conversation. Access to the conference is granted by sending a generated link or email invitation.

During a meeting, organisations can brand the corporate space by uploading a company logo and virtual background. The platform also offers integration with such popular video conferencing services as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar and others.

Several tariffs are available for using BlueJeans:

• Free, which offers video calls of unlimited duration.
• Three paid ones that support 1:1/up to 125/up to 200 people present online meetings.

A free trial is also available for a 14-day period.

Comparative characteristics of video conferencing platforms

Choose which platforms described are right for you and use them to the best advantage for your work.

How to improve video communication

Sometimes communication at a distance can be complicated due to various factors (technical, geographical, behavioural). To make this process as efficient as possible, we recommend using the following tips:

1. Check your equipment.

   Before joining an online meeting, don't forget to check your camera, microphone and speakers. It's also advisable to familiarise yourself with the basic functionality of your chosen platform so that you don't suddenly get into a mess.

2. Choose a comfortable location.

   To keep you focused, find a quiet place with good lighting that will help you look your best on camera.

3. Create an environment that is conducive to concentration.

   Remember to turn off notifications and close the doors to the room from which you are going to connect to the video conference. You can use virtual background images to avoid visual distractions on the screen.

4. Dress appropriately.

   To look presentable during a video call, choose appropriate clothing.

5. Communicate with other participants.

   To better interact with other participants in an online meeting, look into the camera and use body language.

6. Prepare notes for the discussion.

   To stay on topic and express yourself clearly, it's helpful to have a pre-prepared conversation outline or list of key points on hand.

7. Tune in to the meeting.

   Take a few deep breaths before starting an online meeting — this will help calm your nerves and make you feel more confident.

Remember: choosing the right video call service and following the tips for virtual business communication will help increase the productivity of online meetings and the engagement of participants. And they will also make the process of communication convenient, easy and enjoyable!