The best video conferencing software should be simple and easy to connect online with coworkers, friends, or family for online video calls and meetings.

Monday 23rd August, 2021

Whether it is school, work or even connecting with family, the world has become accustomed to using video conferencing software to connect.  

Here's are the benefits of some of the most convenient and popular video conferencing applications in 2021: 

Reasons to Use:

-Microsoft 365 integration
-Up to 10,000 participants

Microsoft Teams enables users to schedule a video or audio meetings with a single person or an entire team, all within one complete application. You can also organise large webinars with up to 10,000 participants. Since this is a Microsoft product, the obvious integration is with Microsoft 365. Calls can be easily arranged, invites can be sent to employees within the organisation, and external guests can join from the web browser. 

Microsoft Teams also provides the full range of features expected from a leading video conferencing software provider in 2021, including screen sharing, call recording, live captions, background blur technology, and chat functionalities.

The platform's powerful video conferencing software is complemented by the ability to join calls from almost any location and any device. Whether you're working alone or on the go, mobile devices, desktop computers, and Bluetooth conferencing headsets can power communication.

Overall, Microsoft Teams is perfect for businesses that already use Microsoft 365 Suite or who are looking to streamline their communication with a powerful video conferencing tool.

Reasons to Use:

-Google Suite integration
-Extremely simple to use

Google Meet is part of the Google Workspace office productivity platform (formerly known as G Suite). Having enjoyed a recent rebrand (from Google Hangouts), Google Meet aims to provide a first-class conferencing service for businesses.

Developed specifically for business needs, it can cater to many users at once and uses smart participation and a speedy interface to reduce the need to wait to get things going.

Google Meet aims to make it easier to work with internal employees and external clients. The most important differentiator is the web app experience, which means there is no software to download. Secondly, it provides a dedicated dial-in number, which means that employees on the go can join in, but this also ensures that line quality is preserved and there are no drop-outs.

Being a service from Google, Google Meet also has dedicated apps available for mobile users in the Apple AppStore and Google Play Store.

Another key advantage is that by being within the Google Workspace platform, it's easy to use data from other applications, including Google Calendar, to plan meetings and set up event information as required when users sign in.

The other big plus is that Google Meet itself doesn't come with the high monthly costs that other providers might charge. Google Meet is a serious business-grade conferencing platform that doesn't require high up-front costs for hardware, making it incredibly accessible for businesses (or individuals) of any size.

Reasons to Use:

-Easy to use
-More businesses are starting to adopt Zoom

Zoom is arguably the most popular and notable video conferencing platform that emerged from the pandemic. Zoom offers a video conferencing and messaging solution for desktop and mobile devices with an aim to be very quick and easy to set up and provide a wide range of scaleable features.

Apart from having the ability to provide HD quality video and audio, Zoom also supports up to 1000 participants and up to 49 people in a single screen. Meetings can be stored locally or in the cloud, along with transcripts with searchable text. Additionally, collaboration is built in with the ability for participants to share their screens and work together to provide their own notes as required (similar to Google Meet and Microsoft Teams).

One of the best features of Zoom is that a feature-rich free tier is available and can accommodate up to 100 people for up to 40 minutes, with an option to include additional tools for team administration and management.