5 Videoconferencing Tools you can use for Remote Office Meetings

 2020-04-22

With the growing need for videoconferencing tools now more than ever, you must be wondering what options there are in the market, and how readily available they are for use.

Here's a list of 5 popular videoconferencing tools and how they stack up to each other.

Skype - Yes, that Skype. While mostly used for their capability to call anyone worldwide at low rates, it is also often used for video meetings before other options where available. While easy to use and good for setting up quick updates from the team, it has been recently eclipsed by its younger cousin, the Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams - the cousin of Skype for Business, it's often referred to as the counterpart of Slack, Teams is a good option if everyone is already subscribed to Microsoft Office 365, as you pretty much have everything integrated into one software. While mostly focused on text-based communication and work collaboration services, MS Teams also has a video conferencing tool built into it, and makes for a secure enterprise-level video conferencing tool.

Webex - Webex has been around almost as long as Skype. Created by Cisco, it was the popular option for businesses when doing conference calls, as they can share screens and record the meeting, so those who were not able to make it can watch and catch up later on.

The problem with its earlier versions was that the video can be quite clunky, and given the internet capability before, it was very laggy. Today, it competes with MS Teams as a secure way of initiating a group meeting for internal employee video conferences.

Zoom - Probably the most used out of the bunch, Zoom has soared in popularity for office video conferencing due to the ease of use and setup, as well as functions such as screen sharing and being able to remotely control another's screen. The only downside of the free version is that there is a limitation of 40 minutes per video meetings, but if you want unlimited timed meetings, all you need is 1 account that is upgraded to premium to host other people in the meeting.

Despite the ease of use, it has recently become infamous due to some security breaches that were found in it. Though they say that the breaches have been fixed, some companies are still wary of using Zoom due to fear of leaks.

Jitsi Meet - A multi-platform open-sourced video conferencing tool, it is described a "Zoom without the drama". This is because it shares most of the functions that Zoom has to offer, but in a lighter load on the network and heavily focused in keeping the meetings secure with end-to-end encryption.

As it is built by a community, it is still undergoing constant changes and upgrades to streamline some processes. But overall, it doesn't hinder the security features and overall video conferencing experience with other people in the encrypted line.

While each has their own strengths and weaknesses, it is up to you to choose fits best with your need, and which ones you might use if there are no other options available. Good luck, and happy meetings!