Video conferencing isn’t going anywhere. It’s been growing in popularity for years, and COVID basically caused the industry to explode. Now, everyone’s doing it and there are tons of options. The only question is, which video conference meeting option is right for your business.

What to Consider When Choosing the Best Option for Your Video Conference Meeting Needs

When it comes to choosing a video conference meeting option for your business, you need to consider a number of factors. These are factors that all businesses need to think about, regardless of type or size. Consider the following:

• What will your budget allow for?
• What are you already using that may work?
• How many people does a standard video conference meeting for your business have in attendance?
• What features do you need?
• What features do you not need?

Answering these questions before you start your search will make it much easier to decide. Let’s look at the top options.

Slack

Slack upped its game in the video conference meeting arena over the years.  It’s pretty  basic, but if you already have it and use it for other things, definitely give it a shot for video conferencing. There is no need to add something else if what you have will already work. However, if you find it just doesn’t fit the bill, you have plenty to choose from.  Also, don’t get Slack just for video conferencing. That isn’t it’s main selling point.

Prices start at $8 per month for the standard plan that includes video calls along with unlimited chat archive and priority support.

BlueJeans

Now part of Verizon as of April 2020, the cute name is still hanging on.  It bills itself as “the meetings platform for the modern workplace,” and the name comes from the desire of the founders to make it as comfortable and casual as possible.  They focus on instant connections.  The platform uses a mobile or desktop app straight from the browser.  There is no download requirement.

After the acquisition, Verizon lowered prices and added a lot of new features. There is background noise cancellation, integration both with conference room systems that are hardware based and options like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Facebook Workplace.  There are also plenty of collaboration tools including screen sharing and whiteboarding.

There’s a free trial. After that, there are 3 plan options that you can pay monthly or annually if you want a 20% discount. The standard plan is $12.49 per meeting host per month and supports up to 50 in attendance.  It also supports 5 hours of meeting recording, but does not integrate with message apps like Slack.  Prices and features go up from there.

Webex

The big pull for Webex is the virtual whiteboard feature. It also has crisp audio, but is known for usability issues. It can be a good fit, but with options like the virtual whiteboard Miro that you can use while you are on a call, it’s really not necessary for most to use Webex solely on the basis of the whiteboard option.

Prices start at $14.95 per host per month for up to 50 people per meeting and 5GB of cloud storage.

Teams

This option is top notch for Google users. Its deep integration with other Google apps can be useful.  Just create a meeting in Google Calendar and get a link that you and other attendees can click to join the call instantly.

Live captioning is also a big plus on the accessibility side.  It works well for English, but not so much for any other languages that may be on a call.

It’s free for up to 100 participants for up to 60 minutes. For more than that, packages start at $6 per month as part of Google Workspace Basic.

Zoom

Zoom is arguably the best known video conference meeting option in this post-COVID era.  It was making headway before, but when the world was sent home to work where possible, Zoom was thrust into the spotlight virtually overnight.

It boasts a wealth of features, including free 1:1 calls with no time limit.  Group calls are free for up to 100 people for up to 40 minutes. Then, the paid plans allow up to 1,000 on a call at one time.  The best part is that Zoom is super reliable. Even with a bad connection, it can usually keep the video going.

Those on a call can text chat with the whole group or talk individually.  Screen sharing, call recording, and advance scheduling are also part of the package.

Zoom is free for up to 40 minutes if you have 100 people or fewer on the call.  The pro plan is $14.99 per month per host.

Make Your Choice Wisely

One thing you do not want, if you can help it, is to get everyone used to one option then have to switch. Also, don’t think about which one is best for just right now, but which one works now and will keep working into the future as your business grows. Consider each one carefully in light of the questions above, do your own research, then take the leap. And remember, if you are already using video conferencing, you may already have what you need. Don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.

The post Top 5 Video Conference Meeting Options for Your Business appeared first on Credit Suite.