If your business requires remote work it would be vital to ensure your staff had applications that allows them to function as if normally. Video conferencing software has come very far in terms of technology, reliability and connectivity. Through this blog we’ll go through the best video conferencing software that ourselves and clients also use regularly.
Microsoft Teams
If your business like ours uses Microsoft Office or 365 then Microsoft offers a great video conferencing platform. Microsoft Teams is one of the most used and prominent conferencing platforms on the internet. Not only does it allow for a secure connection, reliability but also a lot of useful functionality.
It offers video and audios calls as well as chatroom capabilities between two people as well as groups. Calls between users can be recorded and documents can be shared over chat. It is announced that Teams will soon be interoperability with Skype for Business, a useful application most users are familiar with.
As of today, Microsoft have ensured the free version of Microsoft Teams now supports an unlimited number of users. This could be extremely useful if cost is a big consideration in regards to the application you want to entrust.
Zoom
Zoom is also another application we use at Direct Computers and have set up multiple times for clients to help with remote conferencing. Zoom offers webinar and chat capabilities and what makes it so useful is it’s simplicity. Compared to its competitors Zoom allows calls to be entered just with a link, without needing to install the program of create an account.
One of the best features of hosting a web meeting using Zoom is the number of online collaboration tools available. You can easily screen share allowing all participants to see what is on the presenters screen. As a result, the presenter is able to quickly showcase videos, documents and other files to the entire group.
The whiteboard features allows the group to collaborate and brainstorm. However, one of the best tools is the ability to easily save the meeting, including the whiteboard annotations, and group chat. This makes the need for note taking no longer necessary.
Zoom meetings is designed to really grow with your business. For those companies with a limited budget for hosting online meetings, the free plan allows a host the ability to conduct an unlimited number of short meetings, making it one of the best video conferencing solutions for small business. As the business grows, or the need for longer meetings increases, there are plans which are reasonably priced based on the number of hosts and participants needed by the company.
Zoom conferencing is compatible with both Windows and Mac based computers. It is also compatible with most Android and Apple based phones allowing it to be available on the go.
Slack
Slack again is an application our business uses regularly. When constantly sharing files Slack has proved to be extremely useful compared to just using emails where files can become lost and hard to find.
Slack’s main focus is aimed at instant messaging between staff and sharing documents however, voice and video calls are also possible on the platform. Services such as Dropbox and Google Drive can be integrated, allowing for ease of file sharing.
Transparency in team communications is certainly a great option, but there are times when you need to communicate something privately between the members of your team. Perhaps its payroll related or some other personal situation the whole team doesn’t need to be in on. Just like any other chat client, Slack makes it simple to exchange messages privately between two people.
Need Help?
We have previous experience in setting setting up clients ready to use Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype and we ourselves use Slack to communicate with our colleagues and also our clients. If you need any help feel free to contact us:
Email – info@directcomputers.co.uk
Phone – 0114 296 0035
