As more and more workers transitioned from traditional workplaces to home offices, finding the right videoconference platform rose to the top of the to-do list for businesses of every size. In March 2020, Zoom reported more than 10 times the users as the year before. Google responded by enhancing its Meet platform to compete with Zoom. With so many users on each platform, both clearly are here to stay as key productivity tools. So, which one is better for your business?
Google Meet
Google Meet is an integrated part of Google’s G Suite productivity software. Employees can use the full range of Google products with their email as their home base and one-click their way to a meeting.
Anyone with a free Google Account can create an online meeting with up to 100 participants and meet for up to 60 minutes per meeting (up to 24 hours per meeting through Sept. 30, 2020). Businesses, schools and other organizations can take advantage of paid premium features, including meetings with up to 250 internal or external participants and live streaming to up to 100,000 viewers within a domain. Capabilities like screen sharing and annotations are on par with other video conferencing platforms.
Meet will automatically detect and prominently display the speaker’s video feed to keep everyone’s attention in a group call, but gallery view is also available. To stay competitive, Google recently improved sound quality and noise reduction within the platform, and Meet offers integrations with many applications across most mobile and desktop operating systems.
Recent enhancements improved video quality and reduced required bandwidth. As part of G Suite, Meet looks and feels familiar and interacts seamlessly with Google products. For example, Google Calendar invites automatically create a Google Meet link and call-in number when you “add conferencing.” Microsoft productivity tool users won’t find a comparable functionality, since Microsoft offers their Teams platform for video conferencing.
Zoom
Zoom has quickly become the video conferencing tool for businesses and individuals. Zoom’s success can be attributed to two main factors: ease of use and video image quality. Users report high satisfaction with the Zoom platform in these key areas.
Zoom easily integrates with other platforms and software, unifying logins and improving content sharing and overall collaboration. Zoom works on all mobile and desktop platforms.
Setting up Zoom is very easy. Download the Zoom app to your personal computer, phone or tablet, create an account, then join conversations. It’s also easy to chat, host video meetings or create webinars with Zoom: Set up a new room or meeting within the Zoom app and send the room’s link. The receiver clicks on the link and joins the meeting within seconds. While other platforms can take minutes to start a meeting, Zoom is already saving valuable time.
This ease of use caused concern among some users about Zoom’s security, as one-click meetings led to “zoom bombing” and other unpleasant intrusions. Zoom took fast, dramatic steps to address security in light of these well-documented challenges by adding additional settings and password enhancements to the tool.
Zoom offers unlimited meetings and can support a meeting with up to 100 participants or 1,000 attendees with ease. When you manage a meeting with Zoom it’s easy to be in complete control of the process. Zoom is equipped with control options for hosts and built-in recording functionality to preserve meetings for your team to review later. You can also opt for whiteboarding and screen sharing upgrades with paid plans.
A perhaps unheralded feature is Zoom’s chat functionality, which allows users to keep communicating even when not in a meeting. This can fill the current role of chat tools such as Slack, which can reduce your IT budget.
Finally, Zoom Rooms offer a clear advantage over conventional conference rooms for many reasons. There is no need to juggle a conference room schedule, get frustrated with inefficient equipment or worry about folks squeezing in or taking forever to join.
When it comes to image and sound quality, Zoom offers crisp and clear audio and video with an intuitive user interface. Zoom is one of the most affordable videoconferencing platforms, offering a free plan with lots of functionality, as well as several enterprise options that max out at an affordable $19.99 per user per month. DGI customers and readers can sign up for a free 30-day trial of enterprise-level Zoom to try out all the key functionalities.
Which Platform Is Right for You: Google Meet or Zoom?
DGI understands that selecting a video conferencing platform isn’t easy, and we’ve helped many business make that key decision. Both Google Meet and Zoom’s HD video, text or voice options can save your company time and money.
If you’re already using G Suite from Google, you may feel that your video conferencing is already paid for, as Meet comes included. If enterprise-level features are necessary, investing in G Suite may be the only way to get those for Meet. Even if you’re a G Suite user, and certainly if you’re not, we believe that Zoom’s scalability, capacity and ease of use are a clear choice. When it comes to connecting with your employees, or key contacts, Zoom offers an experience worth paying for.
Google Meet is one of many videoconferencing platforms in a crowded space. The gurus at DGI have spent many years designing videoconference solutions that help you connect and improve productivity. Talk to us about your video conferencing or virtual work platform to discover a solution that works for you and your team.
