What’s the right technology to help you keep in touch with your colleagues through video calling?
April 14th 2020 Article
14 April 2020
For many businesses, video calling technology is playing a vital role in allowing colleagues to communicate and even hold company meetings. But what’s the right technology for your business? We take a look at some of the key solutions available and assess the pros and cons.
Google Hangouts
Easy to use and with no installation required, Google Hangouts allows you to schedule video meetings. The meeting organizer requires a (free) Google account, but otherwise anybody can access the meeting via mobile or via a computer with a webcam.
Zoom
Zoom charges up to £11.99 a month for its video calling services although there is a free products which limits meetings at 40 minutes duration. One of its strengths is that it is good at handling large meetings with 5 or more people as all participants can be viewed on screen at once.
WhatsApp video
WhatsApp is already installed on many phones and it has built in video calling technology which allows a maximum of four individuals to join a call together. This is primarily a mobile-based technology and so may be better for business where the workforce don’t have desktop or laptop computers as home.
MicrosoftTeams
The advantage of Microsoft’s video calling product is that it integrates well with other Office 365 technologies such as Outlook. Large group calls are possible, although only four people will be shown on screen at any one time.
FaceTime
FaceTime technology is already built into Apple devices. However this solutions is only suitable if your colleagues are all Apple (rather than Android) users.
Skype
Skype is best known for making social calls, but its Skype for Business package offers a range of additional services including screen and file sharing. Skype for Business allows group video calls of up to 250 participants so might be appropriate for very large company or client meetings.
