Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Conclusive Videoconferencing Battle
The COVID-19 pandemic required staff members to work from house, however the program needed to go on in some way. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms turned into the lifeline that held organizations together. Even as operations return to regular, videoconferencing suppliers are putting resources into their products.
The 2 main partnership suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace deal videoconferencing abilities, however we would be remiss not to consist of one of the most popular videoconferencing apps in the market today-- Zoom.
At this point, your service is practically ensured to have a videoconferencing platform already. If not, or if you are seeking to alter platforms, continue reading listed below for a breakdown of functions and alternatives that will help you make your decision.
Are your conferences long or short? Are you primarily fulfilling internally or with leads and clients? Will you be hosting webinars?
It goes without stating, if your company is already registered for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you are happy with the platform, you must use Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not registered for either and merely require a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a totally free version that ought to solve the majority of your needs.
In the sections listed below, we will compare all 3 significant videoconferencing platforms based upon numerous metrics you should consider before picking the right one for your service.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services
Prior to diving into the full list of functions for each platform, it is very important to understand how much you get from the entirety of what you are paying for.
Groups and Meet become part of larger productivity suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone product with all the videoconferencing-specific functions you may need. While Teams and Meet can be acquired independently, they are best bundled with their larger suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Case in point, a Zoom Pro subscription only gives you videoconferencing capabilities. For less than Zoom Pro, the M365 Business Standard and Workspace Business subscriptions consist of a full suite of service applications.
With Microsoft 365, you get a completely incorporated experience with desktop variations of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. The biggest selling point of Microsoft is how easily the apps work with each other, and the greatest distinction between Teams and its competitors is how centralized the suite is.
Teams leaps perfectly from instantaneous messaging to video calls, with the capability to change backward and forward in between them.
On The Other Hand, Google Meet is independent of Workspace's chat app, Google Chat. While users can make use of both Workspace apps all at once, the separation of the two is a bit counterintuitive.
With M365 and Teams, all chats, tape-recorded conferences, and files are all housed in the same main location, making searchability far easier.
With Meet and Zoom, you will need to seek out conserved chats from old conferences, or in the case of Meet, head over to Google Chat.
This is also the case when working on collaborative files. Any files connected in a Teams chat will appear under its files tab at the top of the window, suggesting you do not have to lose time chasing them down when you require them.
Microsoft provides even more applications in their plans than Google, though many go unnoticed.
For instance, Microsoft Sway allows you to quickly grab and cut a recorded Teams meeting that you can then house in your area within Teams itself.
In the event that somebody arrives late to a meeting, or a worker records the very same meeting and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can quickly get the part of the meeting you require and wait.
This bypasses the storage that would be consumed by an hours-long video, as well as the time it would take to publish, cut, and export stated video from a video editing platform.
In addition, all 3 platforms do have integrations with various other organization applications, so make certain to look at compatibility with any apps you currently utilize, and these platforms.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Features
Comparing Free Versions vs. Paid
Microsoft, Google, and Zoom have all adapted well to the demand for specific features on their platforms, thus most of the same features overlap across plans for all 3 suites. This includes screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everyone's favorite: customized backgrounds. When it comes to some other features, they differ throughout each company's offerings.
A table portraying the various plans and features of Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet vs. Zoom Audio Conferencing On-the-Go
While present across the board, dial-in capabilities differ throughout strategies. Meet uses dial-in totally free with any of their paid plans, among the most significant benefits that the platform has more than its rivals.Groups uses its dial-in capability for $4 additional per user, per month; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.
Both Teams and Meet offer internet-based PBX solutions that can replace your in-house phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not practical.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice integrates perfectly with Teams, allowing staff members to take business on the go, all with complete connection.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the Best?
Since the time of this post, each platform displays video in HD, but the quality varies. Groups can 1080p video at 30 frames per 2nd if you have 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.
Zoom also has 1080p video, however it is restricted to the platform's service or enterprise plans. 1080p can likewise be enabled by Zoom assistance in particular cases. Zoom's 1080p performance requires 1.8 Mbps of bandwidth for 1-on-1 calls and 2.5 Mbps on group calls.
Meet will default to 360p video, however it can send and get as much as 720p video.
Audio quality throughout platforms depends on microphone and speaker quality, as well as the quality of your internet connection.
Rooms and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout spaces are basically conferences that run simultaneously to the initial videoconference. These were especially essential for virtual education, so teachers could break students out into different groups to learn.
There is a clear utility for breakout rooms in professional spaces, too. If a larger team is meeting about a project, breaking down tasks into smaller sized groups, breakout rooms could be a great option.
Both Teams and Zoom have actually breakout rooms belonging to their base platforms, throughout all strategies. These rooms are essentially conferences that are running simultaneously to the original videoconference.
Recently, Microsoft also presented Together Mode, which uses AI to put video individuals in different digital settings, together. While the utility is light, Together Mode could be a strong morale booster.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom responded promptly to the "Zoom battle" of the early days of the pandemic, including end-to-end file encryption and intensifying their privacy policy. Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were stolen and posted for sale online quickly afterwards.
While Meet has actually not had any popular occurrences of privacy breaches, Google has had plenty of personal privacy concerns and a performance history of gathering information for use in advertising.
Microsoft has the very best performance history of security and they also have the most transparent personal privacy policy.
All three platforms support two-factor authentication. Considering that 99% of cybersecurity attacks include a password component, two-factor authentication is a need to if you want a legitimate defense versus cybercriminals.
As a part of the wider M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are encrypted and kept within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
In Addition, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is readily available on its Business Premium and E5 plans, obstructing potentially malicious material from being accessed by those in your business.
Microsoft also utilizes Data Loss Protection (DLP) to catch sensitive information being shared (like social security numbers), and instantly obstruct it from being sent.
In addition to eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, talks, and files, Teams guarantees you stay certified with all data storage regulations.
A graphic showing the path of info as it is secured from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.
Google does provide eDiscovery in their Business and Enterprise plans and DLP in their Enterprise strategy just, but these are only limited to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has actually no specifically noted DLP abilities.Zoom does not use any of these functions on its primary platform.
Overall, Zoom has actually responded well to its personal privacy obstacles, however the changes are mainly cosmetic.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is fantastic to have, but its addition was more of a response to a problem than a complete service. It is unlikely that E2EE secures most users from more than file encryption in transit and at rest, like with Teams and Meet.
E2EE is most beneficial in 1-on-1 conversations where delicate information might be shared, and it will be offered on Teams soon according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing company has less to worry about because they are a single-purpose app, dealing exclusively with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, talks, and other information like Microsoft or Google.
Based on reputation alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in terms of security.
Due to the fact that your data is all stored in a single space, Teams and its security functions take your productivity center and turns it into your business's own data fortress. This 2nd level of protection and privacy makes it the safest, in our experience.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
Though most videoconferencing platforms have similar functions, your service's precise needs need to determine whether you select Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level functions at an inexpensive rate, it is hard to beat Zoom, who is focused entirely on videoconferencing. For the most bang for your buck, Teams ties your entire business together in one space, with the best possible functions and security offered.
If you are trying to find an all-in-one cooperation center that keeps all your interaction in one area, we highly recommend Microsoft Teams.
IT Support Guys has actually leveraged the power of Microsoft 365 since 2008 when it was still called Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), and we have continued our collaboration up until the present day.