Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Conclusive Videoconferencing Fight
The COVID-19 pandemic required workers to work from home, but the program had to go on somehow. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms developed into the lifeline that held businesses together. Even as operations return to normal, videoconferencing companies are putting resources into their items.
The 2 primary collaboration suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer videoconferencing capabilities, but we would be remiss not to consist of one of the most popular videoconferencing apps in the market today-- Zoom.
Are your conferences long or short? Are you mainly satisfying internally or with leads and clients? Will you be hosting webinars?
It goes without saying, if your business is already registered for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you enjoy with the platform, you need to utilize Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not signed up for either and merely require a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a complimentary version that should fix the majority of your needs.
In the areas listed below, we will compare all three major videoconferencing platforms based on numerous metrics you should consider before choosing the right one for your business.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services
Before diving into the full list of functions for each platform, it is very important to comprehend just how much you receive from the totality of what you are spending for.
Groups and Meet belong to larger performance suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone product with all the videoconferencing-specific functions you may require. While Teams and Meet can be acquired individually, they are best bundled with their larger suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Case in point, a Zoom Pro subscription just provides you videoconferencing capabilities. For less than Zoom Pro, the M365 Business Standard and Workspace Business subscriptions consist of a full suite of company applications.
With Microsoft 365, you get a fully 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 difference in between Teams and its competitors is how centralized the suite is.
Groups leaps effortlessly from instantaneous messaging to video calls, with the ability to switch backward and forward in between them.
Meanwhile, 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, recorded meetings, and files are all housed in the very same central location, making searchability far simpler.
With Meet and Zoom, you will need to look for conserved chats from old conferences, or when it comes to Meet, head over to Google Chat.
This is also the case when working on collective files. Any files attached in a Teams chat will appear under its files tab at the top of the window, meaning you do not have to lose time chasing them down when you need them.
Microsoft uses much more applications in their strategies than Google, though numerous go unnoticed.
Microsoft Sway enables you to quickly get and trim a taped Teams satisfying that you can then house locally within Teams itself.
In the event that somebody shows up late to a meeting, or a worker records the very same meeting and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can rapidly get the part of the meeting you require and save it.
This bypasses the storage that would be consumed by an hours-long video clip, in addition to the time it would require to publish, cut, and export said video from a video editing platform.
Additionally, all 3 platforms do have combinations with different other service applications, so make certain to examine compatibility with any apps you currently use, 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 certain functions on their platforms, therefore the majority of the very same functions overlap throughout plans for all 3 suites. This consists of screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everyone's favorite: custom-made backgrounds. When it comes to some other features, they differ throughout each company's offerings.
A table depicting 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 plans. Meet offers dial-in totally free with any of their paid strategies, among the most significant advantages that the platform has more than its competitors.Teams uses its dial-in capability for $4 extra per user, per month; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.
Both Teams and Meet deal internet-based PBX services that can change your internal phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not practical.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice integrates flawlessly with Teams, enabling staff members to take organization on the go, all with complete continuity.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the Best?
As of the time of this post, each platform shows video in HD, however the quality differs. Teams is capable of 1080p video at 30 frames per second if you have 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.
Zoom likewise has 1080p video, however it is restricted to the platform's business or business plans. 1080p can likewise be allowed by Zoom support 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, but it can send and get up to 720p video.
Audio quality across platforms depends upon microphone and speaker quality, as well as the quality of your web connection.
Rooms and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout spaces are basically conferences that run simultaneously to the initial videoconference. These were particularly essential for virtual education, so teachers might break students out into different groups to find out.
There is a clear energy for breakout spaces in expert spaces, too. If a bigger team is satisfying about a task, breaking down tasks into smaller groups, breakout rooms could be a great solution.
Meet permits breakout rooms through their basic and plus plans, however not in the totally free or basic plans. Like many Google functions on more affordable strategies, you can include Google Chrome extensions, but this could be more of a headache than it is worth in the end.
Just recently, Microsoft likewise rolled out Together Mode, which uses AI to put video participants in numerous digital settings, together. While the utility is light, Together Mode might be a strong morale booster.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom responded promptly to the "Zoom bombing" of the early days of the pandemic, adding end-to-end file encryption and intensifying their personal privacy policy. Regrettably, over 500,000 Zoom accounts were taken and published for sale online quickly afterwards.
While Meet has not had any well-known incidents of privacy breaches, Google has actually had lots of personal privacy issues and a performance history of gathering information for usage in advertising.
Microsoft has the best track record of security and they likewise have the most transparent privacy policy.
All three platforms support two-factor authentication. Thinking about that 99% of cybersecurity attacks involve a password aspect, two-factor authentication is a need to if you want a legitimate defense against cybercriminals.
As it services a part of the larger M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are secured and stored within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
In Addition, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is offered on its Business Premium and E5 strategies, blocking potentially destructive material from being accessed by those in your business.
Microsoft also uses Data Loss Protection (DLP) to capture delicate data being shared (like social security numbers), and instantly obstruct it from being sent out.
Together with eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, chats, and files, Teams ensures you stay certified with all information storage guidelines.
A graphic revealing the path of details as it is encrypted from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.
Google does offer eDiscovery in their Business and Enterprise plans and DLP in their Enterprise plan just, but these are only limited to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has no specifically noted DLP capabilities.Zoom does not offer any of these features on its primary platform.
Overall, Zoom has actually responded well to its privacy obstacles, however the modifications are mainly cosmetic.
End-to-end file encryption (E2EE) is excellent to have, however its addition was more of a response to a problem than a complete solution. It is not likely that E2EE safeguards most users from more than file encryption in transit and at rest, like with Teams and Meet.
E2EE is most useful in 1-on-1 conversations where delicate information might be shared, and it will be readily available on Teams quickly according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing business has less to stress over since they are a single-purpose app, dealing exclusively with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, chats, and other information like Microsoft or Google.
Based upon reputation alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in regards to security.
Because your information is all kept in a single space, Teams and its security features take your efficiency hub and turns it into your company's own information fortress. This second level of security and personal privacy makes it the most safe, in our experience.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
Most videoconferencing platforms have similar functions, your business's specific needs need to identify whether you select Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level features at a budget-friendly cost, it is tough to beat Zoom, who is focused solely on videoconferencing. For the most value, Teams ties your whole business together in one area, with the very best possible features and security readily available.
If you are trying to find an all-in-one cooperation hub that keeps all your communication in one space, we extremely advise Microsoft Teams.
IT Support Guys has actually leveraged the power of Microsoft 365 because 2008 when it was still called Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), and we have continued our partnership up until today day.