Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Definitive Videoconferencing Battle
The COVID-19 pandemic required workers to work from house, but the program needed to go on somehow. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms developed into the lifeline that held services together. Even as operations go back to regular, videoconferencing providers are pouring resources into their products.
The two main partnership suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer 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 moment, your business is nearly guaranteed to have a videoconferencing platform currently. If not, or if you are aiming to alter platforms, continue reading listed below for a breakdown of features and options that will help you make your decision.
Are your meetings long or short? Are you primarily meeting internally or with leads and customers? Will you be hosting webinars?
It goes without stating, if your business is already subscribed to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you are happy with the platform, you must utilize Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not subscribed to either and merely require a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a totally free variation that must fix the majority of your requirements.
In the sections below, we will compare all 3 major videoconferencing platforms based on numerous metrics you ought to consider before choosing the right one for your service.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services
Before diving into the complete list of features for each platform, it is very important to understand how much you obtain from the whole of what you are spending for.
Groups and Meet become part of bigger performance suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone item with all the videoconferencing-specific features you may require. While Teams and Meet can be procured separately, they are best bundled with their larger suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Case in point, a Zoom Pro subscription only offers you videoconferencing capabilities. For less than Zoom Pro, the M365 Business Standard and Workspace Business subscriptions include a complete 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 deal with each other, and the greatest difference in between Teams and its rivals is how centralized the suite is.
Teams leaps seamlessly from instant messaging to video calls, with the ability to switch 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 counterproductive.
With M365 and Teams, all chats, tape-recorded conferences, and files are all housed in the same central location, making searchability far much easier.
With Meet and Zoom, you will have to look for saved chats from old meetings, or in the case of Meet, head over to Google Chat.
This is also the case when working on collaborative 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 require them.
Microsoft uses even more applications in their plans than Google, though numerous go undetected.
Microsoft Sway permits you to rapidly get and cut a recorded Teams satisfying that you can then house locally within Teams itself.
In the case that someone gets here late to a meeting, or a worker records the very same conference and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can quickly grab the part of the conference you require and save it.
This bypasses the storage that would be eaten up by an hours-long video, as well as the time it would require to submit, trim, and export stated video from a video editing platform.
Furthermore, all 3 platforms do have integrations with numerous other service applications, so be sure to examine compatibility with any apps you already use, and these platforms.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Features
Comparing Free Versions vs. Paid
Microsoft, Google, and Zoom have all adapted well to the demand for certain features on their platforms, thus most of the very same features overlap across plans for all 3 suites. This includes screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everyone's favorite: custom backgrounds. As for some other functions, they vary across each company's offerings.
A table depicting the various strategies and features of Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet vs. Zoom Audio Conferencing On-the-Go
While present throughout the board, dial-in abilities differ across strategies. Meet offers dial-in free of charge with any of their paid strategies, among the greatest benefits that the platform has over its competitors.
Groups provides its dial-in ability for $4 extra per user, monthly; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.
Both Teams and Meet deal internet-based PBX solutions that can replace your internal phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not practical.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice integrates flawlessly with Teams, permitting workers to take organization on the go, all with full connection.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the very best?
Since the time of this post, each platform displays video in HD, however the quality varies. Teams is capable of 1080p video at 30 frames per 2nd if you have 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.
Zoom also has 1080p video, however it is limited to the platform's business or enterprise plans. 1080p can also be enabled by Zoom assistance in certain cases. Zoom's 1080p functionality needs 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 receive as much as 720p video.
Audio quality throughout platforms depends upon microphone and speaker quality, along with the quality of your web connection.
Spaces and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout rooms are basically meetings that run at the same time to the original videoconference. These were especially essential for virtual education, so teachers could break students out into different groups to learn.
There is a clear energy for breakout spaces in expert areas, too. If a bigger team is satisfying about a task, breaking down jobs into smaller groups, breakout spaces could be a fantastic service.
Both Teams and Zoom have actually breakout spaces belonging to their base platforms, throughout all strategies. These rooms are essentially meetings that are running simultaneously to the original videoconference.
Meet permits breakout spaces through their basic and plus plans, but not in the free or standard strategies. Nevertheless, like many Google functions on less expensive plans, you can add Google Chrome extensions, however this might be more of a headache than it deserves in the end.
Just Homepage recently, Microsoft also presented Together Mode, which utilizes AI to position video participants in various digital settings, together. While the utility is light, Together Mode might be a solid morale booster.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom responded quickly to the "Zoom bombing" of the early days of the pandemic, adding end-to-end file encryption and boosting their privacy policy. Regrettably, over 500,000 Zoom accounts were taken and published for sale online soon thereafter.
While Meet has actually not had any famous incidents of privacy breaches, Google has had lots of privacy concerns and a track record of gathering data for use in advertising.
Microsoft has the very best track record of security and they likewise have the most transparent privacy policy.
All three platforms support two-factor authentication. Considering that 99% of cybersecurity attacks involve a password element, two-factor authentication is a need to if you desire a legitimate defense against cybercriminals.
As a part of the broader M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are secured and stored within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
Furthermore, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is available on its Business Premium and E5 strategies, obstructing possibly harmful material from being accessed by those in your company.
Microsoft likewise utilizes Data Loss Protection (DLP) to capture delicate data being shared (like social security numbers), and immediately obstruct it from being sent out.
Along with eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, chats, and files, Teams ensures you remain certified with all data storage guidelines.
A graphic showing the course of information as it is encrypted from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.
Google does provide eDiscovery in their Business and Enterprise plans and DLP in their Enterprise strategy only, however these are just restricted to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has no particularly noted DLP abilities.
In general, Zoom has actually reacted well to its personal privacy difficulties, however the changes are largely cosmetic.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is excellent to have, however its addition was more of a reaction to an issue than a total solution. It is not likely that E2EE secures most users from more than file encryption in transit and at rest, like with Teams and Meet.
E2EE is most helpful in 1-on-1 conversations where sensitive info might be shared, and it will be available on Teams quickly according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing business has less to fret about because they are a single-purpose app, dealing exclusively with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, chats, and other info like Microsoft or Google.
Based upon credibility alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in regards to security.
Due to the fact that your data is all saved in a single area, Teams and its security features take your productivity hub and turns it into your business's own information stronghold. This second level of protection and privacy makes it the best, in our experience.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
Many videoconferencing platforms have comparable features, your business's specific needs must identify whether you select Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level features at an inexpensive rate, it is tough to beat Zoom, who is focused exclusively on videoconferencing. For the most bang for your buck, Teams ties your entire company together in one space, with the best possible features and security available.
If you are searching for an all-in-one cooperation center that keeps all your communication in one space, we extremely advise Microsoft Teams.
IT Support Guys has leveraged the power of Microsoft 365 considering that 2008 when it was still called Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), and we have actually continued our partnership up until today day.