Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Definitive Videoconferencing Battle
The COVID-19 pandemic required workers to work from home, but the show had to go on somehow. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms developed into the lifeline that held organizations together. Even as operations return to regular, videoconferencing companies are pouring resources into their products.
The 2 primary collaboration suites, Microsoft 365 and fixed cost it support Google Workspace deal videoconferencing capabilities, however we would be remiss not to consist of among the most popular videoconferencing apps in the market today-- Zoom.
At this point, your company is nearly ensured to have a videoconferencing platform currently. If not, or if you are seeking to change platforms, continue checking out listed below for a breakdown of functions and alternatives that will assist you make your decision.
Are your conferences long or short? Are you primarily meeting internally or with leads and customers? Will you be hosting webinars?
It goes without saying, if your business is already signed up for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you are happy with the platform, you need to use Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not signed up for either and simply need a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a complimentary variation that should fix most of your needs.
In the areas below, we will compare all 3 significant videoconferencing platforms based on different metrics you must consider before picking the ideal one for your company.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services
Prior to diving into the full list of features for each platform, it is essential to comprehend just how much you receive from the whole of what you are paying for.
Teams and Meet are part of bigger efficiency suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone item with all the videoconferencing-specific functions you might require. While Teams and Meet can be obtained individually, they are best bundled with their larger suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Case in point, a Zoom Pro membership just gives you videoconferencing abilities. For less than Zoom Pro, the M365 Business Standard and Workspace Business subscriptions include a complete suite of organization 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 quickly the apps work with each other, and the biggest distinction in between Teams and its rivals is how centralized the suite is.
Groups jumps flawlessly from instantaneous messaging to video calls, with the capability to change backward and forward in between them.
Google Meet is independent of Workspace's chat app, Google Chat. While users can use both Workspace apps concurrently, the separation of the 2 is a bit counterintuitive.
With M365 and Teams, all chats, recorded meetings, and files are all housed in the same central place, making searchability far simpler.
With Meet and Zoom, you will need to seek out saved 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 don't need to lose time chasing them down when you need them.
Microsoft provides even more applications in their strategies than Google, though numerous go undetected.
Microsoft Sway enables you to rapidly grab and cut a tape-recorded Teams satisfying that you can then house in your area within Teams itself.
In the case that someone gets here late to a conference, or an employee records the very same conference and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can rapidly grab the part of the conference you require and wait.
This bypasses the storage that would be consumed by an hours-long video clip, along with the time it would take to submit, trim, and export stated video from a video editing platform.
Furthermore, all 3 platforms do have combinations with numerous other business applications, so be sure to check on compatibility with any apps you currently utilize, and these platforms.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Features
Comparing Free Versions vs. Paid
Microsoft, Google, and Zoom have actually all adjusted well to the demand for particular features on their platforms, hence most of the very same functions overlap across plans for all 3 suites. This consists of screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everyone's favorite: custom-made backgrounds. As for some other functions, they vary across each business's offerings.
A table portraying the different strategies and functions of Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet vs. Zoom Audio Conferencing On-the-Go
While present across the board, dial-in abilities vary throughout plans. Meet uses dial-in free of charge with any of their paid plans, among the most significant benefits that the platform has more than its rivals.Groups uses its dial-in ability for $4 additional per user, each month; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.
Both Teams and Meet offer internet-based PBX options 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 employees to take service on the go, all with complete continuity.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the very best?
Since the time of this post, each platform displays video in HD, but the quality differs. Groups is capable of 1080p video at 30 frames per second if you have 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.
Zoom also has 1080p video, however it is limited to the platform's service or business strategies. 1080p can likewise be made it possible for 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, but it can send out and get up to 720p video.
Audio quality across platforms depends on microphone and speaker quality, in addition to the quality of your web connection.
Rooms and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout spaces are basically meetings that run concurrently to the original videoconference. These were especially needed for virtual education, so instructors could break students out into different groups to discover.
There is a clear utility for breakout spaces in professional areas, too. If a larger group is satisfying about a task, breaking down jobs into smaller sized groups, breakout spaces could be a great solution.
Both Teams and Zoom have actually breakout spaces native to their base platforms, throughout all strategies. These rooms are basically conferences that are running concurrently to the original videoconference.
Meet permits breakout rooms through their standard and plus plans, however not in the free or fundamental strategies. Like a lot of Google functions on more affordable strategies, you can add Google Chrome extensions, however this could be more of a headache than it is worth in the end.
Just recently, Microsoft also presented Together Mode, which utilizes AI to place video participants in various digital settings, together. While the energy is light, Together Mode might be a solid morale booster.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom reacted swiftly to the "Zoom battle" of the early days of the pandemic, adding end-to-end encryption and intensifying their personal privacy policy. Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were taken and posted for sale online soon afterwards.
While Meet has not had any popular events of privacy breaches, Google has had a lot of privacy issues and a performance history of collecting data for use in advertising.
Microsoft has the very best track record of security and they likewise have the most transparent personal privacy policy.
All 3 platforms support two-factor authentication. Considering that 99% of cybersecurity attacks include a password aspect, two-factor authentication is a must if you desire a genuine defense versus cybercriminals.
As a part of the broader M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are encrypted and kept within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
Additionally, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is offered on its Business Premium and E5 plans, blocking potentially malicious material from being accessed by those in your business.
Microsoft also uses Data Loss Protection (DLP) to capture sensitive data being shared (like social security numbers), and instantly obstruct it from being sent out.
Along with eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, chats, and files, Teams guarantees you remain certified with all data storage regulations.
A graphic revealing the course of info as it is secured from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.
Google does provide eDiscovery in their Business and Enterprise strategies and DLP in their Enterprise plan only, but these are just limited to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has actually no specifically listed DLP capabilities.Zoom does not use any of these functions on its primary platform.
In general, Zoom has actually reacted well to its personal privacy difficulties, but the modifications are mostly cosmetic.
End-to-end file encryption (E2EE) is great to have, however its addition was more of a response 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 discussions where delicate info may be shared, and it will be available on Teams soon according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing business has less to fret about due to the fact that they are a single-purpose app, dealing exclusively with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, talks, and other details like Microsoft or Google.
Based on reputation alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in regards to security.
Due to the fact that your information is all saved in a single space, Teams and its security features take your productivity hub and turns it into your company's own information fortress. This 2nd level of defense and privacy makes it the most safe, in our experience.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
Though the majority of videoconferencing platforms have similar features, your service's exact requirements ought to determine whether you choose Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level functions at an economical cost, it is tough to beat Zoom, who is focused exclusively on videoconferencing. For the most bang for your buck, Teams ties your entire business together in one area, with the very best possible functions and security offered.
If you are looking for an all-in-one partnership hub that keeps all your communication in one area, we extremely suggest Microsoft Teams.
IT Support Guys has actually 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 the present day.