Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Definitive Videoconferencing Fight

Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Conclusive Videoconferencing Fight

The COVID-19 pandemic required workers to work from home, however the program had to go on in some way. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms became the lifeline that held companies together. Even as operations go back to typical, videoconferencing suppliers are pouring resources into their products.

The two main collaboration suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer videoconferencing abilities, but we would be remiss not to include one of the most popular videoconferencing apps in the market today-- Zoom.

At this moment, your organization is almost ensured to have a videoconferencing platform currently. If not, or if you are seeking to alter platforms, continue checking out below for a breakdown of features and options that will help you make your decision.

Are your meetings long or short? Are you mainly fulfilling internally or with leads and clients? Will you be hosting webinars?

It goes without saying, if your business is already subscribed to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you enjoy with the platform, you need to use Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not registered for either and just need a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a free version that ought to fix most of your requirements.

In the sections listed below, we will compare all three significant videoconferencing platforms based upon numerous metrics you should think about before picking the ideal one for your company.

Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services

Prior to diving into the complete list of functions for each platform, it is very important to understand how much you receive from the entirety of what you are spending for.

Groups and Meet become part of larger efficiency suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone product with all the videoconferencing-specific features you may need. While Teams and Meet can be procured individually, they are best bundled with their bigger suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

Case in point, a Zoom Pro membership only gives 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 quickly the apps work with each other, and the biggest difference in between Teams and its competitors is how centralized the suite is.

Groups jumps flawlessly from instantaneous messaging to video calls, with the capability to switch backward and forward between them.

On The Other Hand, Google Meet is independent of Workspace's chat app, Google Chat. While users can utilize both Workspace apps simultaneously, the separation of the two is a bit counterintuitive.

With M365 and Teams, all chats, recorded conferences, and files are all housed in the exact same central area, making searchability far easier.

With Meet and Zoom, you will need to look for conserved chats from old conferences, or in the case of Meet, head over to Google Chat.

This is likewise the case when dealing with collective files. Any files connected in a Teams chat will appear under its files tab at the top of the window, indicating you do not have to waste time chasing them down when you require them.

Microsoft offers a lot more applications in their plans than Google, however numerous go undetected.

Microsoft Sway permits you to quickly get and trim a tape-recorded Teams meeting that you can then house in your area within Teams itself.

In the event that someone arrives late to a meeting, or an employee records the same conference and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can rapidly grab the part of the meeting you require and save it.

This bypasses the storage that would be consumed by an hours-long video, as well as the time it would require to submit, cut, and export stated video from a video editing platform.

Additionally, all 3 platforms do have integrations with different 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 adjusted well to the demand for specific features on their platforms, hence the majority of the same features overlap throughout plans for all three suites. This includes screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everyone's favorite: custom backgrounds. As for some other features, they vary across each business's offerings.

A table depicting the different plans and functions of Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet vs. Zoom Audio Conferencing On-the-Go

While present across the board, dial-in capabilities vary throughout plans. Meet provides dial-in totally free with any of their paid strategies, one of the most significant advantages that the platform has over its rivals.

Groups uses its dial-in ability for $4 extra per user, monthly; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.

Both Teams and Meet offer internet-based PBX options that can replace your internal phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not practical.

Microsoft 365 Business Voice incorporates seamlessly with Teams, enabling employees to take business on the go, all with complete continuity.

Video Quality-- Who Supports the very best?

Since the time of this post, each platform shows video in HD, however the quality differs. Teams can 1080p video at 30 frames per 2nd if you have 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.

Zoom likewise has 1080p video, however it is restricted to the platform's organization or enterprise strategies. 1080p can likewise be allowed by Zoom support in particular cases. Zoom's 1080p functionality 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 out and get as much as 720p video.

Audio quality across platforms depends upon microphone and speaker quality, as well as the quality of your web connection.

Spaces and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down

Breakout rooms are essentially conferences that run all at once to the original videoconference. These were particularly essential for virtual education, so instructors could break trainees out into separate groups to discover.

There is a clear utility for breakout rooms in professional spaces, too. If a larger group is fulfilling about a task, breaking down tasks into smaller groups, breakout spaces could be an excellent solution.

Both Teams and Zoom have breakout spaces belonging to their base platforms, across all strategies. These rooms are essentially meetings that are running all at once to the initial videoconference.

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Meet allows breakout spaces through their standard and plus plans, however not in the complimentary or fundamental plans. Like most Google functions on more affordable strategies, you can add Google Chrome extensions, but this might be more of a headache than it is worth in the end.

Recently, Microsoft also rolled out Together Mode, which utilizes AI to position video individuals in various digital settings, together. While the energy is light, Together Mode could be a strong morale booster.

Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety

To its credit, Zoom reacted quickly to the "Zoom battle" of the early days of the pandemic, including end-to-end file encryption and boosting their privacy policy. Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were taken and published for sale online quickly thereafter.

While Meet has actually not had any popular occurrences of personal privacy breaches, Google has had plenty of privacy concerns and a performance history of collecting data 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. Thinking about that 99% of cybersecurity attacks involve a password aspect, two-factor authentication is a should if you desire a legitimate defense versus cybercriminals.

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As a part of the wider M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are secured and kept within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.

Furthermore, 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 capture sensitive data being shared (like social security numbers), and instantly block it from being sent out.

Along with eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, chats, and files, Teams ensures you stay compliant with all information storage regulations.

A graphic managed it service provider - IT Leaders revealing the course of info as it is encrypted from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.

Google does use 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 particularly noted DLP capabilities.

Zoom does not offer any of these functions on its primary platform.

Overall, Zoom has responded well to its personal privacy obstacles, however the modifications are largely cosmetic.

End-to-end file encryption (E2EE) is fantastic to have, however its addition was more of an action to an issue than a complete service. It is unlikely that E2EE safeguards most users from more than encryption in transit and at rest, like with Teams and Meet.

E2EE is most helpful in 1-on-1 discussions where delicate details may be shared, and it will be offered on Teams quickly according to Microsoft.

The videoconferencing business has less to fret about since they are a single-purpose app, dealing solely with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, chats, and other information like Microsoft or Google.

Based on track record 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 efficiency center and turns it into your business's own data fortress. This second level of protection and personal privacy makes it the most safe, in our experience.

Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict

A lot of videoconferencing platforms have similar features, your company's specific needs must identify whether you pick Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.

For base-level features at a cost effective rate, it is hard to beat Zoom, who is focused exclusively on videoconferencing. For the most bang for your buck, Teams ties your whole business together in one space, with the very best possible functions and security readily available.

If you are searching for an all-in-one cooperation center that keeps all your communication in one area, we extremely advise Microsoft Teams.

IT Support Guys has leveraged the power of Microsoft 365 given that 2008 when it was still called Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), and we have actually continued our partnership till today day.