Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Definitive Videoconferencing Battle
The COVID-19 pandemic required staff members to work from house, but the program had to go on somehow. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms developed into the lifeline that held businesses together. Even as operations go back to typical, videoconferencing suppliers are pouring resources into their items.
The two main collaboration suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer videoconferencing capabilities, but we would be remiss not to include among the most popular videoconferencing apps in the market today-- Zoom.
At this point, your business is almost 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 functions 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 saying, if your business is currently registered for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you more than happy with the platform, you must use Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not registered for either and just require a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a totally free version that should fix most of your requirements.
In the areas listed below, we will compare all three major videoconferencing platforms based on different metrics you need to consider prior to picking the best one for your business.
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 necessary to comprehend how much you receive from the whole of what you are paying for.
Groups and Meet belong to larger productivity suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone product with all the videoconferencing-specific features you may need. 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 membership just offers you videoconferencing abilities. For less than Zoom Pro, the M365 Business Standard and Workspace Business memberships consist of a complete suite of service applications.
With Microsoft 365, you get a fully incorporated experience with desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. The greatest selling point of Microsoft is how quickly the apps deal with each other, and the biggest distinction in between Teams and its rivals is how centralized the suite is.
Groups jumps flawlessly from immediate messaging to video calls, with the ability 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 simultaneously, the separation of the two is a bit counterproductive.
With M365 and Teams, all chats, taped meetings, and files are all housed in the same central area, making searchability far simpler.
With Meet and Zoom, you will have to seek out saved chats from old meetings, or when it comes to Meet, head over to Google Chat.
This is likewise 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, indicating you don't have to waste time chasing them down when you need them.
Microsoft offers even more applications in their plans than Google, however numerous go undetected.
For example, Microsoft Sway permits you to rapidly grab and trim a tape-recorded Teams satisfying that you can then house locally within Teams itself.
In the case that somebody shows up late to a conference, or a worker records the very same conference and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can rapidly grab the part of the meeting you need and wait.
This bypasses the storage that would be consumed by an hours-long video clip, in addition to the time it would require to publish, trim, and export stated video from a video editing platform.
Furthermore, all 3 platforms do have combinations with numerous other company applications, so be sure to look at compatibility with any apps you already use, and these platforms.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Features
Comparing Free Versions vs. Paid
Microsoft, Google, and Zoom have actually all adapted well to the need for specific features on their platforms, thus the majority of the exact same features overlap throughout plans for all 3 suites. This includes screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everyone's favorite: customized backgrounds. When it small business it support comes to some other functions, they vary across each business's offerings.
A table portraying 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 throughout plans. Meet provides dial-in for free with any of their paid strategies, among the biggest advantages that the platform has more than its competitors.Groups uses its dial-in ability for $4 additional per user, per month; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.
Both Teams and Meet deal internet-based PBX options that can change your in-house phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not practical.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice incorporates perfectly with Teams, enabling staff members to take organization on the go, all with complete continuity.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the Best?
Since the time of this post, each platform shows video in HD, however 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, but it is limited to the platform's company or business strategies. 1080p can also be allowed by Zoom assistance 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 receive up to 720p video.
Audio quality throughout platforms depends upon microphone and speaker quality, in addition to the quality of your internet connection.
Spaces and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout rooms are essentially meetings that run simultaneously to the original videoconference. These were specifically required for virtual education, so instructors might break students out into separate groups to learn.
There is a clear utility for breakout rooms in expert spaces, too. If a bigger team is satisfying about a project, breaking down jobs into smaller groups, breakout rooms might be a terrific solution.
Both Teams and Zoom have actually breakout spaces belonging to their base platforms, throughout all plans. These rooms are essentially meetings that are running at the same time to the original videoconference.
Meet permits breakout rooms through their basic and plus plans, however not in the complimentary or basic plans. Like a lot of Google functions on more affordable strategies, you can include Google Chrome extensions, however this might be more of a headache than it is worth in the end.
Recently, Microsoft likewise presented Together Mode, which uses AI to position video individuals in numerous digital settings, together. While the energy is light, Together Mode could be a solid morale booster.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom reacted promptly to the "Zoom bombing" of the early days of the pandemic, including end-to-end encryption and boosting their privacy policy. Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were taken and posted for sale online soon afterwards.
While Meet has actually not had any well-known occurrences of privacy breaches, Google has had a lot of personal privacy concerns and a track record of collecting information for usage in marketing.
Microsoft has the very best track record of security and they also have the most transparent privacy policy.
All three platforms support two-factor authentication. Considering that 99% of cybersecurity attacks include a password aspect, two-factor authentication is a need to if you want a legitimate defense against cybercriminals.
As a part of the larger M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are secured and kept within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
Furthermore, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is offered on its Business Premium and E5 strategies, blocking potentially malicious material from being accessed by those in your company.
Microsoft also utilizes Data Loss Protection (DLP) to capture delicate data being shared (like social security numbers), and automatically obstruct it from being sent out.
In addition to eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, talks, and files, Teams ensures you remain certified with all data storage policies.
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 strategies and DLP in their Enterprise strategy just, but these are just limited to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has no particularly noted DLP abilities.
End-to-end file encryption (E2EE) is great to have, but its addition was more of a response to a problem than a complete option. It is unlikely that E2EE protects most users from more than encryption in transit and at rest, like with Teams and Meet.
E2EE is most beneficial in 1-on-1 discussions where sensitive details might be shared, and it will be readily available on Teams soon according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing business has less to fret about because they are a single-purpose app, dealing solely with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, chats, and other info like Microsoft or Google.
Based upon track record alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in regards to security.
Because your information is all stored in a single space, Teams and its security features take your performance hub and turns it into your business's own data stronghold. This 2nd level of protection and privacy makes it the safest, in our experience.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
Though most videoconferencing platforms have similar features, your organization's specific requirements need to determine whether you pick Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level features at a budget friendly rate, it is hard to beat Zoom, who is focused solely on videoconferencing. For the most bang for your buck, Teams ties your whole company together in one space, with the best possible features and security available.
If you are looking for an all-in-one cooperation hub that keeps all your interaction in one space, we highly suggest 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 collaboration till today day.