Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Definitive Videoconferencing Fight
The COVID-19 pandemic forced staff members to work from house, however the show had to go on in some way. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms turned into the lifeline that held companies together. Even as operations go back to regular, videoconferencing providers are putting resources into their products.
The 2 main cooperation 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 point, your service is nearly ensured to have a videoconferencing platform currently. If not, or if you are looking to change platforms, continue checking out below for a breakdown of features and options that will assist you make your decision.
Are your meetings long or short? Are you mainly fulfilling internally or with leads and customers? Will you be hosting webinars?
It goes without stating, if your company is currently registered for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you more than happy with the platform, you need to utilize Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not subscribed to either and simply require a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a free version that needs to solve the majority of your needs.
In the sections listed below, we will compare all 3 significant videoconferencing platforms based on different metrics you should think about prior to selecting the right one for your company.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services
Before diving into the complete list of functions for each platform, it is important to comprehend how much you receive from the whole of what you are spending for.
Groups and Meet are part of bigger efficiency suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone item with all the videoconferencing-specific functions you might need. While Teams and Meet can be acquired individually, they are best bundled with their bigger 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 full suite of organization applications.
With Microsoft 365, you get a completely integrated experience with desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. The biggest selling point of Microsoft is how quickly the apps deal with each other, and the most significant distinction between Teams and its rivals is how centralized the suite is.
Groups leaps perfectly 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 make use of both Workspace apps simultaneously, the separation of the two is a bit counterintuitive.
With M365 and Teams, all chats, tape-recorded meetings, and files are all housed in the same main location, making searchability far simpler.
With Meet and Zoom, you will have to seek out 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 need to lose time chasing them down when you require them.
Microsoft offers a lot more applications in their plans than Google, though numerous go unnoticed.
Microsoft Sway allows you to quickly get and cut a tape-recorded Teams fulfilling that you can then house locally within Teams itself.
In the event that somebody gets here late to a meeting, or a staff member records the very same meeting and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can quickly grab the part of the meeting you need and save it.
This bypasses the storage that would be eaten up by an hours-long video clip, in addition to the time it would require to submit, cut, and export stated video from a video editing platform.
Furthermore, all 3 platforms do have integrations with various other business applications, so make certain to check on 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 actually all adjusted well to the demand for certain functions on their platforms, therefore most of the very same functions overlap across plans for all three suites. This consists of 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 illustrating the various strategies and features of Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet vs. Zoom Audio Conferencing On-the-Go
While present across the board, dial-in capabilities vary across plans. Meet uses dial-in totally free with any of their paid strategies, among the biggest benefits that the platform has more than its competitors.
Both Teams and Meet offer internet-based PBX services that can change your in-house phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not useful.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice incorporates perfectly with Teams, permitting staff members to take company on the go, all with full continuity.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the 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 likewise has 1080p video, however it is restricted to the platform's service or business strategies. 1080p can also be allowed by Zoom assistance in specific 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, however it can send out and receive up to 720p video.
Audio quality throughout platforms depends on microphone and speaker quality, as well as the quality of your web connection.
Spaces and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout spaces are basically conferences that run at the same time to the original videoconference. These were specifically required for virtual education, so teachers could break trainees out into different groups to discover.
There is a clear utility for breakout rooms in expert spaces, too. If a larger team is satisfying about a project, breaking down tasks into smaller groups, breakout rooms could be an excellent option.
Both Teams and Zoom have actually breakout spaces belonging to their base platforms, across all plans. These rooms are basically meetings that are running concurrently to the original videoconference.
Meet allows breakout rooms through their basic and plus plans, however not in the free or fundamental strategies. However, like a lot of Google functions on cheaper plans, you can include Google Chrome extensions, but this could be more of a headache than it deserves in the end.
Just recently, Microsoft likewise presented Together Mode, which utilizes AI to place video participants in numerous digital settings, together. While the utility is light, Together Mode could be a solid spirits booster.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom responded promptly to the "Zoom battle" of the early days of the pandemic, adding end-to-end file encryption and intensifying their privacy policy. Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were stolen and posted for sale online quickly afterwards.
While Meet has actually not had any famous occurrences of privacy breaches, Google has actually had lots of privacy concerns and a track record 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. Considering that 99% of cybersecurity attacks include a password component, two-factor authentication is a need to if you desire a legitimate defense versus cybercriminals.
As a part of the broader M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are encrypted and saved within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
In Addition, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is readily available on its Business Premium and E5 plans, obstructing possibly malicious material from being accessed by those in your company.
Microsoft also utilizes Data Loss Protection (DLP) to capture sensitive information being shared (like social security numbers), and automatically obstruct it from being sent.
Together with eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, talks, and files, Teams ensures you remain certified with all data storage guidelines.
A graphic revealing the path of information as it is encrypted from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.
Google does offer eDiscovery in their Business and Enterprise strategies and DLP in their Enterprise plan only, however these are just restricted to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has actually no particularly listed DLP abilities.Zoom does not use any of these functions on its primary platform.
Overall, Zoom has reacted well to its personal privacy challenges, but the modifications are largely cosmetic.
End-to-end file encryption (E2EE) is fantastic to have, but its addition was more of an action to an issue than a total service. 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 helpful in 1-on-1 managed it service discussions where sensitive details may be shared, and it will be available on Teams quickly according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing company has less to stress over since they are a single-purpose app, dealing exclusively with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, talks, and other information like Microsoft or Google.
Based on track record alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in regards to security.
Because your data is all saved in a single area, Teams and its security functions take your productivity center and turns it into your business's own information fortress. This second level of protection and personal privacy makes it the safest, in our experience.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
Though most videoconferencing platforms have comparable features, your service's exact requirements ought to determine whether you select Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level features at a cost effective cost, it is hard to beat Zoom, who is focused solely on videoconferencing. For the most bang for your buck, Teams ties your entire company together in one space, with the best possible functions and security readily available.
If you are looking for an all-in-one cooperation center that keeps all your communication in one space, we extremely suggest Microsoft Teams.
IT Support Guys has 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.