Which video conferencing platform is right for your business? We’ve gathered details about 10 leading services, all capable of providing high-quality video with collaboration tools.
It’s a provable fact, backed by scientific research, that communication is more effective when you can see the person you’re talking to. Seeing the other person’s facial expressions, for example, makes it easy to tell a serious request from an offhand remark or a joke. But as the business world has learned since the start of the pandemic, you don’t have to brave airports and public spaces for an effective face-to-face meeting. Instead, video conferencing software and collaboration services have become the tool of choice for meetings and classes, with everyone from schoolkids to mortgage brokers to grandparents to international award show hosts learning (sometimes awkwardly) how to unmute themselves. Using the webcam on a Windows laptop, a Mac, or a mobile device, you can meet one-on-one or with a group, no matter how widely scattered the members of your class/team/family are. We’ve assembled the leading conferencing software platforms, all capable of providing high-quality video and full-featured collaboration tools. While many of these video conferencing platforms also offer live streaming and webinar capabilities, our focus here is primarily on virtual meetings. Note that several vendors responded to initial coronavirus concerns with free video conferencing offers. Many of those offers have since expired, but plenty of free and discounted options still exist. What should you look for when putting video communication software to the test? After a full year of empty offices and no-travel orders, most companies have realized that remote work and online meetings can be extremely effective and are likely to demand much more from these tools than the basic feature set that might have been sufficient in pre-pandemic times.
