Which Video Conferencing Platform Is Right for Your Company?

With the global pandemic and many more people working from home, companies have been forced to reinvent how they do business, both with external and internal audiences.

Video conferencing has obviously become an essential tool for things like new employee onboarding, customer webinars or eLearning. As with any purchase, companies need to do some research to find out which tools will be best for sharing their content and catching their audience’s attention.

Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing which video conferencing software will work best for your business:

Number of participants
Video feeds
Ease of use
Available meeting types
Recording functions
Mobile experience
Screen sharing
Room systems
Application integrations
Smart meetings
Customer service

Here are the platforms we suggest.

MICROSOFT TEAMS

At ITC Global Translations, we use Microsoft Teams to collaborate every day. It’s a leading video conferencing tool that’s perfect for online meetings, sharing and saving files and instant messaging.

Pros

Real-time sharing and editing for files in Excel, PowerPoint and Word format and more
Available on desktops and iOS and Android mobile devices
Safe and secure
Unlimited number of apps (more than 140 professional applications)
Accommodates up to 999 participants per call
Available in 10 languages
Low, competitive pricing

Cons

No interpretation features at the moment
Live translating feature available, but not exactly functional

SPEAKUS

SPEAKUS works well for multilingual webinars thanks to its real-time translation and interpretation features for live and remote events. This platform’s main advantage is that it’s Software as a Service (SaaS), so applications are hosted and made available to customers via the web.

Pros

Connects speakers, interpreters and the audience
Live translation available in the app on smart phones or tablets
Good for all types of events, including forums, summits, hearings, conferences, conventions, shareholder meetings, etc.
Accommodates multiple interpreters at the same time

Cons

App must be downloaded
Pricing only available on request

GOOGLE MEET

Based in the cloud and included with G Suite, Google Meet (previously called Hangouts Meet) is really convenient for the general public and big companies. It works for phone conferences, remote working and big team projects. This solution is intuitive and easy to use. It’s directly linked to your Google calendar, as well as all of Google’s other tools and applications, including Drive.

Pros

Real-time creation and editing of online documents while working as a team
Translation via artificial intelligence available
Accessible on desktops, tablets and smartphones
Free
Invitations are easy to send and accept in one click
No installation required for web version
If your participants don’t have an internet connection, a phone number can be provided, but only with the Enterprise edition
Security: data is encrypted
Affordable pricing (from $2 to $6 per user per month)

Cons

No interpretation features
Can host up to 250 participants, but only with the premium plan

CISCO WEBEX

Cisco Webex can be used on smartphones, tablets and laptops. It’s compatible with a wide variety of collaboration platforms and software. It’s useful for eLearning.

Pros

Meetings can be organized in one click
Easy to quickly invite up to 100 participants
Full or partial screen sharing
Protected conversations
Several registration options that can be sent directly by email
Very good audio capacity thanks to background noise detection
Facebook Live integration available to reach a wider audience
15 languages available

Cons

No translation solution
No interpretation features
Pricing not advantageous for large teams

ZOOM

We can’t ignore the most popular video conferencing platform: Zoom. It’s intuitive and has a modern design with unlimited options. This solution is a leading contender, especially when it comes to automated translation and the interpretation feature.

Pros

Very easy to use
Very good technical support and customer service
Different breakout rooms available for optimum teamwork
Webinar hosting tool
Multiple features for interacting with participants during meetings
Integration for assigned interpreters
Multilingual: English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese
Competitive pricing (limited by the number of guests)

Cons

There have been security flaws in the past
An installer has to be downloaded
The interpretation feature is only available with the purchase of an additional package

Now, it’s up to you to review your priorities, needs, budget and audience to make an informed choice for your next video conference.

Our audio and video agency will be standing by, ready to put our 20 years of experience to work for you with interpreters and translators for all kinds of projects. Request a quote today to tell us about your project!