Best Video Conferencing Tools for Small Business in 2023

What do you mean by video conferencing?

Video conferencing software refers to the technology that allows people in different locations to hold face-to-face meetings without needing to be in the same place physically. It is different from a simple video call, which usually involves a conversation between two individuals. Video conferencing can involve multiple participants and offers features that are useful in a group meeting context.

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Benefits of video conferencing

Video conferencing offers numerous benefits, especially in a world where remote work and global collaboration have become increasingly common. Here are several key benefits:

1. Reduced Travel Time and Costs: Video conferencing eliminates the need for travel to conduct face-to-face meetings, saving both time and money on airfare, accommodations, meals, and other travel-related expenses.
2. Increased Productivity and Efficiency: Meetings can be conducted at any time and participants can join from wherever they are, eliminating downtime associated with travel and enabling quicker decision-making.
3. Improved Communication: Video conferencing allows for more personalized and direct communication compared to phone calls or emails. Visual cues and body language can enhance understanding and improve interaction.
4. Enhanced Flexibility: Participants can join a video conference from any device such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone, and from any location with an internet connection, making it accessible and convenient.
5. Better Work-Life Balance: By reducing the need for travel and enabling remote work, video conferencing can help improve work-life balance and reduce stress for employees.
6. Scalability: Video conferencing can accommodate small meetings or scale up for larger gatherings, making it a versatile solution for different communication needs.
7. Improved Teamwork: Regular video meetings can help remote teams feel more connected and foster better collaboration and teamwork from multiple locations.
8. Eco-friendly: By reducing the need for travel, video conferencing helps lower carbon emissions, contributing to environmental sustainability.
9. Recording and Replay: Some video conferencing tools, such as Stork, allow meetings to be recorded and shared for future reference, which can be useful for those who were unable to attend or need to revisit the discussion.
10. Sharing and Collaboration: Modern video conferencing platforms often include features that enhance collaboration, such as screen sharing, real-time editing of documents, interactive whiteboards, and polling tools.

Uses of Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is a vital tool that has an array of use cases in various sectors. Here are some use cases:

Remote Work: Allows employees to communicate with each other, attend meetings, and collaborate on projects from different locations.

Education: Used in e-learning, virtual classrooms, and distance education, allowing students to attend lectures and participate in class discussions without being physically present.

Healthcare: Enables telehealth consultations, where patients can communicate with healthcare professionals from home. Also, it can facilitate meetings between healthcare professionals in different locations.

Recruitment: Allows recruiters to conduct job interviews with candidates who can't physically attend during hiring process. It also helps recruiters to reach a broader pool of candidates.

Business Meetings: Allows businesses to conduct meetings with clients, partners, or teams in different locations. This reduces travel time and costs.

Webinars: Enables presenters to reach a larger audience. Attendees can participate in the webinar without having to travel to a physical location.

Court Proceedings: Used in courtrooms for virtual hearings, witness testimonies, or lawyer-client consultations.

Sales Demonstrations: Enables sales teams to demonstrate products or services to potential customers remotely.

Customer Support: Used to provide face-to-face customer support, where a support agent can guide a customer through troubleshooting steps.

Training and Development: Facilitates online training sessions, where employees or students can learn new skills or enhance their knowledge.

Community Engagement: Enables government organizations or nonprofits to connect with community members and discuss various issues.

Personal Use: Helps family and friends stay connected, especially when they're located in different geographical areas.

Virtual Events: Can be used to host virtual conferences, trade shows, and other events, reaching a global audience.

Therapy and Counseling: Therapists can provide sessions remotely, which can be beneficial for individuals who cannot travel or feel more comfortable receiving support from their own homes.

Remote Auditing: Auditors can check a company's financial statements and procedures remotely, saving travel costs and time.

Real Estate: Real estate agents can show properties virtually to potential buyers or renters, providing an easy and convenient way to see multiple properties.

Remember, the use of video conferencing is continually evolving, and new use cases are being discovered as technology continues to advance.

What are disadvantages of a video conference call?

While video conference calls have become essential in many sectors, they do come with certain disadvantages:

Technical Issues: Problems with internet connectivity, software glitches, hardware problems, and other technical issues can disrupt video conferences. Poor video or audio quality can also impede communication no matter what video conferencing solutions are being used.

Lack of Personal Interaction: Video conferencing cannot fully replicate face-to-face interactions. Non-verbal cues may be missed, and it can be more challenging to build rapport and relationships.

No eye contact: Meta is trying to solve this issue with its most recent Oculus headset but generally speaking it's impossible to be looking at the camera while maintaining a direct eye contact with others. No other video conferencing hardware solves this issue today.

Time Zone Differences: Coordinating a video conference across different time zones can be challenging and may result in inconvenient timings for some participants.

Security Concerns: There are potential risks of unauthorized access or data breaches, especially if the video conferencing platform isn't secure.

Multitasking Difficulties: It can be more challenging to manage multiple tasks during a video call than in a face-to-face meeting. Screen sharing, managing participants, handling technical issues - all while maintaining the flow of the meeting can be a task.

Limited Participation: Some participants may find it difficult to engage in the discussion due to the format, especially in larger group video conferences.

Fatigue: 'Zoom fatigue' or 'video conferencing fatigue' has become a recognized phenomenon, with people finding long or numerous video calls tiring.

Dependence on Equipment: Participants need a device with a camera and microphone and a stable internet connection. This may be a barrier for some people.

Lack of Control: In a physical meeting room, it's easier to control the environment. In a video conference, participants may be in noisy or busy environments, which can cause distractions.

Accessibility Issues: For individuals with certain disabilities, video conferencing may pose specific challenges.

While these are potential disadvantages, many can be mitigated with good planning, the right equipment, video enabled devices and a robust video conferencing platform.

Video Conferencing Trends

Most of video conferencing solutions below were create in pre-pandemic era and are excellent video conferencing technology for pre-hybrid work business operations. Enter 2023 and now we need asynch and AI on top of all video conferencing systems to make recordings and playbacks available to those who could not participate in video conferencing for a variety of reasons (time zones, busy, etc.).

Is Google Meet better than Zoom?

Google Meet and Zoom are both popular video conferencing tools, and each has its strengths. The choice between the two often depends on your specific needs and preferences. Here's a comparison of the two:

Ease of Use: Both platforms are relatively user-friendly, but some people find Google Meet simpler because of its integration with other Google products. If your organization already uses Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), this integration can be very convenient.

Meeting Duration: For free accounts, Google Meet offers 60 minutes per meeting, while Zoom limits meetings to 40 minutes if there are more than two participants.

Number of Participants: For free versions, Zoom allows up to 100 participants, and Google Meet allows up to 100 as well.

Features: Zoom typically has more features compared to Google Meet. For example, Zoom offers a wide variety of virtual backgrounds, breakout rooms (though Google Meet added this feature too), a waiting room feature, and more advanced meeting controls.

Security: Both platforms have significantly upgraded their security in recent years. Zoom faced some security issues in early 2020 but has since implemented end-to-end encryption and improved privacy settings. Google Meet also uses encryption and has the advantage of Google's established security framework.

Pricing: Both Zoom and Google Meet offer free versions of their platforms. For premium features, you'll need to pay. The pricing is comparable, but the features offered in each plan can vary, so it's worth checking the details.

Overall, Google Meet might be a better choice for organizations already heavily using Google products, while Zoom might be preferable for those who need more advanced features.

What happens if you go over 40 minutes on free Zoom?

Zoom's free plan includes a 40-minute limit on group meetings (i.e., meetings with three or more total participants). If your meeting reaches the 40-minute limit, the meeting will end, and participants will be disconnected.

However, the host can start a new meeting and invite all participants to join again. There is no limit on the number of new meetings that a host can start, but each new meeting with three or more participants will again be subject to the 40-minute time limit.

In contrast, one-on-one meetings between two people are not subject to the 40-minute limit and can last indefinitely.

How long are free Google video conferencing meetings?

Google Meet's free version allows meetings up to 60 minutes long. After the 60-minute time limit, the meeting will end.

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Google temporarily extended this time limit to allow meetings up to 24 hours long for free accounts. This was intended to facilitate remote work and learning during the pandemic. That extension has ended in June of 2023.

What is the most popular video conferencing tool?

Several video conferencing tools were popular due to their diverse features, accessibility, and user-friendly interfaces. These include:

1. Zoom: This became exceptionally popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's known for its ease of use, HD video and audio, and features like breakout rooms, screen sharing, and the ability to host up to 1000 video participants and 49 videos on screen.
2. Stork's "Call My Link" feature is one of the best video conferencing software for group video conferencing that require video recording and file sharing on the fly. Meeting recordings are automatically created, summarized and transcribed with AI.
3. Microsoft Teams: This is widely used in organizations that already use Microsoft's suite of productivity tools. It offers robust integrations with Microsoft 365 and allows hosting for very large meetings.
4. Google Meet: Integrated with Google Workspace, Google Meet is popular in both educational and corporate settings. It's known for its simplicity and integration with Google apps.
5. Cisco Webex: This is a well-established platform with robust features targeting large enterprises. It's known for its strong security and advanced meeting options.
6. Skype: Owned by Microsoft, Skype is commonly used for smaller meetings, social calls, and even international phone calls. Skype for Business has been replaced by Microsoft Teams for larger enterprise use.
7. GoToMeeting: This is a user-friendly tool with robust features, popular with many businesses.
8. BlueJeans: Known for its good audio and video quality, and compatibility with a variety of devices.
9. Slack: While primarily a team collaboration tool, Slack also offers video conferencing features.

The "most popular" tool can vary depending on the specific context (e.g., corporate use, education, personal use) and geographical location. Some platforms may be more popular in certain sectors or regions based on factors like pricing, features, or integration with other tools. Always choose the tool that best fits your specific needs and circumstances.

What is the best free video conferencing with no time limit?

There are several free video conferencing services, though most impose some sort of time or participant limit. However, a few standout options include:

1. Stork's "Call My Link": Free, No Limit for personal and business use. Powered by AI video conferencing technology with meeting recording collaboration tools. Shared screen, best video, high quality audio, make it an easy web conferencing choice for remote workers.
2. Jitsi Meet: This is an open-source platform that doesn't impose any time limit on its meetings. It's free to use, requires no account to start a meeting, and includes features like screen sharing and chat.
3. Skype: For personal use, Skype doesn't have a time limit for video meetings. It supports up to 100 participants but has no recording feature.
4. Microsoft Teams: The free version of Microsoft Teams has a generous time limit of 24 hours per meeting.
5. Zoom: While Zoom does have a 40-minute limit on meetings with three or more participants on the free plan, it allows unlimited time for one-on-one meetings. Clear audio with no audio delays and codecs decompress help run efficient meetings in remote working environments.
6. Google Meet: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Google Meet temporarily allowed free users to host meetings of up to 24 hours. However, as of September 2021, they planned to return to a 60-minute limit.

Each of these platforms has different features and advantages, so the "best" option will depend on your specific needs.

What is the easiest way to video conference?

The easiest way to conduct a video conference may depend on what tools and resources you already have available, as well as your comfort with technology. Here are some simple steps using several popular platforms:

Zoom:

1. Create a Zoom account.
2. Click on "Host a Meeting" on the top right of the homepage.
3. Choose whether you want video on or off.
4. Invite participants by clicking "Invite" at the bottom of the screen and then sending the meeting link via email or other messaging platforms.

Stork's Call My Link:

1. Create a Stork account (free).
2. Click on "Call My Link" on the top left of the workspace.
3. Call My Link is your permanent video conferencing URL.
4. Invite participants by sending "Call My Link" URL via email or other messaging platforms.

Google Meet:

1. If you have a Google account, go to Google Calendar and create a new event.
2. Click on "Add Google Meet video conferencing."
3. Invite guests by adding their email addresses.
4. Save the event. The meeting link will be sent to the guests.

Microsoft Teams:

1. Sign in to your Teams account (part of Microsoft 365).
2. Click the "Meet" button in any chat to start a meeting.
3. Share the 'Join Microsoft Teams Meeting' link with others.

Skype:

1. If you have a Skype account, you can simply click on "Meet Now."
2. This will create a meeting link that you can share with others, even if they don't have Skype.

Regardless of the platform, make sure you have a stable internet connection and a quiet environment. Also, check your webcam and microphone settings before the meeting starts to avoid any technical difficulties.

Video conferencing systems: recording

In today's business environment, video conferencing systems like Stork's 'Call My Link' have become indispensable tools. Video calls not only facilitate those who cannot be present at meetings but also aid in information gathering and evaluation for future reference. To assist in this, Stork's 'Call My Link' video conferencing software offers an invaluable feature - the ability to automatically record and transcribe all video meetings free of charge. These recorded meetings can then be shared with colleagues or peers, promoting enhanced understanding and collaboration. Further adding to its usefulness, all these recordings are securely stored within Stork's cloud-based services, providing an accessible and organized archive of all past discussions.

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