Cut Costs Using Video Conferencing
As more companies add headquarters around the US and the globe, business travel is one way to bring employees together to share ideas. But paying for airline flights, hotels, and meeting spaces is costly. And never mind getting everyone's scheduled coordinated. One way to cut costs is to conduct meetings remotely by phone or by video. But when meetings are not in person, it's key that participants are focused and engaged.
Bring life to your meetings using a video conferencing service. This way, the presenter is not just a voice on the phone but an on-screen presence who's able to see and interact with other attendees, share presentations, and more. For collaborative meetings, the host can sketch out ideas on an online whiteboard and invite participants to join in. Some video conferencing services let presenters pass control to another participant who can continue the meeting without interruption. Others let hosts deny access to latecomers to further avoid disruption.
Our Editors' Choice video conferencing service is once again ClickMeeting, a robust product that makes video meetings (almost) fun for your staff. New to our roundup is Amazon Chime, a video conferencing service that can hold its own with most in this class. However, because Amazon Chime is so new, there are a few kinks that need to be worked out and a few features that need to be added before it can hang with traditional powerhouses such as Cisco WebEx Meeting Center and Microsoft Skype for Business.
What Is Video Conferencing?
Video conferences are typically defined as real-time video sessions between two or more users that reside in two or more locations. While video conferencing supports several endpoints communicating, the terms "video call" and "video chat" generally mean one-to-one.
Video conferencing services tend to offer more than just face-to-face interactions. Best-in-class video conferencing services let users share their screens, remotely access one another's desktops, chat via text, exchange files, communicate via digital whiteboards, and even broadcast conferences to large groups of passive viewers.
Video Conferencing Package Pricing
As with all software services, pricing and packages are an important consideration when it comes to video conferencing. The prices quoted and the product descriptions below are typically for the lowest level of service per user per month. (For more pricing information, click through to the individual reviews.) All but one of the video conferencing services we tested offers free trials (most for 30 days) and many don't require a credit card on file, which means you don't have to worry about being charged automatically when the trial ends.
For example, join.me offers a free plan with limited features, which is good for small or even single-employee companies. Many services are scalable depending on the number of hosts and attendees you need. We recommend trying a few of our top-rated video conferencing services before committing to a particular one; try out some of the features to figure out what you really need and what's overkill.
Ease of Use and Meeting Features
Once you've found packages in your price range, the most important consideration is ease of use. Obviously, if the user interface (UI) is difficult for you and your colleagues to navigate and use, then it's going to cause delays in meeting start times, which will frustrate everyone. For each review, we discuss the ease of signing up, creating a meeting, inviting participants, and setting up audio and video controls. We also look at the user experience (UX) from the meeting invitees' point of view, which can make or break a meeting.
We test each service's prominent features but it's up to you to decide whether or not you need dial-in numbers, voice-over-IP (VoIP), or both options for your audio, and whether or not you need video calls in addition to screen sharing. Some services offer both teleconferencing with dial-in numbers (local or toll-free) and VoIP calling, while some offer just one or the other. A few offer international dial-in numbers. Adobe Connect doesn't offer teleconferencing at all but can be integrated with a number of other services. Most offer video calls via webcam, though a few don't.
In all of these reviews, we hosted and joined meetings to test the experience of both registered and non-registered users. We outlined how easy is to join a meeting, including whether or not a participant needs to download software before joining an online meeting (which could cause a delay). In this case, it's important to communicate with employees about hardware compatibility and preferred browser. Other services simply require that attendees enter a code to access the meeting.
Our reviews also cover the host's admin features. The best services let you set up different types of meetings, such as a lecture-style meeting in which all participants are muted, or a discussion or Q&A mode in which presenters can mute and unmute participants as needed or let all participants speak. If you've ever been distracted by the sound of someone typing or a barking dog in the background, then you'll appreciate these controls. Other options include enabling and disabling webcams, locking latecomers out of a meeting, creating a waiting room while preparing for the meeting, and allowing break-out sessions.
For presentations, screen sharing is important as are granular options such as the ability to share just one application (Microsoft PowerPoint, for example), document, or image or share your entire desktop. Most of the video conferencing services in this roundup also offer a whiteboard tool, which you can use to sketch out ideas or take notes during the meeting for everyone to see. You also need to consider what the participants are able to do, such as share their screen, enable their webcam, sketch on a shared whiteboard, and even take over the presentation. Think about how much actual collaboration you'd like in your meetings.
Other features we look at include the number of participants allowed on a call and the number of video feeds allowed simultaneously. The most generous is Adobe Connect, which is unlimited, but some offer as few as four participants at a time. Consider how important this is to your company. Most services let you record meetings and a few let you edit the recording right within the software. These recorded meetings can then be used for your records or as webinars for anyone who missed the meeting or for new employees.
Compatibility and Support
For the times when something goes wrong, you need solid support resources. The best video conferencing services offer phone, email, and chat support in addition to extensive online documentation. Active user communities are also a good resource to have at your disposal.
Finally, you'll want to check compatibility with browsers and system requirements. All of the services we looked at work on PCs, some work on Macs, and a few work with Linux. Most are broadly compatible with web browsers but you'll need to upgrade to one of the newest versions.
You've probably used a video conferencing program at some point in your career and it's likely the experience wasn't the most enjoyable. However, you may be surprised at the extensive features that are available in these video conferencing services to make remote meetings just a little less painful.
Featured in This Roundup
RingCentral Office (for Business)
$19.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% RingCentral Office (for Business) is a solid, business-class, Voice-over-IP solution for a company of just about any size. If you need a phone solution with robust features and service-level agreements, then RingCentral Office (for Business) hits the high notes. Read the full review-
ClickMeeting
$30.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% ClickMeeting is affordable, easy to use, versatile, and our top pick for video conferencing services for small businesses. Read the full review -
join.me
$0.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% A top video conferencing pick for small businesses, join.me has a modern interface that's very easy to use and plenty of features to enhance your online meetings. Read the full review -
Adobe Connect
$50.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Adobe Connect is an easy-to-use video conferencing service with generous features but you'll need to use Voice-over-IP (VoIP) or a third-party dial-in service for audio. Read the full review -
Amazon Chime
$15.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Amazon Chime is an app in progress. It has the potential to someday compete with the top-ranking video conferencing services in the class. However, it's not ready for the major leagues just yet. Read the full review -
Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
$24.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Cisco's WebEx Meeting Center offers a generous free plan, and its paid plans offer plenty of features, but they're relatively expensive. Read the full review -
Citrix GoToMeeting
$19.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Citrix GoToMeeting remains one of the easiest conferencing services to use, and the video conferencing feature keeps the app relevant, especially as new users and products flood the market all the time. Read the full review -
eVoice
$12.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% If you need virtual phone service in addition to conferencing features, then eVoice has everything your small business needs. Read the full review -
Microsoft Skype for Business
$2.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% If you find yourself cobbling together web conferencing tools, chat clients, and Skype to handle all your communication needs, then consider Microsoft Skype for Business to simplify your setup. Just don't expect a full-fledged VoIP service. Read the full review -
Zoho Meeting
$12.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Zoho Meeting is an ideal screen sharing and presentation tool. However, if you're looking for a more comprehensive video conferencing service that has whiteboarding, recording, and social sharing options, then you'll have to choose another solution. Read the full review