A top 5 guide to video conferencing solutions

Blue Jeans

The Blue Jeans cloud-based video conferencing service provides a scalable solution based on a robust distributed architecture that enables workers a way to collaborate within the enterprise and beyond.

Pricing

No Free option.
Need to purchase meetings, events and Microsoft Teams gateway separately.

Meeting Plan prices

Business standard – £8.94/month/host
Blue Jeans pro – £12.52/month/host
Blue Jeans enterprise – A quote will be provided on request

Maximum capacity

• Standard Meeting: Up to 50 people
• Pro Meeting: Up to 75 people
• Enterprise Meeting: Up to 100 people
• One time Event: 500 attendees 
• Unlimited Event: 500,000 attendees 

Key benefits of Blue Jeans

• Blue Jeans does a great job of handling active speakers and bringing their video to the forefront while they are speaking
• Direct integration support with your Google or Outlook calendar
• Low bandwidth connection feature
• It's easy for anyone to join a meeting regardless of their tech setups
• Brand customisation capabilities
• Historical meeting analytics available for users
• Encrypt Meeting add on option

Drawbacks

Limited to 9 video windows for larger groups.
Reports state the app can shut down during a meeting when screen sharing in enabled.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams evolved out of Skype for Business. It offers VoIP calls, video and audio conferencing and chat.

Teams as a ‘chat-based workspace in Office 365’ allowing teams to work together within one window to enhance teamwork. It works great for any organisation which uses Office 365 suite. Teams is fully integrated with Office 365 Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve as well as its cloud storage and sharing services such as SharePoint. The platform enforces team-wide and organization-wide two-factor authentication, single sign-on through Active Directory, and encryption of data in transit and at rest.

The programme works well for small-medium size teams that collaborate closely on specific projects. Even if team members are geographically dispersed, they can manage everything smoothly and efficiently within the Microsoft Teams digital space.

Microsoft Teams is likely not a good fit for a large team that reports to the same supervisor or manager but doesn't work specifically on projects together.

Pricing plans

Free option available during the Covid-19 period.
Microsoft teams are included in all Office 365 Business and enterprise packages.

- Microsoft 365 Business Basic – £3.80/month/host

- Microsoft 365 Business Standard – £9.40/month/host

-Microsoft 365 Business Premium - £15.10/month/host

Office 365 E3 – £17.60/month/host

Capacity

• Meeting capacity: 250 people
• Events: 10,000 attendees
• Maximum number of team users 300 – unlimited

Key benefits of Teams

• One centralised hub
• No extra cost to Office 365 users
• Office 365 integration
• Microsoft enterprise security & compliance set up
• Azure Active Directory integration capability
• Teams will prioritise audio quality over video quality, when bandwidth is insufficient

Drawbacks

• Internet explorer, Safari and Firefox are not fully supported
• There is a learning curve, there are many different functions to get familiar with
• The app limits screen displaying to a maximum of four screens at once

Zoom

Zoom is designed exclusively for virtual meetings, hosting webinars and video conferences. It represents an easy to use online video conferencing and meeting software that integrates video conferencing, simple online meetings, and group messaging into a single cloud-based platform. Helpful for small to medium businesses, enterprises; Zoom is built to host and broadcast online meetings and webinars that can cater to up to 500 interactive video participants and 10,000 view-only attendees.

Pricing plans

• Free option available
• Pro - £11.99/month/host
• Business - £15.99/month/host – minimum of 10 hosts
• Enterprise- £15.99/month/host – minimum of 100 hosts
• Need to purchase meetings, events and Microsoft teams gateway separately

• Basic: Up to 100 people 
• Pro: Up to 100 people
• Business: Up to 300 people
• Enterprise: Up to 500 people
• Enterprise Plus: Up to 1,000 people
• Webinar Events:  100 - 10,000 attendees

Key benefits of Zoom

• Generous free account
• Competitively priced paid plans
• Rich and easy to use features for hosts and participants
• The ability to record meetings on the cloud or a local computer
• Feature to present with the white board
• End to end encryption

Drawbacks

• Requires a desktop app to use
• Can be expensive for larger teams
• Unpredictable video quality

WebEx

Cisco WebEx is often described as a flexible audio and video conferencing solution designed for businesses of all sizes and represents a popular web conferencing software that integrates the primary tools that enable users to instantly conduct meetings online which are data, voice and video.

This web conferencing software is also highly recommended for large scale product launches and educational sessions. Its broadcast-quality audio,  conference calls and teleconferencing system allows users to set up an effective team workspace that enhances group collaboration and brainstorming.

Cisco WebEx is also described as a stable platform to hold meetings and works with multiple productivity tools.

Pricing

Free option for individuals
Need to purchase Events and Webinar packages separately

Meeting Plan prices

Starter – £11.25/month/host
Plus– £14.85/month/host
Business – £22.50/month/host

Maximum capacity

• Free: Up to 100 people
• Starter: Up to 50 people
• Plus: Up to 100 people 
• Bunnies: Up to 200 people
• Webinars: 3,000 attendees
• Events: 40,000 attendees

Key benefits of WebEx

• Feature to present with the white board
• Nice user interface
• Managing and scheduling meetings are very simple
• Available on almost all operating systems
• Technical support

Drawbacks

• Display names for video conferencing system users are not visible in the WebEx meeting video window
• No customisable/ branding capabilities