Due to the measures taken by the governments of different countries in the world, many companies have had to modify their way of working in their respective offices, factories, etc., and have started working at home. Thanks to the advancement of technology and internet communication, today it is easier to keep in touch.
One of the activities that has had the most impact in this time has been online meetings. Many tools allow you to have these meetings online, no matter where your team members or customers are.
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For this reason, and from our experience in Home Office, we tell you about some of the different tools that you can use to have online meetings professionally:
GoToMeeting
Hangouts
Skype
Zoom
Any Meeting
Livestorm
EverWebinar
ClickMeeting
Livewebinar
Developed by Citrix, GoToMeeting is web conferencing software that allows you to host business meetings online. If you have employees, contractors, or customers outside of your time zone, GoToMeeting makes it easy to communicate everyone's needs in an instant.
Advantages
- It allows users to have full control over a participant's computer.
- You can share documents in real-time.
- All you need is an internet connection to have a meeting.
- It allows large meetings. Depending on the option, up to 250 attendees.
- You do not need to attend to experience the meeting, that is, it allows you to record the meetings or conferences.
- There are numerous integrations available. You can integrate Zapier, Google Calendar, and even Chrome into the software.
Disadvantages
- It requires a stable internet connection. When there are gaps in service, even if they are momentary, the meeting must be restarted, which can be chaotic if you have a large number of attendees.
- The quality of the equipment is important. Users and attendees are required to have up-to-date computer equipment or mobile devices.
- It can be difficult to get the calling process right.
- There is a cost to access the premium features you may need. GoToMeeting does not offer a "free" plan. If you choose monthly billing, the Starter plan is $24 per month and the Pro plan is $36 per month.
- The chat option is somewhat limited.
- It can take up a lot of bandwidth.
Google Hangouts Meet is a communication tool for hosting virtual training classes, meetings, remote interviews, and even simple voice calls. It comes as part of Google's G Suite account: With the Basic and Business plans, you can host meetings for up to 25 active participants, or upgrade to the Enterprise Plan and host video meetings for up to 100 people with no time limit.
Advantages
- Hangouts can be used on computers as well as mobile phones.
- It is possible to share your current location.
- It has several emoticons and GIF animations to share with your friends.
- It is possible to send voice messages.
- It is available for Android devices as well as iOS.
- It has a free version
Disadvantages
- It is not possible to set your profile as Invisible, unlike Google Talk.
- It is only possible to make video calls with up to 10 people at the same time.
- You can't send media files at the moment.
It's one of the easiest entry-level meeting tools on the market and offers excellent customer service. Despite the low cost, Skype for Business comes with all the major collaboration tools, like tools like whiteboards, Q&A, and instant messaging—you can even annotate live Powerpoint presentations.
Advantages
- Skype is quick and easy to install.
- Phone calls for free to other Skype users anywhere in the world.
- Skype calls have a high sound quality and are highly secure.
- Skype works on most computers: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Pocket Out.
Disadvantages
- You can have unwanted contacts.
- You have to pay to call landlines.
- The voicemail is not free.
- Sometimes there's a bad resolution of sound and video.
Zoom sets itself apart from the competition with its pristine HD video quality and crystal-clear audio. It has dynamic features for video conferencing and webinars such as dual screen sharing and voice detection functionality. Another unique feature of Zoom is that users can record meetings in video format on mobile devices, making it easy to save and share clips for future reference.
Advantages
- It offers an experience according to any type of use that we can give it. This tool can be easily adapted to any work modality.
- It has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
- You can make video calls with up to 500 participants and 10,000 viewers.
- ZOOM's free plan offers more than what we normally need. With the Basic (Free) plan you can make video calls with up to 100 participants.
Disadvantages
- It is essential to download the application on your computer or cell phone.
- The free plan only allows meetings of up to 40 minutes.
The platform allows you to hold webinars, videoconferences, and online meetings. To enter the platform, the creation of an account is required, once entered, it is allowed to be used free of charge to schedule videoconferences.
Advantages
- It has a friendly interface for the user in which it is configured: the audio if the user shares the screen.
- The video conference is scheduled on a web address, which contains the meeting identifier.
- Possibility to record the videoconference so that other attendees can see it asynchronously.
- It has a chat where you can interact with the attendees of the videoconference.
Disadvantages
- In the free version, ads are displayed on one side of the screen.
- You must download the application on your computer or cell phone, therefore those people who sign up for your webinar or who participate in the meeting must download the application to access it.
- It has a capacity for only 200 attendees, even on paid plans.
Livestorm understands that webinars come in all shapes and sizes. Therefore, it provides various modules and tools for specific webinar styles, such as live events, online courses, product demos, and more.
Advantages
- The free plan is good to start with, and after that, the monthly price is not high.
- The overall automation of the system is top-notch, with some customization tools where they should be.
- The user interface is easy to understand and great for users of all skill levels to set up and run webinars.
- No need to download an app
Disadvantages
- The quality of the recording is not very good.
- The customer support team is responsive, but much of this depends on where you live, as most representatives are based in Europe.
Live and on-demand webinars are possible with EverWebinar, and you can organize past and future broadcasts in a beautiful online course format.
Advantages
- Tracking is great for seeing who's signing up, how many people are buying a certain item, and much more.
- The process is simple and you can create a live webinar and record it.
- Messages can be sent to participants.
- Advanced scheduling lets you mark your calendar down to the minute and even block out special holidays.
Disadvantages
- It has a unique plan and is expensive for many companies.
- It does not have a free trial.
- Some people may find it to be too automated, where customization is not a priority.
Advantages
- It has plans for all business sizes.
- It is excellent for handling large groups of participants.
- The user interface is very intuitive.
Disadvantages
- It takes a long time to export videos, so compression tools may need to be constantly updated.
- Webinar templates are much more basic than some you might see in other software.
LiveWebinar is a very versatile communication software. With this platform, you can organize webinars, and much more. Whether you use it to host business meetings, teach the next generation of thinkers, or recruit new employees from across the country (or the world), it can perfectly meet your needs.
Advantages
- More than 50 features increase the degree of interaction between participants and make webinars more attractive.
- The extensive customization and flexibility of the platform - More than 1,500 components to choose from, which can be modified and combined in any way.
- Interactive features like screen sharing, whiteboarding, polls and quizzes, branding options, on-demand content, integrations, language interpretation, and more.
- 100% browser-based - no plugins or downloads needed, and the platform works in all major browsers.
- High-security standards: The platform has been designed to maintain the latest security standards, including compliance with regulations regarding the protection of personal data.
Disadvantages
- A two-week free trial.
- Customization requires a bit of know-how.
These tools give you the ability to host spontaneous or scheduled online meetings with just a few clicks. It doesn't get more convenient than that, and most virtual meeting platforms come with handy features like virtual whiteboards, video recording, and instant messaging.
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Have you already used any of these tools?
Tell us if you know any others that may be of help to our readers.