With the masses now all working distantly, organisations have settled on the choice to bring gatherings and collaboration into the cloud. Skype for Business was king of the hill and the top system for associations wanting to communicate remotely. But no more, they have lost their crown,and Microsoft is slowly but surely phasing it out, which leaves everyone now pondering which system to use. So we take a look and give you an insight into which is maybe the best cloud based system for your business. ​

Currently, there are two main contenders for crown of cloud based systems. Yes, when it comes to video conferences and team collaboration, the big players are Microsoft Teams and Zoom. With the recent Covid pandemic restricting so many employees to their homes, these tools have become popular with businesses of all sizes. But, when it comes to determining which one is best for your and your business you need to assess them both.

Microsoft teams can help you with:

•  Chats
• File sharing
• Calls
• Screen sharing

The beauty with Teams is that it is part of Microsoft’s Office 365 platform. Teams easily integrates with Microsoft apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. Teams makes it easy to collaborate with team members, partners and clients in any location around the globe. Not only can you hold video calls, but a team can work together live in real time on documents and projects.

With Microsoft Teams, you can have up to 250 people in one meeting! There is obviously a payment involved if you want more scope, but if your company (like most) already has an Office 365 subscription, then you already have access to Microsoft Teams and will probably have access to all it’s perks

Zoom has become the leader when it comes to video communications. As with Teams, Zoom is a highly popular communication tool for large and small businesses alike, along with being a favourite for individuals, too.

The tool provides a cloud solution for:

• Video and audio conferences
• Team collaboration
• Chat
• Webinars

In recent months, Zoom has actually become more famous for the “Zoom-bombing.” that has been occurring. They do say the best form of publicity os scandal, and in Zooms case, this appears to be true.

However, the company has quickly reacted to these issues and has added additional security features. The other good thing that we like about Zoom, is it’s simplicity, and the free version is often more than suitable for a lot of smaller businesses

So which is the best and most suitable for you?

oth Teams and Zoom allow you to video call, conference call, hold online meetings, collaborate, chat, call, share files and more. The only real difference is that Teams is part of the Microsoft platform. This is great when you want to share files that are also made up in one of the Office 365 many tools, but as you can screen share on both and as you can easily email someone a file, this does not make it more a clear winner over Zoom.

When it comes to features, as mentioned Zoom is more user friendly. Plus, there’s no need to make the move from Skype for Business, Microsoft’s legacy meeting app.
Then there is the UI ( user Interface) Zoom is complimented for being user friendly, teams do not often receive this compliment.

If you already have a Microsoft account, you are probably used to how the systems work and Teams would not cause you much difficulty and as stated, if your business is already using Microsoft, it may not cost you anything as it will be part of your package.

Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer room environments. For instance, each tool allows you to create a meeting and then have “breakout rooms” that allow a team to be in one meeting but have separate discussions in various breakout rooms. This is proving to be highly popular with teachers and learners as it allows them to disband the students for breakout sessions and collaborate. It is slos worth noting that on the free version of Zoom, you can have up to 50 separate breakout rooms!

If you are going to be selecting your platform, purely based on expense then the pricing could be the key.
Zoom and Teams each offer free versions of their tools, and both offer additional features with their paid plans.
Zoom’s free version allows for up to 100 participants for meetings; however, the free version of the app only allows for 40 minutes on group meetings. This can be a problem if your meeting needs last longer. When the meeting’s cut after the 40-minute limit, then each participant must rejoin the meeting. Having said that, Zoom does allow for unlimited meetings between two people, and they provide online support and more.

Microsoft Team’s free version only allows for limited chats, collaboration, productivity tools, meetings, calls and security. There are also no administration tools in Teams and the tool doesn’t offer access to Microsoft support.
Actual plans are based on number of users ranging from around £10 per user on Teams and £11.99 on Zoom, neither require long term commitments though

If you want ease of use and can handle the holding calls and getting them completed within the 40 minutes, Zoom is a clear winner. But, Teams is there and easy if you already have the Microsoft package. It may take a little longer to get used to navigating but if it costs your business no more, then it is a winner.

At Systems-Integration, we have experience with all systems cloud based here to advise your business on which can help you maintain efficiency during these difficult times. please feel free to get in touch if you want any advice