Google Meet Webex Zoom

If you're among the many looking for a new video conferencing tool after adding 'zoombombing' to your vocabulary, you're in luck. While a one-size-fits-all solution doesn't exist, there are many other options with proven security features. Here's a roundup of some of Zoom's competitors and their privacy and security features.

The Webex video conference platform has been around since 1995 and is a favorite of the privacy-conscious health care, information technology, and financial services industries. This is partially due to the fact that all three industries commonly relied on virtual meetings well before the Covid-19 pandemic, but mostly because Webex has a reputation for maintaining robust cybersecurity. Cisco, its parent company, is an industry leader in network hardware, software, and security products.

Webex offers end-to-end encryption. Using it, however, limits popular video options, including remote computer sharing and personal meeting rooms. Worth noting: Webex and Cisco products have had security issues in the past.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Cisco WebEx and Skype: Choosing the right video-conferencing apps for you (free PDF) (TechRepublic) Hiring Kit: Application Engineer (TechRepublic Premium).

Zoom is a web-conferencing tool that can be used to enhance and expand classes with powerful collaboration tools, including video breakout rooms, multi-sharing, polling, and group chats. To learn more about Zoom, the Instructional Technologies training team will host Zoom workshops. Information and dates can be found at techevents.fau.edu. Real-time meetings by Google. Using your browser, share your video, desktop, and presentations with teammates and customers. Now that we have outlined the specific features available with both Zoom and Webex, it is time to get down to specific differences between the two. We will highlight certain aspects of Cisco Webex vs Zoom so that you can get a clear picture of what each of these software offers that gives them a one up on the other.

Like Zoom, Microsoft Teams experienced an uptick in the recent crisis, in part due to its integration with the company's flagship Office365 cloud and productivity services. Microsoft says that Teams are encrypted 'in transit and at rest,' but details about support for end-to-end encryption are vague.

Like Webex, one advantage of Teams is that its parent company is a major provider of networking, software, and cybersecurity services. Microsoft has an internal rating system for the security of its products, and has designated Teams to be Tier-D compliant, which means that it can adhere to the strictest government and industry security standards and legal requirements.

Neither Microsoft nor Teams are immune to security vulnerabilities, but as a company, Microsoft's bandwidth to address them when they occur is probably unparalleled. Microsoft also has a more transparent privacy policy and a better track record when it comes to protecting user and customer data than many of its competitors, including Zoom.

Google offers Hangouts and Duo as its two primary video meeting platforms--both offer 'free' and paid versions bundled in with its G Suite line of applications. While Google Hangouts offers similar functionality to Zoom, it has a limit of 25 attendees per video conference. Other considerations include a long history of security and privacy concerns and the fact that Google Hangouts don't offer end-to-end encryption.

Duo is end-to-end encrypted, and can support video meetings with up to 12 attendees.

Like Cisco and Microsoft, Google has more resources dedicated to cybersecurity, but the company has a lengthy track record of mining user data, especially for 'free' services. The company is also notorious for quickly and unceremoniously dropping support for many of its projects, and has done so with several previous video conferencing and meeting apps.

It depends on your business needs. Zoom's rapid increase in popularity in an already crowded market is a testament to its many qualities, features, and ease of use.

The company has made some misleading claims about user privacy and data, and the recent discovery of multiple serious security vulnerabilities will test the company's ability to support and sustain its user base.

A good sign is that Zoom announced a 90-day freeze on any new features so it can focus on security and privacy issues. This move could help the platform and the company to continue the meteoric rise in the number of people using the service.

For industries with stringent data privacy and security requirements, platforms like Webex or Microsoft Teams may be a better fit, but every company, platform, and technology has its own set of drawbacks and vulnerabilities. The main takeaway is that every company, regardless of size, needs to have a solid understanding of what its own internal security needs are in order to make an informed decision.

The popular Zoom video meeting app went out this week, for many on of all days, the first day of school, and people freaked out.

With stay-at-home remote work and learning the new norm during this pandemic, what were people supposed to do?

We agree that Zoom is the easiest, by far to connect to, when it's running, but what if it goes down again? One option is to explore a different video meeting app.

We took a good hard at four competitors this week, which all offer tiers of free service. Zoom is still far and away the most popular of all of them, top-ranked on Apple and Google's app store download chart, along with Messenger (No. 10), Microsoft Teams (No. 14) and Google Meet (No. 15).

We examined all, along with the granddaddy, Skype, which started the video chat explosion back in 2003 and WebEx, which used to only be available for a fee, but now has a free tier.

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Google Meet

No other app has been pushed as aggressively this year. There's an extensive TV campaign touting how Meet, which formerly charged a subscription, is now 100% free through Sept. 30. (Google has decided to keep it free forever, with paid upgrades for subscribers of the G Suite.)

Google Meet Webex Zoom Meeting

And beyond the airwaves, Google has looked to make Meet a daily staple for Google users, by inserting tabs within Gmail, the most popular e-mail program, to start or join a Google Meet.

Compared to Zoom, Meet is very much of a bare-bones app. You can connect to people for a video meet, and have up to 100 in the room. The silly bonus features seen on Zoom of adding a blurry background to your image are not there. You can share your screen, as with Zoom, and access different cameras or microphones. However, you can't record the call, something Zoom and other programs allow, unless you're a paid subscribers to G Suite.

Tools like background blur, whiteboarding and hand raising are features Google says are 'coming soon.'

Meet's best feature, however, is maddening. Google will display a transcript of your call, in real time, and it gets the words pretty much right on. Fantastic! But does it offer translation for those speaking in different languages? Nope.

Can you download the transcript afterwards to have notes of the meeting? Nope to that, too.

With Zoom, there are hundreds of third-party apps that enhance the experience, including building transcriptions and translations, from the apps Otter.ai and Lingmo.)

Google limits the amount of time you can chat for free to one hour. Zoom allows 40 minutes.

Webex Meet Now

Rate: 2.5 stars. For minimalist video chat, it does the job, but it gets two big knocks: the video defaults to a super low-resolution 360p (which you can change) and there's that transcription issue. How hard can it be to offer a download button to save the meeting notes? If anyone could do it, it would be Google, which has set the standard for translations via its acclaimed Google Translate app.

Gallery: Google's music streaming service is about to shut down for good. Here are 20 other Google products that bombed, died, or disappeared. (Business Insider)

Webex And Zoom Comparison

WebEx

An app aimed at enterprise has stepped up to the plate during the pandemic by offering its services for free. WebEx doesn't charge you for meetings of up to 50 minutes, with as many as 100 people in the room. For features like higher-resolution video recordings saved to the cloud and longer meetings, rates start at $13.50 monthly.

Rate: 3.5 stars. WebEx is just as easy to connect to as Zoom is, and it gets a brownie point for a cleaner, less cluttered menu with an easier to read 'Mute' button front and center. That should help some audio-challenged attendees and make it easier for the rest of us to hear what's being said on the meetings.

Skype

This is the app that popularized video chat, especially for free communication (Skype to Skype calls) with loved ones overseas, and it still offers all that. But the neglect from corporate owner Microsoft, and emphasis on Teams (see below), perhaps explains why Skype isn't even in the top 50 rankings on the iOS and Google Play charts.

Skype's problem has always been that it was buggy. You could only initiate a chat with someone if they connected with you first and became a member of your contacts. And both parties had to download the hefty Skype app.

This remains true today, but Skype now has a Zoom-like 'instant meeting' feature that lets people connect to you without downloads or registration. This usually works, until it doesn't. Just ask my brother, who couldn't see me on his screen when we tested it this week.

Rate: 3 stars*. Skype gets the rating if you know other people who downloaded the app. Then it works like a charm, with better audio quality than rivals. If they have to connect via other avenues Skype can be challenging.

Microsoft Teams

Teams is not just a video conference program but an element of a huge Microsoft business messaging app aimed at enterprise. Anyone with a Microsoft account can use Teams and have as many as 50 people on a video meeting. What you can't do for free: use Teams to make audio calls to others in your organization or have much storage space for sharing photos and videos. Pro memberships start at $5 monthly.

Setting up video meets with people within your organization is relatively simple. Just find the person (or persons by adding them to the conversation) and click the video call button.

Google Meet Webex Zoom App

But going outside your corporate 'team' – if you're using the program at work to connect with people who don't work for your organization – can sound awfully convoluted with Microsoft-required administrator permissions.

A better idea. Just go to the Calendar or Meeting section of the app and invite someone. It works rather easily, but with caveats. There will be no meeting held if you use Apple's Safari browser, and if you opt for Firefox instead, you'll get a meeting that can only be held via chat, sans video and audio. Microsoft would prefer you to download their app to make it work instead.

Rate 3.0 stars: If you're using Teams at work, you either love it or hate it, but odds are, it does the job. Video meetings will work as advertised – you'll be able to connect, blur the background and record the conversation.

Messenger Meeting Rooms

Facebook would like this private meeting room to be considered a 'Zoom Killer,' but the reality is, it's still Facebook, where the first choice, after you've selected your meeting room, is to put the video on your timeline for everyone to see and join.

So that pretty much knocks out educators and enterprise.

Rate: 2 stars

When all is said and done, nothing beats Zoom for simplicity. WebEx may not have the outside apps to enhance the experience, but it does have the reliability of Cisco behind it. Google Meet could certainly do the job for those needing a backup, but without the bells and whistles you'll get elsewhere.

Readers, what's your favorite video meeting app? I'd love to hear from you on Twitter, where I'm @jeffersongraham.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: If Zoom's out, what about WebEx, Google Meet or Skype? We tried them all, here's what we found