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Google and Microsoft are leading tech brands in the market. If you’re between the two for your business’ unified communications, it can be difficult to identify the key things that differentiate each. After all, both manufacturers have spent decades developing collaboration tools to best cater to business activities and communication needs.

Once you’ve decided to integrate a new and improved communications solution into your business, your work begins in finding the right platform. In today’s marketplace, you’ll want to explore all of your options thoroughly before making a decision. A popular video conference platform you may have heard of is Microsoft Teams.

In today’s workforce, virtual meetings have caused business communications to evolve for the better. Video conferences are now commonly used to communicate with both internal and external parties.

In today’s workforce, the last thing you should be worrying about is slow productivity due to technical issues. Lost time during the workday spent resolving business communications and technology problems can very well mean lost revenue for your business. For this reason, investing in tools to prevent these technical headaches is vital to your success. Unified communications for small businesses allows them to keep up with modern technology while fostering collaborative environments.

There’s nothing worse than taking the time to set up and schedule a video conference and end up with technical difficulties that disrupt your meeting. Common issues with technology might be a barrier preventing you from using cloud based video conferencing to its full potential. To help you troubleshoot, here are some tips for solving common problems with video conferencing systems.

After the workforce pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses focused on remote work. The work-from-anywhere mindset that business leaders adopted created a demand for video meetings. Face to face communication is still considered the best way to collaborate. This has led to cloud-based business communications solutions taking off in popularity.

It can be daunting looking at all the different business communication systems on the market. In the digital age, is it best to switch over to cloud based phone system or stick with a traditional PBX phone system for your small business? Here is a comparison of the two systems and what each will do for your business communications.

Interested in learning more about video conferencing systems and how much they cost? Well, you're in the right place. But unfortunately, the cost of video conferencing systems isn't as straightforward as you might hope. For that reason, we will help break down some factors that determine how much your video conferencing solution will cost.

Video conferencing systems can provide many benefits to a business. From increasing communication between personnel in different locations, assisting with job training and interviews, and exhibiting updated quality technology within your office space, video conferencing systems can be a great addition to your daily workflow.

When selecting a communications platform for your business, comparing your options side-by-side is important. Cloud-based business communications solutions like Zoom and Microsoft Teams will have many features in common. However, what's the difference between Microsoft Teams and Zoom? Zoom Is a Newer Platform Zoom is a much newer company, while Microsoft has been around for a long time. Since Zoom is a newer organization founded in 2020, it is more prone to bugs in cybersecurity than more established companies. The platform experienced security issues when unauthorized individuals began joining private calls. This issue was eventually resolved, but it raises the question of whether Zoom's overall security features can measure up to hackers. Unlike Zoom, Microsoft has been around for a very long time. As an established company, it has fewer reported security issues. Teams is a newer platform for Microsoft, but it is built on a strong foundation from years of development. Complexity and Range of Collaboration Tools Zoom offers a platform that is easy to use for any skill level and gives you basic functionality from video conferencing, screen sharing, and recording. If you are looking for the most basic communication system, then Zoom may be the better fit for you. Zoom is only used for video meetings and does not integrate as seamlessly as Teams with other systems. Therefore, you will need additional tools for activities like SMS chat functions and project management. However, this makes Zoom simpler to learn for those who only want the basics. Teams as a Dynamic Alternative to Zoom When comparing Zoom vs Microsoft Teams, there's no question of which platform offers more integration. As an extension of Microsoft 365, MS Teams can integrate seamlessly and offer an all-inclusive communication channel. Join or plan a video conference, schedule meetings with attendees via your calendar, and chat with your members before and after the meeting. Although most email hosting providers offer Zoom integrations, Teams is a more dynamic system overall. Hundreds of apps can integrate with Teams, which can simplify your project management and collaboration. You can also save all your files into Teams so you do not need to go elsewhere to upload them. You can also retrieve conversations stored within the platform for future reference. How is Microsoft Teams Like Zoom? Microsoft Teams and Zoom overlap quite a bit in the features they offer. Both Zoom and Microsoft Teams offer collaboration features such as: Screensharing functions Breakout rooms Document sharing Voice calling Whiteboard tools In-call chat features Along with these video conferencing tools, both platforms offer security features to help prevent unauthorized access to meetings. Both use multi-factor authentication (MFA) and waiting rooms to verify participants before they can join a call. How to Choose a Video Conferencing Solution It's wise to partner with a managed communications provider with experience in your industry. They should be well-versed in your industry, so you can meet data security requirements and get the most out of your cloud-based communications software. If you're ready to invest in efficient and convenient unified communications, click the button below to speak to an experienced managed communications expert.