If you haven’t hidden behind a rock and spent some time online in the last weeks, you have definitely heard about Zoom. Not that the company just launched, Zoom was founded in 2011. But during this crisis, they got into a hype cycle: suddenly, Zoom is everywhere.
Millions of people were forced to work from home, and many of them did that for the first time. One of the first things to figure out is which software is reliable to host online conferences, and Zoom fills the spot.
But why do people prefer Zoom over so many already available solutions we know about, have accounts with, and are also for free to get started with?
I could pick up my phone or laptop and start video calls on
- Google Meet (Hangout)
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Facebook Messenger
- Skype
- …
If you had asked me back then if I needed another tool to do video conferences with, I would have answered no. But then I tried Zoom.
Zoom, until recently a company targeting business professionals that need screen-sharing and other functionalities, is now adopted by everyday users.
It’s used in addition to workplace software that can do videoconferencing, like Slack and Microsoft Teams, but a younger audience also flocks to Zoom.
Why is that? I myself started adopting Zoom in January 2019 on a paid account for Fresh van Root, after using the free version (40 minutes limit on calls) for quite some time.
First, the product is of excellent quality. Online conferences in Zoom freeze less often compared to other solutions, audio/video quality are good on low bandwidth.
Zoom does one thing well, and that is online video conferencing. Slack and Microsoft Teams are business collaboration tools that want to be your central hub for all day. You can also host video conferences in those tools, but the quality is not the same as in Zoom.
It works well with large groups and can be used to host large online events. Lots of events that moved online rely on Zoom to stream talks to hundreds of people.
Microsoft Teams especially feels slow and resource-intensive compared to Zoom.
Zoom loads fast, is easy to use, and comes with some advanced features that just work.
For example, you can record a call in Zoom, using a virtual background to hide your messy room, or remote control the screen of a co-worker. These are just some of the features that work really well with Zoom.
Zoom integrates into lots of tools. You can connect it to Calendly and organize online appointments. Connecting it to Slack and starting video conferences right from your chat window works well as well. Just two of many tools perfectly integrating Zoom.
These are just some of the reasons why Zoom is successful right now.
One thing for sure: Millions of people experiencing home office and remote work for the first time and are forced to develop new skills. And Zoom is an app that onboarded millions of new users that will stay after the corona crisis is over.
- Check out our comprehensive comparison of Zoom alternatives Whereby and Jitsi Meet
- This is Zoom alternative Whereby
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