Zoom is an awesome service which is powering millions of communication across the internet ever since the COVID-19 lockdown which had sent the entire world to the internet, the need to communicate became more important and with services such as Zoom, this was easier than ever but then there were issues and glitches with Zoom which had led some to doubt if they should ever continue to use the service but there is always an alternative for business users.
As a matter of fact, Zoom had tried to curb off these privacy concerns as well as security issues which is ravaging it’s platform over the past couple of months since the service had seen a big boom reaching hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
But this post is not to praise or condemn Zoom in any way possible but to provide you with alternatives to the service which you can definitely switch on to today if privacy and security are your main concerns.
While there is a host of other services out there which are performing excellently, not too many of them are mainstream or at least not used by hundreds of millions so it might come with a good advantages as well because with limited people means limited number of cybercriminals trying to hack into the system.
So in this list, I have compiled a couple of Zoom alternatives which you can switch your business to which will in turn help you conduct your business with your colleagues as well as customers more comfortably without having to fear losing valuable data and information to hackers and or security glitches which can jeopardize your business communication.
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet would be the number alternative to Zoom in 2020 for business users as the service basically gives you the chance to invite every single member of your team into the chat room for a conversation. When it comes to the security part, Jitsi Meet excels because conversation are well encrypted and it’s an open source application which mean it’s free and doesn’t necessarily require an account to use it.
That might be a good one for a startup business owner who is still bootstrapping and on budget because honestly what’s more than a free and good service to communicate and continue your business in the face of the dreadful pandemic.
Other interesting advantages of Jutsi Meet includes allowing you to share your desktop, presentations and other important that would foster the conversation better. You can invite every member of your team with a generated link which can be customized and you an as well edit documents using Etherpad all which are the basic tool you’d need as a small business owner.
Hangout
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For small business with a mini team, Hangout would be a great alternative to Zoom in 2020. While the Hangout might seem like the older version of the present-day Google Meet, this service isn’t going away soon and most of all is that it’s free to use.
If you’ve used the Hangout in the past, you might have ssomehow gotten used to the way it loks and feel and if that is not a problem to you then you can stick up with it and invite members of your tem to join the conversation.
Hangout would take up to 10 participants in video communication while that number increases to about 150 if it’s an audio conversation. You can add text messages and share screens, but that’s about it. Still, if you want quick and easy, this is worth checking out.
StarLeaf
While StarLeaf is used by really big companies, a small business can also opt in and take advantage of the service rather than sticking up with Zoom as this is a true alternative for small businesses in 2020.
While the service is used by really “Big” and I’m emphasizing on the “Big” because it’s the kind of service that do not list it’s pricing on it’s website because you’ll have to call it’s in-house salesperson for price quote and sort, the StarLeaf has included a basic video and messaging option which you can take full advantage of it.
Limitations includes communication with u to 20 people which is at least more than Google Hangout while you’ll be required to log out after 46 minutes which is the total of each meeting.
Brave Together
Brave Together is the next on the list which is packaged as an Open source platform just like Jitsi Meeting mentioned above. Brave, the company which is more about privacy on the internet definitely excelled with the project and the company promises unlimited and private video conversation between peers.
With the Brave Together video conference solution, you’re able to bring onboard members of your team to share things such as screen, chat andd even synchronize with YouTube. Other privacy utilities of the Brave Together platform includes a powerful moderation options which includes muting an individual user or everyone in the meeting. There is also a keyboard shortcut for chat control and option to raise/lower hand for more orgainzed discussion just as it should be in a corporate setting.
Google Meet
Google Meet much like tge Hangout mentioned above is a more sophisticated solution and a great alternative to Zoom for business uers in 2020. When it comes to privacy, this service excels well in it and you’re able to invite a large number of people to join in on a high quality video meeting.
As a small business owner, you’re going to the chance of hosting numerous people be it members of your team or clients on the platform. There is also the mobile version of Google Meet which means you can take conversation to a whole new level so the web won’t be the limit this time around.
Share your screen as well as documents, slides and many other important media with your fellow team members and there is the Speech-to-text technology which helps in the closed caption.
Whereby
Whereby is a great video conferencing alternative to Zoom while it has a paid subscription, the free version is also not so bad even though there are some better alternatives on the list here but this platform allows you about four participants as well as the ability to lock rooms which would require participants to knock before they can gain access into the conversation.
Each room has its own URL that you get to choose, which is great — assuming that nobody else has already taken that name. (For example, I tried whereby.com/testroom and found it was already taken.) But it also has a chat function, lets you share a screen, mute or eject users, and has some fun emoji.
If you have budget to spare, then you can opt for the premium subscription which costs about US$9.99/monthand offer up to 12 participants per room in about three meeting rooms. But as for the free version, you only get about four participants. Screensharing, YouTube integration as well as locking rooms are all available to make it more privacy centered.
Facebook Messenger Room
Facebook Messenger Room is a great alternative here as well offering you that business-level communication as well as needed privacy to make it more sophisticated. With the service, you only get to create a custom link which you can share across other platform owned by the social media giant and bring up to 50 peope to the roo for conversation which is quite nice.
So if your teammates are on the platform, it would be a good thing to switch up to this free service as it is a good alternative to Zoom for small business owners.
Skype
Skye isn’t new in the business of video conferencing and the service had become more matured over time and communication via the platform is getting better each year.
Skype can be used whether on desktop or on mobile device and that would make it a great advantage for small business owners who are seeking an alternative to Zoom as they’re able to connect with members of their team whenever and wouldn’t require a desktop every time
It features live captions as well as subtitles with live chats to. You can use Skype to conduct business meetings or an interview for a new employee or whatever it is you’d like to do.
Cisco WebEx
The next on my list of amazing Zoom alternative for business users in 2020 is this service from Cisco, the company which is well known for making business communication technology as well as hardware used in offices.
While Cisco didn’t originally develop the WebEx service which has been around back since the 90s, it’s surely one of the top out there which is currently getting a fair share of audience as well and the pandemic has prompted Cisco to allow a freemium version of WebEx which you can take advantage of as a business person.
Key features includes allowing up to 100 people to join a communication as well as an unlimited time to be spent during each meeting section compared to others on the list which only have limited timeframe.
